#AND close friend grusha

[abc04]

happy post but small so going here good things happening to us finally finally feel very relieved

[rayhantochtli]

Got hit with the draw Grusha beam

[amelikos]

I wonder what Liko and Amethio will talk about in the cave. My current guess is that Liko could somehow bring up something that weighs on her mind and open up to Amethio. We've seen that she was aware that Roy and Dot were worrying about her and tried to cheer her up to not "inconvenience" them further (which is such a Liko thing to do), so maybe the things she cannot tell Roy or Dot and that she'd rather keep to herself, she would bring up around Amethio. In turn, Amethio could also tell her something that weighs on his mind because he doesn't really have anyone to share things with since he doesn't seem to have friends (outside Soublades). I think it would be neat if they had a talk that is exclusive to both characters and maybe realize it's actually easy to talk to one another when it comes down to it.

Liko is going through similar steps as Amethio right now (Amethio also went through losses that made him stronger after facing Friede, Rayquaza and Hamber). So maybe the events that will unfold with Amethio are going to motivate Liko even further, which would fit since Amethio is connected to her growth as a trainer. Explicitly shown through the writing this time too since they brought up the battle on Roy's island back in HZ006 and had Amethio highlight and directly comment on Liko's progress (which also means he was paying close attention and remembered the events from back then). And he is the one showing up after Liko's confrontation with Grusha, to challenge everything she's been through up until that moment. Maybe Amethio's involvement will be key in Liko eventually passing her course somehow and making her stronger. Which is interesting, because by directly opposing Liko, Amethio is contributing to her growth, which will eventually serve as fuel for her to stand against the Explorers.

Also wondering if we'll get another "thank you" this time, just like towards the end of HZ045.. Maybe Liko thanking Amethio at the end after they manage to get out from the cave, and his reply would be different from the previous time and he would be more honest in his words. Or Liko thanking Soublades. Since they are shown sitting next to a fire to keep warm, maybe Soublades is the one who lit it, so I could see Liko saying thanks. I think they could use this opportunity to interact with each other's Pokemon.

I'm also curious whether Friede will show up to the cave or not. We know he's heading out to look for her while Grusha will help Roy and Dot, so will he show up once she is out or before that? Mostly because I wonder if Liko and Amethio's moment will remain their "secret" and something that remains between the two of them, or if Friede will be there and see Amethio. Next episode will mark twenty episodes since Friede and Amethio teamed up against Rayquaza together, so I wonder if they'll have an opportunity to interact before the current chapter ends. Amethio's connections to Liko and Friede are his most prominent ones out of the main group and they kind of grow together, so I wonder how things could change going forward.

[kyushiblast]

Howdy! Could I request a platonic grusha with a reader who maybe gets into an accident during his snowboarding gym challenge? Not just taking a tumble or anything, like rocks fall or something and you break a limb.

Im not really sure what kind of genre this would count as... hurt/comfort, I suppose????

Idk. I just like giving my favorite characters heart attacks 🙃

⤷ 〝 reminders and you. 〞

➞ pairing : grusha x gn! reader

➞ summary : you get injured during grusha’s gym challenge.

➞ genre : hurt to comfort

➞ cw / other : bad injury mention , DO NOT RAG ON MY TAKE ON GRUSHA’S PERSONALITY OK , not proofread

➞ a/n : ahah we are very alike. I’M SORRY there are some non platonic parts in here i couldn’t help myself — GOSH this could’ve been so much better. again, i'm sorry.

you and grusha were friends on good terms. he’d heard from you plenty on how excited you were to face him despite battling him unofficially many times before.

he’d then reminded you about his gym challenge, which led to him teaching you the basics.

everything should’ve been fine. you should’ve passed with flying colors, you should’ve been able to battle him. but as grusha watched from above, he witnessed himself the event.

a couple of rocks flew your way from a bunch of whatever pokémon play-fighting, ranging from the size of a bergmite to a literal cetoddle. it was hectic.

this was early in the morning, so the snow tossed around from the first hit was easily seen throwing you off and landing you in the snow. grusha, without thinking, leapt from his position and sped towards your body. you were practically suffocating in the snow, the amount on top of you along with the heavy rocks against your one leg preventing you from getting up.

everything ached. grusha’s voice sounded so far away, even as he wiped the snow away from your face and got his pokemon to help get the rocks off.

yelling. ambulances. people carrying you away. grusha’s hand entwined with yours (as he’d taken off his glove to do so) in a protective, worried manner. and you’d just noticed your tears falling down onto the stretcher, warm compared to the coldness in your chest.

meanwhile, grusha was having an inward panic attack. why did it always have to be with snowboarding? he could’ve prevented this—he could’ve had the common sense to rid the pokémon around in case of something like this happening. but no—he just watched you. watched the fall, watched your bleeding and crippled form from those stupid rocks and the icy mountain’s hand in all of this.

he gripped onto your hand like it was a form of life support, no matter how embarrassing it would be to explain it later. he was focused on the flashbacks of what happened to him before, his state and his life turned upside down because of one mistake.

but he promised to himself that whatever happened next, he’d be next to you through it all.

the ride felt like a time to reflect. reflect on childhood and whatever led you to this. “if i go out like this,” you thought to yourself, “at least it’ll be by grusha…”

like souls melded together, your thoughts were mostly on the other on the journey to the hospital.

he’d expected this, but couldn’t help but cringe anyways at the diagnosis.

fractures, a concussion, internal suffering, and so on—surgeries were unavoidable and inevitable. but to him you handled it all like a champ, thankful that the doctors here were skilled and handy at their jobs.

grusha was relieved you were alive. the doctors had said you were lucky, and he couldn’t have thanked his lucky stars more for you.

his calm demeanor slowly returned in the lobby as he waited patiently for them to call him back. he got news that you’d have to stay overnight, which he was also expecting. and so he decided to stay with you as comfort.

he carefully opened the door to your room, the place dimmed and your eyes closed for sleep—or as he thought.

it’d surprised him when he saw your fingers wiggle a little, as if reaching out but suppressed by lack of energy (which was probably accurate). he gently took your chilly hand, warming it up with his now put on glove. you’d tugged at the material, though, and so grusha took it off.

his fingers, surprisingly soft and less cracked than you’d think them up to be, moved in soothing gestures against your own. your mind was still in a daze, but you knew that this feeling with him felt fuzzy and warm. a moment you’d want to last forever under different circumstances in which you hadn’t injured yourself.

after some contemplation, he leaned forward to lightly kiss the top of your hand before shying his head away.

he’d stayed holding your hand until you’d fallen asleep, his cue to fall asleep on the chairs next to the bed despite the uncomfortable feeling.

grusha’s happy to say that he was fully available on the day you were discharged. on other days, he’d visit you in the hospital with the days cut short because of one thing or another. but because of a well needed day off, grusha appeared on the day and helped you get back to the outside world.

you got back your pokemon from grusha, who’d you’d loaned them to to take care of while you were hospitalized. they’d visited too along with him, always clingy and fussy over you.

you were supposed to use a special cast for a while, but it was better than staying holed up in that musty room with nothing to do and talk about scheduled dosages and surgeries all the time. much better.

with grusha by your side, you were going to go back to your usual routines and finally be able to battle him.

all this for a battle. spoiler alert, you win.

work of kyushiblast , please do not translate , copy , or repost here or on any other platform !!

[sereinlikessleep]

Little rant about Grusha because I had time

So uh listen to my ramblings I had nothing better to do and I’m bad at articulating my points and thoughts 😭 ok cool? Cool

Rant about Grusha because I have nothing better to do. So like I’ve been noticing a lot of people are dissatisfied with Grusha’s injury and it’s been bothering me a tad because the main reason is that it isn’t lining up with their head canons or the severity isn’t enough. That’s fine feel that way but people are treating it like Grusha’s being dramatic and while I agree the little shite can be dramatic at times with all of his ice puns he’s not wrong. As someone who has a former athletic background and has dabbled in snowboarding a bit and has multiple people around me who do snowboarding on the regular I feel qualified to give my 2 cents on the topic. So based on the anime Grusha has a leg injury and as someone who has and has a family with a loooooong history of knee injuries it isn’t a small thing. When your sport requires balance the knees are crucial, while I sustained a minor knee injury for pushing myself too hard in running I have family and friends who had to go through literal years of physical therapy and muscle training and they still can’t achieve the same results they had before and after injury. And that’s why this injury is so big for Grusha, it’s been well established that this man is a perfectionist and cares about results more than anything else. (IE why he quit snowboarding and failed Liko) I also don’t think people understand how fast snowboarding is, a turn that Grusha took at the speed he was going (average snow boarders go 30-40 mph since Grusha was at a pro comp we can assume he was going at least 50-65 mph) and the fact that it was his leg got hurt likely meant he fell feet first or landed on his knees which makes the likelihood that he broke his leg even higher. A close friend of mine was snowboarding and tripped while she was doing it and she’s not pro, she was doing it casually but she landed so hard that she cracked her helmet into 2 pieces and would’ve died if she wasn’t wearing it. Lesson take away is that snowboarding is dangerous and Grusha is very lucky he only ended up with the injury he has now. 

Now comes the hard part after a sports injury, physical therapy. A broken leg is going to require months of physical therapy at the least and knowing Grusha and how closely his identity as a snowboarder was this was probably hell for him and when he was finally cleared to go back he can’t get the same results he used to get. I’ve seen this happen, someone can’t get the results they used to and because you’re just trapped in this cycle of going from the best to only mediocre and you can only go as far as mediocre. For someone who was once considered the 2nd best snowboarder in the world this has to hurt. I didn’t mention it but even after physical therapy you still have to be careful because now you’re more at risk of re-injuring that part of your body. My cousin used to be good at basketball but she had a knee injury and had to quit because she couldn’t keep up and she was always close of injuring her knee again. For someone who likely did snowboarding almost 24/7 much of Grusha’s identity was intertwined with the sport not being able to return to his glory days is world shattering. Now he has to find something else to do, and pokemon battling was that next thing, he obviously threw himself into it with the same and possibly more effort than snowboarding because this is the one thing he has left and cannot let it go. So forgive him if he sounds dramatic or his injury wasn’t as sever as you expected it to be just know that Grusha is a perfectionist who values results more than anything else, snowboarding is dangerous, injuries suck and can last long times and be career ending. Thank you for coming to my ted talk :3

[kangen-wanshi]

hello could you write a one shot on Grusha where he falls in love with a shy challenger who is chilly and owns fire pokemons please

Audience ft Grusha

Grusha has met a lot of trainers who come to Glasedao to challenge his gym before. You might be the one who finally ignites his interest in battle after a long time.

Tags: fluff, reader has a pyroar

"Are you alright?"

You flinched, nearly tripping on the snow if it's not for your Pyroar who you've been leaning on for the past couple of minutes.

This seems to have surprised the stranger as well. His hands instinctively went over in case you fell, only for you to never reach neither his arms nor the ground.

"Y- yeah! Yes. Mhm." You quickly answered, still holding onto your pyroar as you tried your best to not look at the stranger.

You've been trying to avoid talking to random people so far, by hiding behind your pyroar. You're only here to challenge the gym. No need to hold a conversation with anyone, right? Right. The gym test is over so.. There's no way no one would pull something like the event back in Levincia.

Pulling you out from your massive worrying train of thought, the man cleared his throat in an attempt to possibly gather his own composure back. Without looking at him, you know he still has his attention on you.

"I saw you.. Standing here for a long time now. Not particularly doing anything. Are you..—"

"No- no! I'm not someone weird I promise-" you cut him off, now slightly panicking just from the first few words he spouted from his mouth. "I'm just uh.. Waiting for the gym leader! The lady at the front says they should be here so uh, I'm.. Waiting for them.."

You slowly let your words die down as you finally looked up to him. At first glance he seems ethereal. Long lashes, big eyes and beautiful blue hair. Had it not been his rather heavy voice, you would assume that the person standing before you is a lady of sorts.

".. As I was saying." He doesn't seem surprised by your sudden outburst. Which makes you embarrassed even more after being possibly caught staring.

"I was just informed of a challenger waiting for me, so naturally, I was about to confirm whether you're the new challenger or not."

Oh.

"It seems like you are, though. By your bold confession." He chuckled.

You can feel your cheek heating up. Not sure if it's because your Pyroar is nudging you, or because the man's small laughter is absolutely melting your heart with his closed eyes smile.

It may sound weird for someone you just met but.. You really want to see his smile now.. 

"Uh- Ah, Yeah I, I guess that's me." You nervously chuckled back. "Well there's.. Not a lot of people out here in Glasedao so.. I guess that would be pretty obvious, huh?"

"Mm. News go 'round fast here though. I'm sure some people will come to watch the battle." He hummed, tugging his scarf up before walking past you towards the battle arena.

Wait more people-?

You thought you could escape the crowd and fight the gym leader in peace, unlike every other battle that occurred before. But it seems like fame will follow every challenger that steps into the field.

"Don't worry, we'll end it quickly." He immediately continued, catching you off guard as you peeked up to him standing next to a Cetoddle. "You don't seem like the type who likes crowds much, don't you? If you want, we can end the battle quickly before people can gather around. And besides, your friend there seems like they're eager to fight."

His Cetoddle chirped at your Pyroar, which triggers a low growl as it turns to you.

You can't really tell how he figure that out so quickly, but with the glint in his eyes, and possibly the smile hidden underneath his scarf, you can tell that when he said you'll end the battle quick, it won't necessarily mean that he'll let your fire fellow melt all of his team with ease.

Somehow with just a nudge from your lion pokemon, and the gym leader pulling out his own pokemon, the trainer senses you kicked in, and you're ready to end this battle quickly so you don't have to deal with the crowd.

Unbeknownst to you, the gym receptionist who has been watching your interactions from the sidelines smiles as he never sees Grusha so eager to battle a trainer before. Putting his phone back in his pocket, perhaps, the gym leader can battle without an audience for this one time.

[vante1920pm]

Hey hey

imagine if you're crushing on your best friend Grusha. Always supporting his dreams even when he's in his glory days, Grusha reciprocate your feelings too, but both of you never mention it!

All confident Grusha lost his shine after the incident that ended his career, and then he even hesitate to make the first move as he cried his hearts out in your arms.

His golden days of snowboarding are gone and now he's a gym leader, but you're alway there to aupport him still. Arceus help him, he can't hesitate, he needs to do the first move, Please!

Another Grusha enthusiast, I have more-

──;; "𝐈 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊" ★☆

★ 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: I love this Idea !!! It was really fun to write it, even if I'm not quite happy how it turned out but I still hope you enjoyed it !

And I would love to hear more Ideas !! ^^

I never wrote a whole "One Shot" in English, so I'm kinda proud that I finished it :)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

☆ 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: grusha/reader

☆ 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: not proof read, ooc, gn!reader, spoiler, grammar mistakes

You were sitting on your couch, Grusha sleeping in your arms.

It's been two hours since the boy knocked on your door, tears streaming down his face. After the incident a few weeks ago, he stopped visiting you, this was actually the first time since then that you even saw him.

-

"Grusha? What are you- oh! Are you okay?"

The boy in front of you just sniffed, head low and walked past you, into your living room. He sat himself on your couch, face still on the ground.

You closed your door and sat yourself beside him. He didn't look up as you did so, just playing with his scarf, ignoring the heat that spread out on his face.

Even tho he was devastated, he still got nervous around you. His feelings for you even grew stronger in the time he didn't see you.

He missed you so much but he didn't had the strength to face anyone. He needed time for himself so he ignored all your calls and texts.

"Okay, what's up?" you asked, hoping he would finally look at you, which he, surprisingly, did.

Now you could see his red eyes and wet stained cheeks, so you just pulled him in a hug. He started to cry hard, his loud sobs could be heard in Mesagoza.

While he was laying in your arms, he thought it would be a good time to finally confess.

"Y/N, I-"

He stopped mid sentence, which confused you but you didn't want to push him. He looked in your eyes, thinking it through. Maybe now wasn't a good time, it didn't felt right. So he just hid his face in your neck and took in your scent, before he drifted off to sleep.

-

It's been 6 month since Grusha became a gym leader. At first he didn't was happy about it, but now he seemed okay with it.

You're still thinking about what he wanted to say that night but just brushed it off. " Maybe it wasn't important, I shouldn't think about it too much. "

Grusha and you started to hang out much more, even if he had much work to do, he still made some time for you.

You were planning to go to a Café this evening on his break.

You were already waiting in front of the Café, when you saw Grusha walking towards you with something in his right hand. You didn't see what it was, since Grusha now hid it behind his back.

When he stood next to you, he just lightly smiled and opened the door to let you in. What a gentleman.

You two found a good table in a corner where no one would see much of you. When the waiter came back with your orders, Grusha finally put the thing he brought with him on the table, facing you.

It was a letter, your name written on it. You looked at Grusha, still confused, but he just shrugged his shoulders and looked out of a window to his left, while he drank his coffee.

You grabbed the letter and opened it.

"Dear Y/N,

sorry you will not hear this out of my mouth, but I think I'm better with my words written than spoken.

The truth is, I actually grew quit font of you in these past years. Maybe font isn't the right word, more like, I catched very deep feelings for you, that I can't resist anymore.

I tried to ignore them, hoping they would just disappear, but the opposite happened.

I hope this letter will not scare you away but I would like to be in a relationship with you."

Under the text were two small caskets, under each of them "yes" and "no".

You looked at Grusha, who still stared at the outside, and smiled, crossing the casket with the "yes".

When you gave the letter back to Grusha, he slowly observed your answer, a small smile creeps on his face. He then finally looked at you.

"So, now that we're together, how about we make this an actual date?"

© 2022 VANTE1920PM

[saccharinescorpion]

Katy: had Kofu as a mentor

Brassius: has a close friendship with Hassel

Iono: on amicable enough terms with Tulip to collab with her

Kofu: besides being a mentor to Katy, is just generally beloved by the people of Casarrafa and is friendly with the local kids

Larry: seems on good terms with the Elite Four as well at the cook at the Treasure Eatery, enough that they speak casually with him

Ryme: seems to have a good relationship with her sister Tyme, enough that they keep in touch and enough that Tyme trusted her enough to take leadership of the Montenevera Gym

Tulip: besides the above-mentioned good terms with Iono, is still a close friend to her childhood friend Dendra

Grusha:

[writingrenna]

Grusha x GN!Reader

"There for the Fall (Pt. 2)"

Continuity: Part 2 of this story, sequel to "Descent to Reality"

--v-Vv-

"Grusha I swear to you, I saw one! It was over there!"

He looked to where you pointed. You swore up and down you saw an orange Combee in a flower patch, but it was no longer there.

"WHAT-?"

You frantically look around. Yet again, Grusha is out in public with you as you freak out over something. This time, you're in Mesagoza, since it's now close to exam season. You decided it'd be bad to continue your treasure hunt right now, but you missed seeing him in person. He eventually caved and came over to visit.

Well, "caved" is how he'd describe it, but he missed you, too.

"I believe you. You have an eye for weird things."

"Hey!"

You glare at him. He deadpans back before changing the subject.

"So, Tulip's gym is next, right? Think you're ready?"

You nod aggressively.

"Oh yeah, yep! Very ready, but..."

You look towards Falinks with sadness in your eyes.

"...this will be another matchup where these guys can't be used much. Last time, they could only use one move against Ryme's team, and this time, they'll be super weak against Tulip's."

He really does feel kind of bad for you, seeing as though they were certainly your best friends and greatest assets on your team. He closes his eyes and faces down, hands in the pockets of his lighter jacket.

"Ah, well that's too bad."

You smirk.

"Yeah, but don't worry. We'll get good, then we'll march right up that mountain and kick your butt. Right, Drum-Fum!?"

Falinks all hop into formation, letting out a battle cry.

He... found this cute, smiling at you and your little second-through-seventh in commands. Sure, it's nice seeing how in-sync you are with your formation Pokémon, but this realization was kind of different.

He was actually starting to get used to the idea of finding you cute.

"Okay, but remember, I'll be ready for you."

You smile, making a cutesy pose with your hands clasped together.

"Awww, preparing just for me??"

His smile abruptly falls, shaking his head.

"No, just in general."

You notice this, but you don't comment on it.

"I can't wait to get to you! I'll get my last gym badge, challenge La Primera, become the latest champion..."

Your eyes sparkled as you danced around him at the thought. He couldn't help but stare, even if he felt like you were a bit too much of a dreamer. You then stop.

"Oh! And, uh, I'll be sure to use my status for good."

He raises an eyebrow.

"That's a relief."

You glare back at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He tilts his head, hands coming up defensively and eyes closing.

"What I mean is you're the least sane person in Paldea. I'm glad you're not getting stronger for nefarious purposes."

You gawk at him, reeling back in shock (even though it really doesn't shock you in the slightest that he'd say that).

"How COULD you!?"

He just scoffs, refraining from rolling his eyes.

"Well? What can I say? You're kinda crazy."

You get in his face, although you quickly loose the plot.

"I dunno, not... that?"

He's leaning back, staring into your eyes, fighting off the urge to-

"You know what? You're right. Where are my manners?"

He walks a few steps ahead of you before stopping, turning back towards you and bowing.

"Will you PLEASE forgive me, my liege?"

He offers a hand as he peeks up at you, who's trying to suppress a laugh.

"Look who's acting weird in public now!"

And you're right. But you'd never learn why.

"Yeah, and? I'm hanging out with the most insane person in Paldea. It was bound to happen."

And with that, your eyes lit up, widening with realization. He's... unsure of what this means.

"Oh, but- but you still hang out with me, no?"

Eyebrows furrowed, he replies.

"Yeah? I guess so."

You point at him.

"You don't care that I'm weird, do you?"

He doesn't get a chance to respond. You smile at him, doing a weird little dance.

"Youuuuu like meeeeeee! Admit it!"

He looks down to the ground. Damn it.

"Well, your presence isn't as obnoxious as I thought it'd be."

"That's..."

You stare blankly at him for a moment before your entire countenance lights up.

"...so nice of you to say! By your standards, at least. Bet that hurt to admit, huh, 'Grump-a'?"

He groans. It really wasn't hard to get you to like him. In fact, he did absolutely nothing at all, but he still ended up roped up in your... he'd say friend group, but he hasn't heard of any other friends of yours yet. Point is, you just sorta claimed him in an instant despite his initial lack of interest, but then again, he went with it, so...

He looks around. Many people were sneaking glances at him, whispering about the gym leader visiting Mesagoza. Some had even turned toward you, pointing in awe, probably speculating about your relationship together.

He pointedly ignored them, being very used to it all, and decided to simply enjoy the day. He was here for you, a thought he was... slowly growing fond of. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to voice his feelings sometimes, without caveats.

--v-Vv-

"So! How's life been treatin' ya, baby?"

La Primera had invited every public figure in the league to a nice restaurant. She framed it as "team building", but everyone seemed to be gathered in their own little groups. Not that he minded or even cared past thinking 'ironic'. He just sat at the restaurant's bar with Ryme and Larry.

"It's... been." He simply answered.

She doesn't seem satisfied with this response, but she knows he has trouble speaking. He just needs more specific questions.

"Anythin' new or interesting go down?"

At this question, even Larry momentarily glances over at the two of them. Grusha huffs.

"Well, I've learned about almost every formation a Falinks employs and why they do them..." He said, taking a sip from his drink. He's not much of a drinker, but he will sip on something during a social event or meal like brunch from time to time. He was actually on his second (and final) drink of the night, nursing it at a leisurely pace.

"Ah, I wonder, where'd ya get that information from?" She asks, smirking.

"Haha, very funny. You know where."

He refused to look at her. She simply glances at Larry, who looks back at her. He speaks up this time.

"Grusha, it's fine to admit y-"

"No, whatever you're about to say, NO."

Grusha turns, staring him down. Larry's expression doesn't change, but Ryme sneers at him, speaking up again.

"Grusha, it's really alright. You don't have to be so defensive, we're all adults here."

He groans, hand shooting up to sooth his temple.

"First of all, Poppy's sitting nearby with Rika, and you know how she gets with this stuff. Second of all, there's nothing there, so stop overthinking it."

This only implicates him more.

"What did I say?"

He... doesn't remember the exact wording, but he knows she was implying some deeper feelings. Or, maybe it was Larry. Yeah, definitely him.

"I don't know, why do you wanna know so bad?"

"Know what?"

He responds in a mocking tone, "My 'fee-fees'."

She barks out a laugh, turning away from him. Even Larry lets out a snort before covering his face and glancing away.

She calms down, turning back to him.

"Come on, Grusha. I know you can say at least ONE good thing about them. Tell me how you really feel."

He stares out in front of himself for a second before sighing.

"Well, they are great at battling..."

She nods, expecting this answer. He talks about how obsessed you are with your Falinks all the time. Besides, you were able to beat her recently. What she doesn't expect, however, is what he says next.

"And I guess it's cool that they're so passionate about life. And- it's been kind of exciting, waiting for them to come and challenge my gym."

They both stare at him, never getting this much out of him before when it comes to the topic of you. They stay silent, not wanting to throw him off.

"And like, I dunno, it isn't the worst thing having them in my life. Maybe it'd be cool if they stuck around." He shook his head. "But, they're still insane, so..."

Ryme nods. She's heard of your escapades before. He once came to a meeting frustrated at the fact that you tried to climb a windmill to get something a Bombirdier stole from you the day before. He was absolutely steaming the entire time, barely paying attention, which isn't like him. Why he cared so much was a mystery to everyone but herself and Larry. He was happier being around you than he was letting on, and would be devastated if something happened to you.

Larry himself could read in between the lines, too. He knew he secretly appreciated you, even if he couldn't say it. That little extra line about you being insane (while probably true to some extent) was thrown in so he wouldn't seem too 'mushy'. Besides, he's never invested in someone for so long, at least someone not specifically linked to his everyday life in some way if he didn't like them.

Larry glanced at Ryme, who glanced at him. They interpreted what he said in two slightly different ways, but both of them were right. And Grusha knew they'd understand what he was actually saying. He hated this fact, but he felt vulnerable and slightly intoxicated. He knew he could trust these two to keep quiet. Ryme, because she valued the fact that he always felt safe confiding with her, and Larry, because he's no gossip in general. Maybe this would be a good time to practice that voicing his feelings thing?

"It's weird, having someone want to be in your life so bad even when you're being so moody and jaded. I guess I don't hate it as much as I used to."

He then turns to them, a serious look on his face.

"If you say anything, you're dead."

They nod. The threat wasn't needed for them to agree, but he needed to preserve some sense of control over his emotions.

--v-Vv-

"Soooo, yeah! That's basically how it happened."

His eyes were glued to the ground, confusion evident on his face.

"So, lemme get this straight. Your Falinks... caught itself for you? On purpose, no less?"

Your eyes light up, petting each one.

"Yup! We've been inseparable ever since. Might go back and visit the area, actually."

You were all sitting on a picnic blanket somewhere along Socarrat Trail. Your Falinks were all sitting in a circle, halfway asleep, and Cetoddle was sliding down the hill you were on, trilling and running back up to do it all over again.

"Huh, that's... honestly not the weirdest thing I've heard from you."

You abruptly turn towards him, catching him off guard.

"Heyy! I'll have you know they did it because they saw something in me."

That seemed to be true, to be totally fair. Your parents had rented a Grafaiai to help you catch your first Pokémon, only to fail miserably and run out of time. You, in your infinite wisdom, ran out into the forest on your own to try and "brute force" a catch.

He can only imagine how miserably you failed at it.

You were left devastated, ready to give up entirely on your dreams of catching your own partner. It was then that a Falinks walked up to you, pressed its head against the Pokéball you were about to pick up and throw out in frustration, and caught itself.

Grusha can only wonder why they chose to go with you. He can see it was a great decision in retrospect, but at the time? You were running around, wildly throwing Pokéballs left and right, probably losing it as time went on. Why would they (or at least the brass) see that and be moved into joining you?

He feels like he's going to be pondering this for quite a while.

You abruptly stand up, which woke Falinks up, shouting "Ooh, OH! Check this out!"

You sprint behind a hill, Falinks following (fairly) close behind you. Grusha and Cetoddle sit there, looking in your direction, only to be ever so mildly shocked to see you come back showboating and standing atop Falinks as if they were a parade float. They were marching as smoothly as they could manage to keep you from losing your footing, faces full of determination, chanting as they made their way around in a circle in front of the hill. You were able to keep your balance surprisingly well.

"Ha-HAH! SEE!? Imagine me, being carried into battle atop my loyal army!"

He COULD imagine it, which is what worried him.

"But like, not really, right?"

You stop your showboating for a moment.

"Hmm... I dunno, actually!"

He grimaced.

"...well then why would you practice something like this?"

You shrug.

"For fun?"

The two of you stare at each other, Grusha sporting a mean glare, and you constantly needing to turn your head to keep eye contact with him. It was kind of ridiculous, Cetoddle looking between the two of you, a look of confusion on her face as she chirped to herself. You finally ended the moment by clapping your hands together.

"OH! Hey- hey, Falinks! I wanna get down!"

They all stop moving before carefully kneeling, allowing you to get down. You do so, skipping over to Grusha with a smile on your face. He eyes you, not really sure what you were planning on doing. You plopped down next to him, leaning your head to the side to get a good look at him as you spoke.

"Did you know? The first modern Falinks came to be alongside an ancient civilization! Like, they would travel with them and train by watching their armies, but their battle tactics were so effective in the wild, they kept using them even when that civilization fell. It's true! They even started coming up with their own."

He stares at you, silently giving you permission to continue.

"It's been thousands of years, yet they've only gotten better at using those tactics, not dropping them. I think it's neat! Going to Galar, and Paldea, and still being able to fight the same way they did so long ago."

You gesture toward them, all posing with pride.

"Beautiful. Arceus' perfect creatures."

He snorts at that last comment, but he finds it cute how much you love Falinks. Your very best friends. They were just as proud being your Pokémon as you were having them. In fact, he wouldn't be shocked if your mild interest in history started while getting to know your new friends. It would make a lot of sense, actually.

"Huh, that's neat. Be careful about nerding out near Jacq, though. He'd totally take your interest and run a marathon with it."

You grin, suppressing a snicker before turning your entire body towards him.

"Hah! Don't worry! As long as I keep it on the topic of Falinks, we'll be good."

That... laugh... his face flushed a little, causing him to turn away.

"Yeah, probably."

'Keep it short and sweet, Gru.' Even if his affections are obvious, he can keep the extent of it under wraps.

He's staring at the ground in deep thought, eyes darting around a little. He can't deny this any longer. Even the simplest things would throw him into a frenzy. This isn't him. As much as he'd be Ok with it, then deny it, then warm up to the idea again, he was sure this time. He felt... less than convenient feelings towards you. But what does this mean for him? For you? For the future?

His thoughts are suddenly halted by the feeling of you staring at him again. The same one he got at the observatory. Slowly, cautiously, he turns to you, only to see a huge toothy smile on your face. He jumped, hiding himself again by turning his head and pulling his hair to the side over his shoulder, blocking your view of his own face.

"Wh-what's up?"

Smooth.

"Noooothiiing-"

You make a weird breathy noise as if trying not to laugh. He still refuses to look at you.

"Then why are you staring at me like that? Weirdo."

You're about to say something when you hear Falinks cry out. You both turn towards the scene, only to see them already sending a group of Murkrow running for the hills at the sight of their fainted Honchkrow leader. They look to you, eyes wide, as if asking if you're Ok. You give a little thumbs-up.

"Woah, you all really are strong..." He says out loud to himself. If they can take down powerful mons without your help, you all working together can take down tough trainers with ease. You let out a cocky little "hmph", hands on your hips in pride.

"Absolutely, you better remember this moment when I take you down."

This time, he didn't rebuke this, because you were probably right. You could take him down easily at this point.

He turns to you. The sunlight pouring through the forest leaves hit your eyes just right as you flashed a grin at him.

"Ah, I didn't mean too much with that, really! It isn't personal or anything, Iiiii just mean you're my final obstacle before the Pokémon League and I'll absolutely take you down to get there."

You grin again, this time a little more deviously, waiting for his snappy response.

But it never comes.

He's quiet, taking in every little detail he can. Natural light really does wonders...

"..."

"Gru?"

He still doesn't respond, choosing to turn away and let the moment quiet down. To let his heart quiet down. You take the hint, idly nodding and turning away to look out into the distance yourself. He takes a peek at you, too afraid to attract your attention by fully turning his head.

He's fine with this moment, as it is, even if his heart is screaming for more.

Maybe Ryme was right about that symphony thing.

--v-Vv-

"Am I normal?"

You're both standing underneath an awning. It's raining pretty heavily, the two of you obviously caught off-guard while out and about. You even sent Cetoddle and Falinks back into their Pokéballs to keep them dry.

"I mean... what is your definition of 'normal'?"

"C'mon, Gru..." You seem frustrated. "You're always brutally honest, so just tell me. Am I normal? Do I come off differently than other people? Do I... go too far with my weirdness?"

He cringes. Yes, you do stand out, he noticed you before you noticed him, after all. But he didn't see it as a negative. Not really.

"Well, yes. You're right, you would stick out in a crowd if I compared you to most other people."

"I KNEW it!" You said, furrowing your eyebrows and gritting your teeth.

He looked to you, not sure what to say.

"I- hey. Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

You shake your head, refusing to look at him.

"I dunno, I've always felt different, but I never knew why. I still don't! I don't make a good permanent friend, and nobody understands how I think... it's weird!"

You slink down against the building to sit on the ground, defeated.

"I'm weird."

Grusha takes a moment to take in what you just said. He then does the same, sitting on the ground and looking at you, hand on your shoulder.

"Ok, slow down. Did something happen to make you feel this way? Even if it's unrelated?"

You sigh.

"No... people always think I wanna be in a bad mood, but it isn't true! My brain just won't stop- doing things?? I dunno! Like, I'm fine, then I remember baggage from when I was like, 12, and it's like 'that's how it is, that's how it'll always be', I'm not normal! Why... aren't I normal...?"

He's stumped. He knows he can't help, especially since you don't even know where this is coming from, but he wants you to feel welcome with him.

"Well, yeah, you're weird. Probably one of the weirdest people I know, but-" he looks at you to make sure you're paying attention. Your expression hasn't changed, simply staring blankly in front of you, posture slumped a little.

He continues.

"Weird isn't really a bad thing. Not on its own at least. And, I know what it's like, being stuck in your own head. I know you can't just change it. That- that's fine."

He's really bad at communicating what he wants to say, cursing at himself for not being able to just put his emotions out into the world. Words of affirmation will have to be worked on.

"You. The way you are. Don't change that, Ok? Look at me, out in the rain because you're so fun to be around, even when I question your sanity sometimes. That... you... mean a lot, to me."

He turns away. Of all the times to not be able to be brutally honest.

He hears you sigh.

"Thanks, Usha. Sorry, didn't mean to bring the mood down."

He waves one hand up a little, both to dissuade your line of thinking, and to hide the fact that this new nickname made him blush a little.

"Hey, no worries. You didn't bring anything down. Talk to me, when you want to, Ok?"

You take a moment before nodding, still not looking at him.

--v-Vv-

"...why would you keep this to yourself...?"

You turn away from him, tears threatening to spill out once again. The two of you are in Grusha's office at the Glaseado Gym. The weird way you hold your wrist is evidence of something being terribly, horribly wrong.

"I- I didn't- I didn't want to-"

"Dude." He stops you. "Whatever you're about to say? Yeah, don't even bother. Why wouldn't you let me know? Are you actually insane?"

Falinks stand by marching in place, worried out of their minds as Cetoddle watches from her favorite spot next to the window, visibly uncertain about the situation.

"I thought I was better! I thought I-"

"How about instead of assuming things are OK, you reach out to someone? To me, to the academy nurse, anybody!"

You had tried to help him with something, only to reinjure your wrist again, which had apparently gotten twisted in an incident already.

He fixes the strap of a compression brace he put on you, sighing heavily.

"Injuries like these are no joke. Don't let 'em properly heal, and even a treatable one like this can cause permanent damage."

He steps back to look at you better.

"Whatever ego you had in not telling me? Throw it out, now. I'm the wrong person to pull that with."

You're still turned away from him, but you gulp, taking a small peek before responding, voice trembling.

"It wasn't my ego, I swear..."

He looks up at you, looking you straight in the eye the best he can despite your avoidance, eyebrow raised.

"Oh really? Then what was it?"

"... I don't know..."

He groans before turning away and walking toward the door. He stops and points toward the coat rack.

"Grab your coat and come with me."

--v-Vv-

He thought things were getting better.

He told you to a further extent what he went through, how he felt unstoppable, but then he got into the accident, and now he has to live with physical and mental reminders that will never go away.

But of course, things don't really work that way. It would take more than just an impassioned speech to spark real change.

He sighs, picking the Tera Shards up off the ground. Thoughts of "what am I doing..." would frequently flash through his mind, but now that he actually had enough to change his ace's Tera Type, he felt quite sad, as if he didn't want to have so many.

He stared at the glistening crystal in his hand.

'It's only for if things get too far' he thought to himself.

'They made it to adulthood, they wouldn't put their life at risk.'

'I can call it quits on them anytime.'

He didn't notice how bad things were until recently, but surely, it wasn't really escalating, right? You weren't getting worse or anything, he just actually started to give a damn.

But then, it happened. Something he couldn't forgive.

He watched helplessly as you slid down the mountainside, disappearing from view. He ran as fast as he could, falling to his knees and shuffling the rest of the way, only to see you land and start sizing up a Snom. A SNOM. You looked so tiny from so high up. Even Falinks came out without you calling for them to make sure you were OK, their metallic noises sounding so distant.

As Cetoddle helped him up, Falinks made eye contact with him for a brief second. It was just long enough to really see the two of them, not enough to alert you to the fact that they were looking at something, or someone in particular. They then kept their eyes on you as he made his way down the path, softly warbling and keeping your attention away from the approaching young man.

The rest of the day was basically a blur. He went to bed contemplating his next course of action. He wanted the feeling in his stomach to stop.

But it didn't.

So the next day, he went to Medali, slamming the bag of Terra Shards down on the counter of the Treasure Eatery. When the sound of what he just did rang out in his ears, he suddenly felt... empty. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

The chef grew concerned at the man's demeanor. Before seeing what type the crystals had, she asked if these were for Cetoddle. He slowly shook his head, shoulders now shuddering as he hunched over slightly. He pulled out Altaria's Pokéball and slid it on the counter next to the bag.

She couldn't refuse him service even though he was a member of the league. He could technically do whatever he wanted, unregulated or not. She couldn't even confirm if it was for official gym duties or not.

But, in a bid to change his mind, she called for Larry to show up and talk to him.

"You. Are you alright?"

He walked up to the man sitting on the ground, hugging his legs to his chest underneath the counter. He was crying at this point, shivering as he slowly looked up at Larry. He didn't even need to answer.

Larry glanced at the bag, noticing some flying type Terra Shards peeking out.

'...ah...'

He kneels to his level, looking him straight in the eye.

"Tell me why you're doing this."

He took a deep breath before spilling everything, as well as describing the things that prompted him to plan this fail-safe of his. From the little things you did that would make him worry to sliding down Glaseado Mountain without a second thought. All he saw that day was your descent, and then standing down there as if everything was right in the world.

But it wasn't.

He saw you going down. That's it. He didn't see that you were alright, or that you did it in a relatively stable place where you didn't just immediately tumble down, or that you probably felt safe. All he saw, was you putting your life at risk, just to catch a Pokémon.

And he also saw all the little red flags leading up to this moment. A moment where a big risk seemed small, trivial to you.

You don't always do life-threatening or pointlessly dangerous stunts... hell, usually, it's just smaller, but still obviously wrong choices. It's the fact that it seems to be so normal to you, that you never seem to think about the possibility of things ending terribly, no matter how big or small your actions are.

"I... see." Is all Larry could say to this.

He was always a bit more than moderately invested whenever you were brought up, so for him to see you two going through something so... big, worried him. Especially since his solution involved spiting the league in a way.

"I can't encourage this behavior. I can understand it, but in the eyes of the league, this is basically spitting in the face of La Primera, as well as all of your peers."

He groans.

"I know, that's why I'm doing it."

Larry looks around before asking him a question, mind slipping out of business mode for a second.

"Couldn't you just challenge them to a normal battle? They're brash, sure, but they don't seem too unreasonable. You could make your point without La Primera seeing."

Grusha shook his head.

"No way. I gotta make a bigger statement than that. Stay in their mind, remind them that their actions have consequences every time they try and pull some pointless bull."

Larry's eyes softened.

"Well, you're an adult. I can't stop you from doing this. I'm sorry you feel this is your only course of action."

Grusha shakes his head again.

"I've been considering this for so long, so..."

He trailed off, tilting his head and staring right over Larry's shoulder. After a few moments, Larry turns to see what it is, but it's seemingly nothing. He then looks back at Grusha, who seems tired.

"I- won't say anything to La Primera. I'll pretend I don't know what you're doing. Do what's best for you, okay?"

Grusha doesn't move.

He could see why he'd choose this path, in a weird way. His warnings didn't work, you didn't seem too worried about even the immediate future. And as much as he knows Grusha, he knows for him to consider this, he'd need to be pushed pretty far.

But he also knows he's different now.

He's still the same guy he's always been. Snarky, no-nonsense, dramatic at times. But he's also seen him slowly grow to consider your needs as well as his own. How he'd hesitate ever so slightly before answering simple questions about you. He'd hide the gentlest of smiles or look away so he wouldn't see the softening of his icy-cold glare whenever someone insinuates he likes you a little more than as just 'that weirdo'. Larry even remembered first hearing about a potential new friend of his, and the mentions only grew more frequent from there. You're something special to him.

And you're worth the risk to him. He wants to make a big show of it. He wants people to see. He wants you to remember how hard he tried to stop you, to make you more aware of how reckless you are.

To remember how far he's willing to go if it means he doesn't lose you.

Larry stands up, sighing.

"You two are certainly strange." He concedes, adjusting his tie.

Grusha just snorts.

"Yeah. I guess we are. Them because they're them, and me..."

His eyelids momentarily quiver as he continues to stare out in front of him.

"...because..."

He doesn't finish his sentence, but he doesn't need to. Larry simply nods. Grusha groans, running his hand down his face.

"I hope this works."

"As do I." The businessman says.

--v-Vv-

He's sitting on a chair in Ryme's house. His Cetoddle sits on the ottoman in front of him, cooing at him as he grips the arm rests with an intensity reserved for his angriest of moments. But right now, he wasn't angry at all. He felt empty.

The memories of that battle come back to him yet again.

["Grusha... but... is this allowed? ...don't lose your job over this, it's all you have left!"]

He lets out a huff. How could you say that? How could you not see how much you mean to him? What would he do if you still charge so carelessly head-first at life even after all this? He would've lost everything if that were the case. And he didn't want that.

Looking back, he felt ridiculous. His whole job? Did you even know the half of it?

You weren't there to see his career-ending injury. You aren't around to see him agonizing over his position whenever the champion comes along to test every gym leader. You don't know how little he had to claim as his own in his personal life. He didn't have to risk it all.

But he knew himself, and he knew you somehow crept up and became more important to him than his job. He knew, that even though he didn't need to, he wanted to do this. To show you that people can value you, even if you feel like background fodder, going about your life without a single eye on you other than those of your Falinks. That he knew his options were give up on trying to help you and keeping his job, or putting it all on the line to even attempt to get you to see reason.

But, despite how unhealthy it is, he felt as though in showing you you're worth the risk, maybe you'd see yourself as more important than his job, too. That you'd realize, putting yourself at risk meant risking someone he thought the world of. He knew the pressure would come crashing down on him eventually, but he didn't care. He had a reason to put it all out there.

If he could change your mind and stop your more dangerous behavior for long enough to start getting professional help, he'd consider it a win.

Ryme finally made her way back to the living room, silently holding a drink out for him. He takes it, ignoring her worried expression. She then leaves the room again, giving him his own space. He knows what she's thinking, but she doesn't say it. He's thankful for that.

She, despite teasing him regularly, really did love the kid. She knew when to back down, and this is one of those times. Sure, she saw this as somewhat ridiculous. But he's just a dude in his twenties trying to get through life despite everything he's gone through. She has about 40 years of experience he doesn't yet. She won't fault him for that. She only wishes he knew he could come to someone instead of jumping the shark on his own.

But she knows how long he must've been wrestling with this. How many nights he went to bed questioning his insistence on staying in your life despite your poor choices. How he'd always rationalize it as the one thing, even if that one thing might get you hurt someday.

Still, she had hope for you two. You could still have a fairly healthy relationship. You weren't being malicious, you were just... well, from his descriptions and the brief encounters she's had with you, she could tell something was "off". But she knew you were a good person, that you wanted to be the person he saw you as. You just thought differently. Your idea of "low risk" was skewed. And even if you saw the risk, you wouldn't really be deterred by it.

You and your dynamic with Grusha were endlessly fascinating to her. She knows how happy you make him, deep down. She hopes it continues past all this.

--v-Vv-

So much suddenly made sense.

The two of you leave the restaurant and start walking in separate directions. He stops, however, not exactly sure what to do next. Turning around, he sees you stopped as well.

"...so."

You tense up hearing his voice, but you respond, not turning around.

"...so..."

It's insanely awkward, yes, but something needs to be said.

"I know things are weird right now, but it doesn't need to be that way. I'm here for you, you know."

You suck in a breath.

"But, what about you? I wanna be there for you, too!"

He scoffs. He knew he had people, but did you?

"Look, how about we just be there for each other? Full-stop, like friends would."

It pained him to word it that way. Both because he knows you struggle with keeping friendships, and because he still held out hope of being more one day despite everything.

"But... what do friends... do?"

He smirks briefly, letting out a small breath.

"They're there for each other, but they also hold each other accountable when they need to."

"Like what you did?" You say, delivery full of self-loathing.

He grunts.

"Well, I guess. But people usually don't do things like that. Trust me, that's as crazy as I'm going to get."

You don't respond right away, but he can tell you're not thinking anything good, what with Falinks looking up at you with faces full of some sort of rising panic. When you do, you start shaking.

"I know... you should've given up on me already."

His heart drops.

"No." He said without really thinking, his eyes glued to you.

It's only then that you finally turn towards him.

"But... everything-"

He holds a hand up.

"Again, not everything. Besides, La Primera is giving me the chance to prove myself. I don't know if she's just doing it for ethical reasons, but I'll manage. Job or not, I- feel..."

He's suddenly blinking away tears, but he managed to keep any from falling by tilting his head back. He closes his eyes and continues, one deep breath later.

"I'll be fine. Really."

You point at him incredulously.

"Will you be? If you're fired, what will you do?"

He shrugs.

"We all have to make do with what we have."

"But not because someone screwed up so bad you almost threw your whole life away!"

You're trembling. Falinks starts nudging the back of your leg, prompting you to sit down. He waits a moment before walking over, sitting down beside you.

"Hey. We're gonna be okay, you hear?"

You simply splutter a little, a sob escaping you as you hiccup. He holds onto your shoulder, rubbing it a little.

"We- are good. You're good. I don't waste my time on people I don't like if I don't have to."

You nod.

"I know, but..."

You sniffle, wiping your face. He takes a moment to think of something to say, but he really can't. So he makes an offer.

"Hey... I'm currently staying at Ryme's. Feels weird being at home right now. Wanna come over? She's got this sweet game room, we could have a session IRL for once."

A smile flashes over your face for a brief moment, but you don't look up yet, face falling as fast as it lit up.

"Would she want me in her house? Does she even want me around you?"

He nods.

"Oh yeah. It's actually kinda crazy how happy she gets when I bring you up."

You furrow your eyebrows for a second before finally holding your head up a little higher, eyes wide.

"Wait, really?"

He grins. For the first time since all this went down, he feels an uncontrollable smile form on his lips.

"Absolutely."

You consider this offer, looking down again. He waits, patient, yet anxious for some reason. You sit up, finally looking him straight in the eye. His heart skips a beat.

"Ok. Let's do this."

--v-Vv-

Here he was, silently holding your hand on the couch. It's been over a month since you hashed it out at the restaurant. Grusha still technically had his job, but La Primera never formally let him off the hook. He was eager to prove himself, but he's also accepted that maybe things won't go the way he wishes them to, as she hasn't voiced an opinion one way or the other yet. Neutrality was always the most terrifying thing coming from her.

That's what he signed up for, but it still obviously hurt. What didn't hurt, however, was being there after your first therapy session.

He had picked you up earlier, asking you how it went, only for you to awkwardly shrug. Of course, this was the "getting to know you" phase, so it'd take a while before things got super deep. He hopes you won't close yourself off to your therapist or feel pressured to continue if anything feels off.

Sighing, he decided they already accomplished enough that day. He had to do some extra paperwork for Geeta, and you just started your therapy journey. Some rest would be nice. Not wanting to let go, yet knowing you two would need food eventually, he sat up, but not before giving your hand a little rub with his thumb.

He clasped his hands together. "Ok! Nourishment. You need it, I need it, what form would you like?"

You snort, but you do respond.

"I dunno! Maybe we can see where our tastebuds lead us."

He nods, looking out to the side for a second before responding.

"Bringing your Falinks?"

You stand up, laughing a little.

"You best assume I've been replaced with a doppelgänger if I ever say no to that."

He smiles. Of course, sounds reasonable to him.

You call for your partners, who run out from another room. Cetoddle is already headed for the door. He raises an eyebrow at you.

"Ok, ya ready?"

You walk over and grab his hand to hold it again, something that catches him off-guard. His eyes widen.

"More than ever!"

He grins, eyes full of nothing but adoration towards you. Maybe everything will be... a bit more than Ok.

--v-Vv-

A/N

Ended up making the prequel where Grusha gradually comes to like you/notice how dangerous you are to yourself

I like to imagine your relationship gradually becomes one of those "basically dating but nobody put a label on it or progressed passed aggressive cuddling/sleeping in the same space" type deals, might write for it eventually. This is not that yet, you're just at the "openly best friends"/"casually being at each other's houses" phase now. Also, you're still improving in the future, so it'd be fun writing how he deals with that. It'd be pretty wholesome on both sides. The main source of angst has been addressed and is now being tended to

(Feels weird calling it angst when it's a mental health thing, but it's what it'd be called in fanfic terms)

I like to imagine the reader had an apartment in Medali before going to the dorms. Feels right. The other option I gave myself was Cascarrafa, but I made Jacq's expy come from there while putting off posting this, so I put this one in the most normal town in Paldea cause lmao

[elelcomplains]

Having Hassel's Gible teralyze first into a grass type during art classes was a uh

A choice

Usually, in scar/vio, pokémons are teralyzed into a type that removes or makes them take neutral damage from otherwise super effective hits, or to remove some of the type weaknesses (usually quad weaknesses are prioritized).

I'm going all over them just for the sake of it (I fixated on this game and my brain won't let go):

•Katy's Teddiursa becomes a bug type (bug resists fighting)

•Brassius's Sudowoodoo becomes a grass type (removes weakness to water and ground, while still knowing Rock Throw to counter fire, flying and ice)

•Iono's Mismagius becomes an electric type (she has Levitate, enough said)

•Kofu's Crabominable becomes a water type, taking neutral damage from flying, psychic, fighting and fairy, and resisting steel)

•Larry's Staraptor becomes a normal type (removing all his weaknesses beside fighting, which counters thanks to Aereal Ace)

•Tulip's Florges becomes a psychic type (super effective against poison, resists steel, all while having Moonblast against dark types)

•Ryme's Toxtricity becomes a ghost type (removes his quad weakness to ground, knows Hex to counter ghost types)

•Grusha's Altaria becomes an ice type (removes her quad weakness to ice, knows Hurricane to counter fighting types)

And we're not over yet!

•Rika's Clodsire becomes a ground type (neutral damage to psychic, has Water Absorb, knows Toxic and Protect. Over all good counter moveset)

•Poppy's Tinkaton becomes a steel type (counters fighting with Play Rough, fire with Stone Edge)

•dear old Larry's Flamigo becomes a flying type (Liquidation and Close Combat counter rock)

•Geeta's Glimmora becomes a rock type (removes quad weaknesses to ground, only making it double weakness, neutral damage from psychic, Earth Power counters steel, Play Rough counters fighting, Sludge Wave counters grass)

And now we're getting to the REAL, saucy stuff, thank you for making it this far, I swear I'll talk about Hassel now

Dear old professor Hassel has a Baxcalibur he teralyze into a dragon type (neutral damage to fighting, rock and steel, resists fire, he knows Close Combat for ice types and Glaive Rush for dragon types). And it makes perfect sense, he's a dragon type trainer after all.

However, that little, round, absolute unit he uses to show teralyzation makes no sense.

As we know, Gible's line, aside for being feared since good old Sinnoh, being speedy as hell, and having the bad habit of sweeping a ton of various teams, has a very strong weakness to ice.

I've demonstrated so far that usually, quad weaknesses are prioritized in teralyzing, and I'm sure good old Hassel is aware of this, being an Elite four.

And yet, that little guy as a grass teratype, effectively still being weak to ice. Not only that, it is now weak to flying, fire, poison, bug, ice, and it loses its ground immunity.

From a utility point of view, it's clear that it's not the most advantageous teratype to have on a team member. Then again, the little guy is probably just for show, a class mascot, the little pokemon Hassel and Brassius are raising like their own child, the choice is yours.

Anyway, the class the little fella is shown in is a teralyzation demonstration. You'd think an art nerd like Hassel would pick literally any type, after all they're all beautiful crystals, no? Hell, the dragon teratype gives the pokemon a little crystal dragon, what's cooler than that for a dragon type Elite four that ALSO teaches art?

And yet, he's a grass teratype

(At least the first time, the second lesson is just a showcase from a battle point of view. Dendra must've put some common sense into Hassel's gay ass)

Like a certain artist we know Hassel is married to, I MEAN is friend with. Sorry, I had a lapsus there

And can we please talk about how Hassel doesn't spare himself from defining the flowers beautiful? I bet they make you think of your husband, don't they?

[lovingvalentines]

Okay, my friend put this love triangle in my head and now I need headcanons on it!

So what if there was a love triangle between Arven, Grusha and the MC(Female or Non bionary). So the MC is in love with Grusha, he loves them back but doesn't show it and Arven is in love with the MC, I just need some picture of how that would go

🥪/❆ Arven is heartbroken that youre giving all of your attention to that jerk! He has the most amazing person ever in love with him but he actively chooses to be an asshole!

🥪/❆ You often find yourself struggling between whether you should go for Grusha or not because he doesn't act very into you.

🥪/❆ Arven is always there to listen to you talk to him about how you feel about Grusha, even if it makes his blood boil to hear how uncertain and sad you are.

🥪/❆ Grusha very rarely let's people into his chaotic mind, so he tends to be closed off from everyone and that includes you.

🥪/❆ Grusha loves you, but he doesn't know how to show it. Also, it just seems uncool to let the person you like know that you like them apparently.

🥪/❆ Arven has enough one day and goes to Grusha with a proposal. If he wins, Grusha has to tell you how he feels.

🥪/❆ Arven somehow ends up winning. Power of friendship, maybe? No, power of sandwich number 80 and millions of Chansey.

🥪/❆ Grusha tells you, you two end up together. As sad as Arven is about it, he finds peace in knowing that you finally got the boy you wanted.

[amelikos]

Obligatory Dot in HZ063 post because she's been amazing this arc and I love how they keep showing fun sides of her character and how much she wants to give back to her friends.

It was funny seeing her be dramatic and say she was going to lie in the snow forever and say goodbye to her channel and thank everyone for their support.. She has silly moments too, and they are showing off that side of her a bit more this chapter! (Also liked that she still has a bit of a hard time walking a lot, she is building up more stamina, but she only recently started leaving her room, so being cold and extra tired when she has to walk in the snow isn't a surprise. She is trying though!)

Dot also encouraged Liko to try out a fun activity!

Since Liko had some time before her implementation test, Roy suggested they try the Arukujira-sledding. Dot looked up information about it and told them what she found, Roy thought it sounded fun and Dot said they should give it a try. Liko was a bit reluctant at first because her test was coming up soon (so I think she wanted to remain focused on that), but Nyarote and Terapagos looked like they wanted to try it. Roy encouraged Liko further, and Dot said it could be a good warm-up for her test (so she tried to find a reason to link it back to Liko's test).

Usually, it's Liko and Roy who invite Dot to try out new things, such as when Liko wanted Dot to eat curry back in HZ027. So seeing Dot being the one excited about trying out new things and playing and encouraging Liko to do so as well feels special, and it shows how much she's changed. Dot was cold and tired from walking too, and it's not like she was used to this kind of thing since she almost fell when the Pokemon was sledding (and Welcamo had to catch her). Yet, she still wanted to try something unknown for the first time, go out of her comfort zone, and not pass up on the opportunity.

Bringing up this one because I liked the way Dot's VA sounded in this scene. It felt so affectionate when she said her line? Which was cute.

I also felt like Dot was trying to ease a potential awkward silence here and make conversation with Liko (instead of letting her be the one to handle it).

I think she probably felt a bit guilty/responsible for Grusha scolding Liko. Grusha told Liko that if she was goofing around right before her test, then she must feel confident about it. Liko was initially a bit reluctant to try out the sledding precisely because her test was coming up, and Dot was the one who encouraged her to come along. So I feel like Dot thought that she was part of the reason why Grusha made such a comment towards Liko and spoke to Liko to take her mind off things.

Also liked the way this line was delivered.

It was surprising to hear Dot raise her voice a bit to encourage Liko before the battle began, yet it still felt controlled a bit in a way (in comparison, Roy feels like he is going all out in the way his lines are delivered when he encourages someone). She is trying to cheer on Liko.

Also something about that casual display of trust between Liko and Dot by showing Dot carry Terapagos. Liko entrusts Terapagos to her! They showed it once before in HZ056 when Dot was the one holding Terapagos when Liko was battling Chili. I love that she is getting close to Liko's Pokemon.

At the end of the episode, Roy and Dot were trying to reassure Liko. Dot brought up her own experience with her implementation test to illustrate her point. Liko failed her test, though. And Dot was the one who asked Grusha to give Liko another chance (Liko didn't ask for it). Another unexpected side of her coming through here. She really wanted Liko to have another try at it, because it meant that much to her.

[onedayimgonnasnap]

Ok so I’m gonna give you another request(at this point I’m gonna take up most of them LMAO) but it’s a little less chaotic(you can make it more chaotic though if you want 💀)

If you don’t know MC is actually good with children(it was shown in a event at some point) so can do you a fic where Lance and MC are taking care of Christoph at the academy(so like in the future of after the chaos of her and Christoph being brought to one of Iritium’s hidy places) cuz it’s safer there then whenever Christoph was staying before and Christoph is like “Ya know, I don’t remember my parents but if I had to guess, you two are the closest to them” and MC’s heart just melts cuz that’s the cutest thing she’s ever been told and Lance is like 😦😶🫢😅🥹(cuz istg they’re adorable, like father like son and like brother like brother) and Lance has already had a crush on MC by this point so when he registers what was said about them being a mother and father figure to Christoph he’s like “Ay me and MC having a family doesn’t sound so ba- wait what”

I just find this a really cute idea haha

This is really cute- Awe 😭😭 Ngl this is my first time writing this cute, I’m used to writing chaotic fics more because they’re funnier to me 💀. And I don’t mind how much times you ask lol

Anyways ahem-

Lance X Reader

~The Cottage Life~

Warning: Just a little bit of cursing (I don’t know what you expect from me 💀) Also gross fluff-

TW: Children

After you and Lance graduated from the academy officially, everyone of the princes and Valets started to fulfill their duties in the kingdom.

You and Lance decided to go run off somewhere with Christoph, Robin and Grusha with the full support of the princes helping you out and keeping where you both are hidden.

That leads you prior to now, you all found a abandoned cottage in the forest near a small village that are out fast leading people to not recognize any of you.

The cottage was rundown, full of dust, cobwebs, pest and such. But it seemed perfect at least, it has three bedrooms which you all split up, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a dusty living room which would sure be troublesome fixing but it could work.

It took you all months to finally renovate the cottage, but in the end it was all worth it. It finally felt like home, you and Lance both got separate jobs around the small village while Christoph would stay home protected by the fierce wolf and cat.

Lance felt at peace finally after many years of his old life, he was finally free of everything around it, he was undoubtedly happy.

He does have his worries sometimes about you though, longing to be something more than friends but to prideful to say anything about it.

Of course he had his moments out of nowhere he would bring animals home using his puppy eyes to keep him while you kicked his ass to the curb outside when he brought in a camel that one time.

Christoph also seems to enjoy this all, he has fun playing games with you and Lance, not worrying about the dangers out in the world.

He never had a real family up until now, he heard you say once that you all were like a family the other day and he felt extremely joyful over it. He cares about you and Lance with all his being.

.

.

.

You all were sitting in the living room playing a card game while Robin and Gruscha were exploring the forest together.

You were in the lead since you and your parents used to be extremely good at board games in general during family game night.

Lance banged his head in the table clearly frustrated looking at you with his brows furred together.

You teasingly smirked at him, “Aw what’s the matter Lance? You want your baby bottle? You give up already” You smiled teasing him even more

“What ever MC I’ll get it next time it’s just my luck.” He said glaring at you.

“Haha yeah right luck.” You said while giggling and rolling your eyes.

Christoph smiled looking at you both, he was clearly having a good time he then spoke; “Ya know, I don’t remember my parents but if I had them you two would be closest to them.”

You then started coughing trying to hide the blush growing on your face. Lance wasn’t doing anything better he put his head down with his ears showing how flustered he was.

Christoph clearly not clueless looked back and forth at you both smiling, knowing what was happening.

“Christoph don’t say things like that out of nowhere.”MC said looking away with a red face.

Lance looked up suddenly secretly amused at the sight of MC blushing his heart started racing, ‘I mean it wouldn’t be that bad if we were all a- WAIT NO’

Lance soon shook the thought out of his mind.

Christoph watched as you both were having your identity crisis.

“Well I’m gonna go upstairs in my room and take a nap.” Christoph said making a fake big yawn while walking up the stairs in a hurry leaving you and Lance alone.

…

You looked back down at Lance to take a peek at his reaction to realize how flustered he looked, you then smiled, realizing you have a chance if you play it cool.

“So Lance wanna play the dad of our happy family?” You winked, and cringed secretly at your bad attempt at flirting.

Lance looked up and blushed a little more looking hard into your eyes, you both stared at each other clearly both nervous.

“Well, I think I should go finish my novel in my room.” You said while quickly getting up on your feet running upstairs to avoid the awkwardness of the whole situation.

Lance soon snapping out of his thoughts, watched you book it up the stairs fast before he could say anything to you, he then looked down to his hands all of the sudden disappointment.

.

.

.

After a few hours passed, it is now night. You were on your bed tucked in reading a good mystery novel.

Robin decided to sleep with Christoph which you didn’t mind because lately Robin has been getting a habit of sleep talking and kicking you in his sleep.

You put the book down all of the sudden with a certain memory of your poor attempt at flirting crossed your mind. Never to let you live it down, you put a pillow to your face rolling around and then hitting your head on the pillow trying to get rid of the embarrassing thought.

… knock knock

Pulled you out of your thoughts. You assumed it was Christoph trying to convince you take backs for Robin.

So you got up and opened the door to see Lance staring down at you with pink tinted cheeks looking away.

“Hello?” You spoke asking him thinking of anything else to hide the blush trying to get on your face.

“… May I come in to speak with you?” He asked still looking at the back of my room avoiding eye contact.

“Sure- I don’t mind at all.” You embarrassingly spoke to quickly.

“Here Lance come on in,”

Lance soon stood in the middle of the room as you took a seat on your bed. He walked towards you and crouched down to you level looking directly at you eyes and whispered in your ear…. “I love you”

You then looked up at him while your heart started beating so fast, you whisper the same affirmation as him as well.

“I love you too Lance”

Lance pulled out a small smile which was rare but everytime you saw it you adored it.

“May I kiss you?” He looked away embarrassed he asked you.

You pulled him down and kissed his lips he then kissed you back passionately.

You both were kissing until-

“MC? Lance?” Christoph came into the room shocked and clearly traumatized at the scene.

Robin and Gruscha were behind him clearly also traumatized at the scene.

[xi-writes]

Title— Coincidental

Prompt— "Do Yandere Grusha" They were joking. I was not.

Safety— NSFW in a Violent way

Additional Tags— Yandere, it's fucked up what else do I say? You're here for a reason ain't ya?

1. Ever since your first meeting when you melted right through his ice types, you had unknowingly burned a deep hole through the frost covering his heart as well. Never one for photo's or overly close contact, Grusha treasured the one photo he managed to take with you. Not thinking much of it at the time while his feelings were new his obsession ever so slowly grew the more he saw you, the more you kept coming back for battles and to see him for any and every reason. The more ice melted away; faster and faster until it was too late for you to stop it...

2. Although being perfectly capable of conflict, powerful both with his pokemon and his hands having an iron grip tainted by the harshness of the mountains cruel grasp. At first Grusha settled for a silent withdrawn approach to making you stay with him for longer every visit, even going so far as to train his pokemon for the occasion.

3. At first it was small things you hadn't caught on too; a sudden snowstorm no one could have predicted locked you inside his gym with him and only him leaving you two talking for several hours, unavoidable errands you ended up helping with having you walking by his side for longer then you planned to stay to begin with, his pokemon had grown friendly for you outside of his original plans and he made sure to use that to its absolute fullest the excuse of having them happy and lonely without your company preying on your soft spot for pokemon and making you stay close that way was an unexpected but welcome addition to his plans.

4. The first time he ever did something in danger of being exposed had been the first but not last time his emotions lit with the fire of a hatred brewing within him ever since your first encounter. Your rivals unlucky appearance struck a cord within his already heated heart, Nemona disrupted your after battle chats with him for a fight of her own as she usually did when you two crossed paths. Strangely since that day however Nemona had never bothered you again for a fight and refused to join you at all when travelling to see Grusha again, cautiously chalking it up to friendly jealousy you never pressed on the matter... Completely unknown to the sweet friend you made lashing out in ways you had never known he was capapble of, behind closed doors the cold wintered heart shone through once again in harsher storms then ever before.

5. It had been this way for several months, Grusha silently constructing coincidences behind your back; slowly growing more confident and vicious in taking down anyone who dared to speak up for his wrong doings or get in his way. The first time Grusha ever slipped up on his act had been your unpredictable u-turn having forgotten something in his gyms lobby you had walked back inside to witness what you immediately thought was the very reason Grusha gained his ice cold title. Caught in a one handed choke hold held above the ground dangling helplessly in the air from just one hand the trainer in his grasp barely being able to cry let alone much of anything else, you quickly realised the person Grusha was all but strangling had been the one eyeing you suspiciously for a few hours now... Hesitantly, Grusha let him go when you called his name, quick to notice his mistake he switched back immediately to the soft loving person you knew. Managing to think up a quick reply to satisfy your curiosity. Would you truly believe he was "Protecting you from being hurt"? or perhaps, that bitter shiver inducing shine in Grusha's usually soft eyes had more meaning then you could ever be prepared for.

[chaoticgeminate]

Cloud Nine (iv)

Summary: Returning home to Paldea to retire, after living a life known as the "Champion of Champions" brings you back to an old friend -now a new love- with dark secrets who need your help.

Pairing: Javi G x f!Reader

Rating: T (Any smut is going to be implied only)

Notes/Warnings: Nothing major, this story is going to be fairly light hearted, though I will be using some of the wild Pokédex entries as reference for a few scenes.

Written for @yearofcreation2023

Series Masterlist | Year of Video Game AUs Masterlist

and we'll ride off into the sunset (5k)

“Thank you Red, Professor Oak, you two have a good evening.” As the video call disconnected you leaned back in your seat and resisted the urge to groan, going through all of Lucas’ employee lists had revealed that there were a large number of his criminals that came from regions outside of Paldea. His goal had been to gain control over Paldea first and then slowly spread his influence, which was about what you’d expected, but the other Pokémon Leagues had actually been forced to sit up and take action with this new evidence.

Kanto had been the first to respond positively to your calls, with Red and Professor Oak both showing no hesitation to ensure the Kantonian criminals were put into prison where they belonged. Lance, in Johto, had been the next to respond favorably and even came to escort the Johtonese Rocket members back to their home region. The others had been exceedingly reluctant, though Leon’s reluctance stemmed from his poor sense of direction and being so new to his role of Champion, but caved in the end as more and more evidence piled up against their regions.

Confirmation that the last of the criminals had been locked up, hopefully for good, meant that this was officially over. Javi had been detained too, which was to be expected since he’d technically kept quiet about his family’s plan to bring the defunct Team Rocket back into power, but his involvement in starting their take-down was being considered to lighten his sentencing. You’d been under investigation as well, given that you’d traversed the world only to come back and start a relationship with Javi, but proving your own innocence was surprisingly easy after you submitted your Rotom Phone for their search warrant and they found nothing tying you to Team Rocket outside of putting them behind bars.

“All done?” You looked up to see Grusha and Katie, carrying hot drinks and a tray of treats, and your relieved groan made both of them chuckle fondly. Dramatically you draped your upper body over your desk and faked a few sobs, though you absolutely did take a few snacks from the tray once it was set down because you hadn’t realized how damn hungry you were, and that made Katie release an even louder laugh as you shoveled a pastry or two into your mouth with little care about how graceful you looked.

“Poor thing, have you eaten anything since Javi was taken in?” You opened your mouth to argue that, yes you had, only to close it and realize that you hadn’t. The lack of response on your end earned a soft look full of sympathy, your stress levels had been through the roof because Javi refused to allow you to use your position as the Champion to get him out easily. He wanted the citizens of Paldea to trust him -which you understood completely as much as you hated it- so he wanted to go through the entire court process, even if that ended up with him in prison for any length of time.

“I don’t- I can’t lose him now that I’m finally back.” A soft sound of sympathy escaped Grusha as the young man reached out to hold your hand, all the work you’d been doing had kept you busy and kept you from thinking about what happened and what was happening in court. Now that it was done you realized that all you could do was wallow, was hope that people understood Javi’s intentions had always been good, you needed them to see he’d waited for you to come back because he’d needed the ability to guarantee your safety after Lucas’ threats against you.

His surrender of all his own business records, his Rotom phone, his computer, everything had to count for something!

“It’s going to work out.” Katie’s firm positivity was something you envied, you wanted to be positive but you really didn’t know how you could.

Rotom buzzed with mirth as he zipped around the clearing, you’d turned off the device and allowed the little Pokémon inside of it some freedom -as you did often- for the day. The last two weeks had been hard for you now that you had legal responsibilities on top of your general League duties, like ensuring the Gym Leaders were up to snuff, and you spent a lot of your free time watching the news broadcasts for any updates on the Team Rocket trials. Poppy, as a child mixed up in all of this, was being sent to live with an Aunt from her mother’s family in the Orange Islands; meaning you were also looking for another person to add to the Elite Four as well.

Due to the vast number of Team Rocket members that had been part of law enforcement, and the legal process as a whole, things across Paldea had come to a grinding halt. The League season delayed two months and every Uva Academy student asked to return to the school and put their Treasure Hunt on hold, stolen Pokémon were being tracked down and returned to their owners, and the League was assisting in that as well. Except for you, of course, because you were busy preparing to meet with the region’s politics of media and privacy laws.

After the media caught wind that you’d enlisted children in your investigation the reporters had swarmed any student they could find, another big part of why Director Clavell had decided to call everyone back to the Academy, and the number of children that had reported feeling cornered and threatened to answer questions had skyrocketed to a worrisome degree. As you read over the rough draft of the complaints, and what the law might entail if put into effect, you wanted to scream over how much legal jargon you’d been forced to learn in order to get this far.

Larry had been the one to sit and listen to draft after draft, revision after revision, until he gave you a green light on the wording.

The beach behind your mother’s house was quiet after she outright exploded on countless members of the press that had tried to come hunting you down for a story, watching her scold them like naughty children into slinking away had been well worth the excess coddling and fussing she’d had in store for you upon returning home. The goal had been to keep yourself busy so you didn’t spend all day checking for news updates, or rushing to find a television, it was why you’d let Rotom out of the device as a way of forcing yourself to not continue to wallow.

As you closed your eyes, the weight of everything sort of hitting you at once, you could feel the way your mind blanked. When was the last time you’d managed to sleep, truly sleep, and not just drift in and out of consciousness? Poe, who was curled up in your lap, didn’t seem too upset as you laid the stack of papers back in your bag and reclined in the beach chair; the rest of your team was nearby too and with the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze tempering the heat you drifted off.

What stirred you awake wasn’t the warm body shifting you to curl up with you on the two seater lounge chair, it wasn’t Poe’s little trill of joy, or even the familiar cologne and even more familiar arms holding you close. When you did stir it was to the motions of your sturdy pillow breathing deep, the faint snore that your brain knew on a deeper level than any consciousness, the feeling of soft linen against your cheek and sturdy legs tangled with yours in all too familiar of a hold. You blinked and stared at the incredibly vivid orange shirt, glanced up at the patchy facial hair and outline of loose fluffy curls, and in your haste to sit up and stare at him your hand pressed hard into Javi’s ribs and his snore turned to a wheeze of surprise.

“Javi!” He blinked away his sleep and grunted when you threw yourself back onto him, unable to stop the way you basically smothered him in your excitement and his arms looped around you to squeeze you just as tightly. Javi’s hand rubbed your back as the first round of tears started and he sniffled quite loudly above you, just as emotional as you were, while Poe and Arizona cuddled together with their ribbons twined together on the sand.

“Mi amor, it was hard to track you down, Mama called me and told me you were here.” Your mother had clearly been paying attention to the news to be able to call him the moment he had his Rotom Phone back, you’d have to make sure you treated her to the best vacation in gratitude.

“I just wanted to get away from the cameras for a while, and I’ve been working on proposing privacy laws for the kids. It’s just been a lot.” Javi kissed the crown of your head and hummed, you knew if you looked up at him his eyes would be misty but right now you were just happy he was here.

“I heard, it is very impressive indeed. I am proud of you for doing what you can to protect the students who are coming after you in this region, they deserve someone looking out for their ability to go around without getting accosted by reporters trying to get a story.” Javi tipped your chin up to kiss you, making you smile against his lips, and he tapped his nose to yours before shifting to just lay on his back. The top half of the buttons on his shirt were open and you couldn’t help but trace the wide display of his chest when you raised yourself over him, wanting to just recline on him, and Javi smiled as you did just that.

“I was very fortunate, people let me tell my side of the story and didn’t make any hard accusations after it was revealed how many times I had attempted to anonymously report Lucas and my father for their plans only for it to fail due to their influence. I had known some of the police had been bought out but I had not known -at the time after you left- that they had the Chief of Police under their wallet as well.” You nodded once and were glad that Javi had kept all the records he had, of all the times he’d tried to do the right thing, and his hand rested against the back of your head as the two of you just enjoyed the sun together.

Your conversation shifted from the court case to the outcome, Lucas was going to be put into prison for a very long time and his pokémon were going to undergo rehabilitation to live in the wild. Every member of Team Rocket that had joined by choice had prison sentences of varying lengths and bans on owning any pokémon as well, and you could only hope that they truly learned their lesson rather than decided to bide their time to try and come back.

Javi was just as happy as you expected of him when you’d mentioned tracking down the stolen pokémon and reuniting them with their trainers, as well as arresting and imprisoning those who knowingly purchased stolen pokémon, and as the two of you just relaxed together you felt the anxiety and stress finally start to leave you knowing that he was safe.

Geeta had taken on the position of the Steel Type trainer for the Elite Four as a temporary measure with this League Season coming to a close, you being home meant that an interim Champion wasn’t necessary and with Geeta serving as the Steel Type trainer it allowed Addie to face her anyway. Addie had plowed through them all with determination, wit, and strength; the bonds she had with her team were strong and you felt the arena go quiet as you waited for your entrance. You’d been against something flashy and over the top but the coordinators had wanted to do something like Galar and make it big, to celebrate the win over Team Rocket, and Javi had gone as far as buying the outfit you were wearing today.

The lovely patterned button-down was a mosaic of colors, reminding you of the Mesagoza tiling, paired with bright white slacks that were high waisted; you tucked the shirt in and kept a good portion of the buttons undone, showing off some of your black bra underneath and your black flats were comfortable and stylish. You had your pokéballs on your belt and a flashy new watch on your wrist, feeling like this was it. No matter what happened, no matter who won, you felt like you could breathe because everything was finally right.

“Presenting our challenger, the newest graduate of Uva Academy and the Second in Command to Operation Rocket Fall, a hero of Paldea everywhere! Addie Cage!”

The crowd roared with excitement for the girl as she stepped out onto the field, you could see from the screen the way she waved happily and greeted everyone. The way she shaped her own future, not following her father’s path into fame by films or her mother’s path into fame through music, the teen was carving her way into the spotlight in the same path you walked and you were proud of her for it. The platform under your feet trembled and you sighed, putting a determined expression on your face, and one glance at the screen as it moved over the crowd showed Javi sitting with Jacq and the rest of the staff from the Academy as well as the Gym Leaders.

“Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Our Champion of Champions, hero of Paldea, the leader of Operation Rocket Fall and the greatest pokémon trainer to come out of our region! Let me hear you make some noise!”

Your name became a chant on the crowd as the platform raised, the smokescreen hiding you as an ice beam was shot overhead and exploded into the smallest shards to reflect prisms into the spotlight, and your hand raised as Poe stood at your side. The arena’s sound levels were through the roof and Addie smiled at you across the way, your own mouth curling up as you offered her a mock salute. You stepped closer to the center of the ring and offered your fist, letting Addie bump hers to yours.

“Ready to see how you stack up to the Champion?” You watched the way Addie grinned, her smile bright as she nodded, and you couldn’t help but reach out to tug on the brim of her hat before winking and heading back to your position as she did the same. Music exploded through the loudspeakers and you weren’t surprised to see that Addie was ready to go right off the bat. Her Salazzle was likely meant to counter Poe, given his fairy typing, but you weren’t starting with your first ever pokémon and Addie’s eyes sparkled as your Pawmot -Mittens- greeted you with a trilling cry.

Despite his little legs your Pawmot wasn’t a competitor to laugh at, proven when you commanded him to blast his opponent with a thunderbolt, and Addie’s quick thinking to counter the burst of electricity with acid spray to stop the bolt by giving it a new target. As Salazzle darted in for a fire lash you commanded Mittens to dig underground, the rocks and dust kicking up as he avoided the attack by going below, while Salazzle used poison gas to crate a cloud of noxious fumes around her.

From below ground Mittens, at your sharp command, used rain dance to trigger a gathering of clouds above that turned into a storm. The gas and any fire type moves were weakened enough that Mittens exploded from the hard ground, hitting Salazzle hard, and as you commanded him to use thunder it was Addie’s sharp command of protect that reduced the impact of the powerful electric strike. You grinned at the play and had Mittens go for a close combat since Salazzle’s protection was broken.

The acid spray was diluted from the rain but you knew that Mittens was still going to need an antidote because even with his successful attack you could tell he’d been poisoned. His little body swayed slightly before he shook his head and chirped, drumming his little chest like he was defying the fact that he was poisoned, and Salazzle hissed as she moved in for a fire lash. The thunder that Mittens called down right as his opponent got close enough was blinding and you watched as both Pokémon fainted in the aftermath.

You kissed Mittens’ pokéball and promised you’d treat him soon as you sent out your Clodsire as Addie’s Tatsugiri made an appearance on the field, the little orange water dragon making you smile as it growled in defiance of its opponent. You were a little surprised she hadn’t called on her Quaquaval, since he had a secondary typing as fighting and would have a move advantage over a ground type, but you suspected she was saving her starter for Poe.

“We’re gonna wash you away!” Addie’s confidence made you grin, the kind of crazed smile of excitement knowing that you were in for a spectacular battle.

Javi watched as Galena faced Tatsugiri, your Clodsire was a powerful tank of a pokémon after the years of training and sparring, and he couldn’t help but marvel at the way Addie used the water portion of the arena to her advantage with a series of water pulses in order to stack dragon dance and give itself a power up. But Galena hadn’t been idle and using several gunk shots on the water itself to steadily taint the environment before using protect to avoid falling victim to the hydro pump meant to take her out. Addie’s command for an outrage was smart but the moment Tatsugiri exited the water it was clear that the poison had gotten into its little system.

Beside him Nic was shouting his daughter’s name, cheering her on, and Javi couldn’t help but smile because Addie truly was proving to be one of the best competitors you’d faced in a long time. Her bond with her pokémon was strong, it showed when Tatsugiri shook off the poison long enough to land a powerful chilling water on Galena and KO your second choice. It was clear you were having a good time, Javi was one of the only people who knew every variety of a smile you could make and while some might see yours as borderline dangerous he knew that in reality you were buzzing with adrenaline.

Your third choice was Riki, the Farigiraf had been a new addition to your team not long before you became Champion but in a short time you’d formed a lasting bond with him, and Riki was raring to go. The twin beam that he used was strong enough on the first blow to KO the little water dragon and Addie just nodded, knowing that Tatsugiri had pushed through for her. Watching her Houndstone bark as he made his appearance, an almost direct and obvious counter to Riki’s normal and psychic typing, all Javi could do was smile.

Ghost moves would be ineffective, it was the dark type moves that you’d have to watch out for, but he wasn’t at all surprised when you used your go-to combo with Riki. Agility for speed and a barrage of shadow balls as the larger pokémon galloped around the canine ghost, only interrupted by the stomping tantrum that Addie used to crack the hard terrain and allow her Houndstone to set up for a snarl and crunch combo. But you’d been ready with a thunder wave and twin beam combo to take advantage of the brief paralysis.

Addie called back her KO’d ghost type and huffed, all while Riki stomped his feet ready to face whatever challenge came next.

Kilowattrel was fast, wicked fast, and Javi was biting his nails as the avian pokémon wove around the attacks you tried to use in order to take it down; agility was off the table now that the terrain was split up enough to risk Riki hurting himself navigating it. But watching you use thunder wave made him almost shout, worried about the volt absorb ability that was common to Kilowattrel, only to gasp when your opponent was slowed.

“Your Kilowattrel is a wind power variety? Good.” The confidence you had, and your knowledge of pokémon ability classifications, was another reason Javi was sure that you had been able to take on the toughest opponents and come out on top. The fact that you’d been willing to test your opponent, to take the risk, made him cheer as Nic groaned softly when Riki clipped the slowed pokémon with his twin beam. But Addie was not here to surrender easy and after kicking up a hurricane, going so far as to make sure the poisoned water was caught up in the raging winds, she used discharge to create a wide range attack that wasn’t able to be dodged.

Instead you opted to use shadow ball like a shield and had Riki shoot several large ones, the volatile energy connecting and breaking apart the electric currents enough that they were severely weakened. Addie went for a brave bird as you had Riki charge another shadow ball and the impact of the two was a burst of energy that led to a double KO. You still had the advantage, three pokémon to Addie’s two, but Javi had a feeling the younger Cage had saved her heavy hitters for the end.

Sneaky ran a frantic circle when he made his appearance as Addie sent her Clodsire out, your eyes narrowing slightly in consideration, and Javi realized this was where you were going to need to be careful. Sneaky had a type disadvantage even though his costume acted like a substitute at least once, and Sugar was going to be struggling with the ongoing spray of water from the slowly fading hurricane. Poe would have to be the one to face against Addie’s Quaquaval, since Sugar would have a type disadvantage, but Clodsire wasn’t a weak pokémon.

You felt like you were running hundreds of calculations with each second that passed, paying attention to Addie’s assault with earthquake and venoshock as Sneaky used shadow sneak and light screen to avoid and negate damage while you came up with a strategy. Sugar’s fire and ghost typing was a wash against Quaquaval unless you could set up torch song at least once or twice, the water and fighting type wasn’t the worst match up but it wasn’t great for you either. You had an opening when Addie’s Clodsire went to set up a yawn and used sunny day to set up for Sugar and wipe away the hurricane remnants.

Addie made a noise of irritation that you could hear from your side of the field, you remembered back then when terrain and status moves were something you often avoided using too, and suspected that she didn’t have a direct counter. With the warmth drying out the ground quickly you jumped on the distraction to get a psychic out, one of the few direct counters you had to poison typing, and watched as Clodsire tanked the hit only to lob a venoshock and acid spray in succession that slowed your little buddy down.

Sneaky hissed and you commanded another psychic knowing that play rough wasn’t going to help here, while your little ghost worked to run away from the poison attacks that Addie was chaining in an attempt to catch him off guard. Sneaky wasn’t able to withstand the poison though, likely the strong toxicity from the double direct attack, and you resisted the urge to curse as Sugar roared when you sent him out. Your Skeledirge was your second ever pokémon, your gift from Uva Academy for entering, and he’d been by your side for decades now.

Sugar was likely capable of winning it all -because you weren’t going to just let Addie win to retire- but that was reliant on how many times you could chain torch song without interruption. Clodsire was slow though and you could tell Addie didn’t have any water type moves in her repertoire for him, it gave you a solid chance. As soon as you commanded it you watched Addie’s jaw shift, the way she clearly tried to calculate her choices. It was obvious to use earthquake here but Sugar’s torch song was more than enough to disrupt the attack, making you grin as he set up the second one.

Clodsire tried to set up a yawn but the second torch song cut through the attempt and you were starting to feel more confident now for Quaquaval to make his appearance. All you needed was one more torch song to guarantee that Sugar’s attack power -which was amplified by the move itself and by the weather effect you’d put up- would be boosted enough to possibly just take out the water type with a few good blows. Knowing he’d be slow back then had led to you training up his speed, which was the best move you could have made, because people underestimated Sugar’s speed and movement all the time.

It was a grueling battle between Clodsire and Sugar, the two trading off attempts at heavy hitting blows, but Addie’s little tank proved to be resilient enough to KO your boy before it went down too and you held Sugar’s pokéball tightly and whispered about how proud you were of him. You made a mental note to treat all of them to the best sandwiches, a long picnic, and lots of cuddles for doing so well.

“Are you ready, Poe?” Beside you your Sylveon, your first ever pokémon, your partner since the very beginning barked once and jumped into the arena as Quaquaval made its appearance. You had a type advantage and an experience advantage, though you were lacking some of the surprise since videos of your battles against the Elite Four had been posted everywhere. But that, you decided, was just fine. Addie met your gaze across the battle field and you nodded, ready to finish it here.

As you grabbed your Tera orb you watched Addie do the same, boosting her water-type moves given Quaquaval’s water Tera type, and you watched the way her teeth grit together when Poe’s grass Tera typing was revealed.

The arena was going crazy and you turned to look at Javi when he ran down from the stands, smiling fondly when he captured you in his arms for a hug, and Arizona let out a soft trill as she curled around the exhausted form of Poe as your partner made his way back to your side. Addie walked over, cradling the pokéball of her defeated Quaquaval, and you pulled her into a tight hug. “You did so well, I think next League season I’ll have to really watch my back. A little more experience under that belt of yours and I’m done for.”

“You better believe it!” Hearing her confident reply, knowing that her spirit wasn’t dimmed by the defeat at all, made you grin and turn her over to her parents as the ring announcer declared you to be the reigning Champion still. You glanced at Javi, who was smiling, and he held your hand high up in the air the same way he’d done all those years ago when you’d first been named the Champion. It felt bittersweet, you were ready to retire from all of it, but there was still a lot for you to do as the Champion now that you’d been all over and seen some of the flaws in how the regions protected their upcoming trainers.

Being able to work one-on-one with Addie to help her have a better footing for when -because you knew it wasn’t an if question- she defeated you would be best. Addie’s friends crowded her, cheering on her battle skills, and you made the choice to level up and train a new team for the next League season. To relive your adventure of catching and training a team from the ground up, to face Addie on more equal footing, and to rejoice being home.

\“Are we going to be going on an adventure, mi amor?” The fact that Javi knew you well enough to tell what you were thinking was just proof of how close the two of you really were.

“Yeah, as soon as League season starts again I’m going to start over to face Addie and any other challengers on more equal footing.”

“I cannot wait to spend more time under the stars with you.” Javi squeezed your hand gently, the closing ceremony was more a formality as they placed the Champion Medallion on your neck, and you followed Addie and her friends out of the arena where they eagerly discussed classes that would happen until the next season rolled around. You turned and kissed Javi gently, making him smile into the kiss, and headed for the pokémon center to heal your team up.

Before you could get mobbed by reporters you let Javi call a flying taxi to get you both back to your place, to just get away from it all for today, and you were ready to start your new chapter with him now that you had the time and chance to do so. In a few short months you’d be traveling all over Paldea again, just like you had when you were ten, but right now you curled up with your boyfriend and let him whisper words of love and pride into the crown of your head as you thanked the stars that he was able to be here with you like this.

The dawn of your retirement would come, but for now you still had work to do.

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[kokorowoutsu]

-- Willow: Tidbits

Willow was born in a time distorted area that led to a past version of a unknown region. She came back with her parents when they were brought back to Area Zero.

Willow knows how to defend herself even at a young age. She is seen with a small knife at all times.

She takes after looks in terms more towards Leon's side but there are traits of Ashe if one looks close enough, especially her blue-green eyes. If her father is the sun, her mother is the moon, and she is their little wandering star.

Her first pokemon and partner is Larvae the Larvesta.

She loves the opposite of her mother in terms of food -- spicy dishes and chocolate. She's a complete fiend when chocolate is involved in particular.

She was born under Aries skies.

She is 75% human and 25% fae. She cannot use magic as much as her mother or grandmother, but she can imbue her mana into her weapons, making her a Weapon Mage in the making.

She is more familiar with her maternal family's side but she has been accepted by her paternal family just as much as well as the friends. Her maternal uncles and aunts and extended family, however, question whether Ashe is a good mother to Willow, but she claims she has nothing to prove. Willow is none the wiser.

Willow's favorite uncles are Kianga and Juno. She thinks Night and Hop are interesting. Her favorite 'great' is her great-aunt Aestas.

Willow struggles with modern technology and being around big cities. She's always known the forest and small villages, so she prefers to stick closer to them.

As far as anyone knows, while Willow is healthy physically, she suffers from autism and sees the world differently already.

Like her mother, she can talk to pokemon with PokeSpeech. She can hear them as clear as day.

She attends a private school instead of Blueberry Academy. Her mother didn't want her to go through the same trauma she had when she was her age. The school is run by her godfather's godfather, James Xavier, who has been personally working with her to catch up academically.

Academically she is behind, but she has been learning to read and write in the modern universal language of the timeline she lives in. She actually is very fluent in Fae, Unovan/Galarian, PokeSpeech, and learning Alolan.

She likes to play tag and hide and seek, and is quite taken with Poke-Sports thanks to her Uncle Grusha (cousin, but who's keeping count?).

She vibes with Team Valor.