#Pokémon fanfic

[nxrdamp]

I’m having a huge Arven moment so I decided to ask for something cute and a little funny ☺️

Maybe Arven’s mabosstiff dislikes the reader’s dachsbun for awhile, until they just turn into inseparable best friends 😭 I love dogs and these two canine dog Pokémon stole my heart!!

Masterlist

Arven x Gn! Reader - Puppy Love

A warm sunny day in Paldea, something that was no rare occurrence. Nevertheless still enjoyed. Especially enjoyed by one little Dachsbun. (Y/n)’s Dachsbun was currently frolicking in the fields surrounding their picnic, playing with the (orange/purple) ball.

“Wow little buddy” Arven said while finely chopping basil for the sandwich,”Your Dachsbun there sure loves the outdoors. Cant say the same for ol’ Mabosstiff here.”

Mabosstiff, who was currently curled up underneath the fold out table, ruffed in annoyance.

“Awww” (Y/n) said, crouching to be eye to eye with Mabosstiff,”You don’t like the sun, do ya bud?”

He shook his head in response, but only to be interrupted by the other dog-like pokémon running over towards the table to eat the scraps of ham that fell from the sandwich, much to Arven’s complaints.

Mabosstiff growled defensively, making poor Dachsbun quiver and run behind (Y/n)‘s legs.

“Yeah don’t eat that- Hey, Mabosstiff” Arven said, placing his hands on his hips in a very motherly fashion,”Don’t be rude to their pokémon!…well maybe except (Koraidon/Miraidon)”

“Hey!” (Y/n) protested,”(Koraidon/Miraidon) is important too!”

Arven only looked over to them and gave them a “really?” look as the legendary was currently trying to steal Dachsbun’s sandwich.

(Y/n) only sighed, walking over to Dachsbun’s abandoned sandwich, and grabbing it to give it to the scared pokémon.

“Now Dachsbun, eat this and leave poor Mabosstiff alone. He doesn’t wanna play right now.”

The puppy pokémon looked up, her sad puppy dog eyes threatening to spill tears, and slowly took the sandwich and trotted away to a secluded place by the rocks.

Arven sadly sighed, seeing the pitiful sight before him,”Maybe I can do some convincing to Mabosstiff, to, ya know, be friends with Dachsbun. Poor girl is eating all alone.”

“Yeah.” (Y/n) replied, crossing their arms over their chest,”So much for a picnic. It seems to be more of a drama fest than anything.”

“I agree” Arven said,”This definitely is no where near the Lady and the Tramp. No spaghetti scene for these two, it appears.”

(Y/n) snorted in response, causing Arven’s heart to swell. No one laughs at his corny jokes, especially that not quote “bothersome student council girl”.

“It seems like we’re gonna have to be together a lot more to make them be friends. It’s a win-win” (Y/n) said, causing Arven to blush and hide his face in his hair.

“U-Um okay. Cool. Cool. I’ll uhh I’ll see you tomorrow! Make sure to bring Dachsbun and NOT (Koraidon/Miraidon).

(Y/n) kept the promise they’d heard, and brought Dachsbun and (Koraidon/Miraidon).

———

Over the span of the next week, every day they tried to get Mabosstiff and Dachsbun closer together.

And every day they failed.

“Damn it.” Arven said, looking at Mabosstiff who was currently kicking Dachsbun off of (Y/n)’s couch,”Why don’t they get along?”

“Maybe they just don’t share experiences with each other” (Y/n) suggested,”Like we battled through hell at Area Zero, and they kinda didn’t together. That’s probably why we’re so close and they’re not.”

“Not close enough…” Arven muttered under his breath, low enough where (Y/n) couldn’t hear

“Maybe we should go on a trip!!” (Y/n) said,”Why not to Kalos? It’s right on the edge of Paldea!”

“Hmmm. Thats a good idea, actually, thanks little buddy!” Arven said, attempting to give a “friendly” shoulder pat.

“Why do you call me little buddy? I feel like we’re more than ‘buddies’.”

Arven coughed, trying to fight a loosing battle against the blush creeping onto his face,”W-What?!?”

“Yeah! We’re the best buddies ever! Best friends!” (Y/n) said, giving Arven a hug.

‘I don’t even care I was just friend-zoned, I love this’ He thought to himself

“All right then, (Y/n), let’s-“

“(Y/n)?” They asked,”Just plain old (Y/n)? Do I mean that little to you?”

“N-NO!” Arven said, grabbing their shoulders and looking down to meet their sad eyes,”YOU’RE AMAZING! YOU’RE MY BEST BUD EVER AND I WISH YOU WERE MORE- I MEAN I APPRECIATE YOU BEING THERE FOR ME….haha….ha…..man I screwed up didn’t I?”

(Y/n) looked into his saddened blue eyes, tears threatening to spill,”No! You didn’t Arven, I-“

“You don’t have to say it! I know you hate me now!” Arven said, storming off.

“-feel the same way….” They finished before being blasted by a rush of air across their legs.

Dachsbun ran after Arven, seeking to comfort the crying boy on the doorstep of (Y/n)’s residence.

Mabosstiff perked up, seeing how the normally hyper pokémon was slowly and gently crawling into the lap of Mabosstiff’s trainer, giving him doggy kisses.

Arven starting to laugh through the sniffles of his crying, giving Dachsbun a good belly rub as she flopped down dramatically in his lap.

Mabosstiff then got off of the couch, and went over to (Y/n), who was letting the tears fall on their own face now.

“Hey Mabosstiff…you okay?” They asked, rubbing his head.

He barked in response, nudging their legs in the direction of his trainer.

“You think he’d listen?”

“Woof!”

“I take your word for it.”

They patted Mabosstiff on the head one last time before stepping out of the threshold of their home, and sitting beside the boy who was wiping his tears.

“You never let me finish, Arven, I like you back. Have since you told me about Mabosstiff and the Herba Mystica. I really have feelings for you. I’m not ‘just saying that’, I mean it Arven.”

“Ohhhh (Y/n)” He said, bawling his eyes out,”You mean so much to me! I love to hear you say that! Please, hold onto me and never let go”

“Trust me” (Y/n) said, looking into his glassy blue eyes,”I won’t. They apparently won’t either”

Both of their eyes adverted to Mabosstiff and Dachsbun, who were cuddled up beside each other watching the scene between their trainers unfold.

“THEY LIKE EACH OTHER!!” Arven said, crying even more out of joy,”THEY’RE FRIENDS!!!”

(Y/n) laid their head on his chest,”Yeah they are, but we sure aren’t, at least not anymore.”

“What…? I thought you said-“

(Y/n) looked up into Arven’s eyes,”Yeah, we’re more than friends”

Arven, who is now blushing instead of crying, turns his face to hide it in his hair,”Okay. Cool. Cooool. That’s cool.”

“You can be happy Arven, no need to cover it up with your ‘cool guy persona’”

Arven just laughed, resting his chin atop of (Y/n)‘a head,”You’re crazy little buddy”

“Yeah so are you Arvy”

“I like that” He replied,”My (Mom/Dad) never gave me a nickname, so I’m glad it was you”

“It’s my pleasure Arvy”

The two of them sat on (Y/n)‘a doorstep, watching the sun set as the two dogs who once hated each other, played with Dachbun’s toys together.

——

Word Count: 1177

[helloyellow17]

Can’t believe I haven’t shared this yet—my first attempt at whump art! This is a scene from @panoramicvacuum ’s fic, Deal with the Devil, and BOY is it an absolute gem of a fic. If you like whump, Steven, angst, and found family, this fic will be a FEAST for you. Go check it out! 💛

[porkbeverage]

Submas fic idea by someone who’s never played a Unova game:

After Ingo disappears in the subway, Emmet closes it down so he and Elesa can walk the tracks to try and find him.

As they explore the subway, the fic becomes a monster of the week type deal, with a new threat every chapter. This could be anything from The Patrat Man(important for later), to a giant Krokodile that broke out of the sewers, to the stereotypical Italian mafia that owns a pizza place(also important for later).

Halfway through the fic, Ingo falls out of a portal onto the train tracks, then starts speaking to Emmet and Elesa in old Japanese. After a few days, he’s able to recollect himself, and also realizes that he was gifted the power to look into any location, and see what’s going on(Palkia gave him this gift for being a warden in Hisuian era Sinnoh). While using this power, he realizes that the Patrat Man and Pizza Mafia have teamed up to take over the subway.

At the end of the fic, Arceus shows up and banishes the Patrat Man and Pizza Mafia to the distortion world to make up for Ingo getting sent to Hisui.

Also, Elesa has a super thick Long Island accent for the whole fic.

[thoughtfuldolia]

I’ve abandoned my other blog (but not the fanfic attached). Here’s an AU about one of my favorite characters in the Pokémon franchise: Professor Kukui!

Why is he a noivern? What the heck is going on? S’pose you all will see as I lazily post here.

For now, take comfort in knowing this man and Molayne are in for a wild ride.

[so-sures-blog]

Of butterflies and roses

Summary: Drew hadn't fallen for May first; he been struck, curious about this doe-eyed girl in a bandana — distracted, fumbling, so very nervous —and her Beautifly. Drew liked to pay attention to people, how they got to who they were. It helped him in contests, to weed out who would be the real competition. Drew saw May playing with her little frisbees and thought, “She wouldn’t make it.

But now — now, Drew leaned forward and stared as May stumbled onstage and proceeding to blindside the audience with her plastic frisbees; with five Stringshots, a Gust, and one beautiful Silverwind.

A small smile made its way onto his face.

“Huh, what do you know?” Drew said to himself. “That wasn’t too bad at all.”

***

Or: a love story about surprises and realization

***

When Drew first sees May playing on the beach with her plastic pink frisbees he thought she was a joke.

Contests were a serious thing and they weren’t for the faint of heart. Drew has seen many bright-eyed amateurs bounce on stage to perform their shallow appeals before running off in tears when they lost. Drew knows this girl will be no different.

Because her idea of an appeal was pathetic and lame. Her performance lacked flair and finesse, and was much too shallow. She had no style, baseless confidence, and her naïveté was going to get her as far as her performance will.

Beautifly sends a Gust at the frisbees, and the girl daintily catches two of them on a spin as her friends cheer.

Drew watches in amusement as the third sails right over her head and catches it.

***

The girl passes the appeal round and is matched up with Drew right off the bat.

After their first meeting, she is determined to beat him and win the contest, and Drew scoffs at the fairy tale. He has more experience than she could ever hope for under his belt, and he can’t wait to beat her.

In the end, he leaves her in tears on the stage. She’s slumped to the ground by her Beautifly, her lips pressed into a wobbly line as tears glass her eyes. Drew gets a sudden sense of deja vu as he stares at her; he’s reminded of his first loss — his very first loss against Solidad. He remembers the feeling of defeat and devastation and turns away.

At least in his first contest he made it into the finals. With her, it seems like she barely trained for the battle round at all. (He is a little bit disappointed — he was hoping she would put up as much of a fight as she did their first battle.)

With this loss, Drew would see what type of person May would be.

Would she give up like many others have when they faced him, or would she stand up and try again?

***

Drew takes his loss against Robert hard, but moves on by training harder and winning another contest. He tells Solidad about him in one of their weekly calls, but carefully leaves the girl he’s met out of it. He still hasn’t decided on what type of trainer she is, and there will be no point in telling Solidad about her if she never shows her face again after defeat.

He spends his time training Roselia and Trapinch, searching for a new partner for his team, and winning himself another ribbon before heading to Fallarbor Town for a contest. He’s heard the competition is going to be steep.

Occasionally, he thinks of the girl in the bandana and her Beautifly, but it’s a thin, fleeting thought he easily dismisses in his busy days.

***

When Drew sees her training in Fallarbor Town, he feels something startling and surprising in him. His eyes are immediately drawn to her and he can’t help but make his way over to her to tease her about her botched up combinations — (because really, how can a coordinator not know about combinations?)

Based on their first meeting, May doesn’t like Drew. He’s arrogant and criticizes her and offers nothing good to say about her combinations. Drew shows off his newly acquired ribbons and tells her she has no shot of winning a competition this steep.

He walks away, mouth uncurling into a grin and hopes the fire he’s sparked in May will be enough to make this contest a memorable one.

***

It's Drew who loses in the Fallarbor Contest, and normally he would be upset about that if it weren’t for the fact of who won.

May won the Fallarbor Contest, and with nothing but her own skill and talent. She took the same combinations he made fun of and turned them into something elegant and powerful. She and Beautifly beat Grace and won the ribbon — her very first ribbon — and May’s never looked more alive and in sync with her Pokémon.

Drew feels reluctant admiration, pride, and (strangely) joy press into his gut and leave a tingling sensation throughout his body.

May finally did it; and although Drew still thinks that she wouldn’t have been able to beat him if they were paired up in the first round, her fight against Grace almost deserves a congratulations.

***

It was Roselia’s idea to keep giving May roses, and Drew went along with it. He doesn’t know why exactly, but Roselia is very intuitive and reminds him of Solidad, who is spending her off-season in Kanto training.

He feels like the roses are falling into some sort of routine of theirs, and strangely enough, Drew likes it enough to not want to think about what it means.

“I suppose this rose is for Beautifly, right?” May spins the flower between her fingers and teasingly asks. Her smile is light and playful and Drew feels his stomach suddenly knot in on itself at the sight. He’s not quite sure what to think of that.

“Yeah, something like that.” He keeps his response vague and puzzling before turning away before she realizes that the rose is just as much for her as it is her Pokémon.

***

Drew starts to talk about her to Solidad at around the second contest she wins. That’s two times May has defeated somebody who has beaten Drew, and he is fascinated. He talks to Solidad about their first meeting, how she totally blindsided him with the sudden Silverwind in their first battle. He talks about the first contest she won, the Pokémon she used, and is completely, totally, utterly unaware of the knowing look Solidad has in her blue eyes.

“Looks like you have yourself a rival, Drew,” she interrupts with a grin.

Drew scoffs. How can May ever be his rival?

***

It’s a while before he sees May again, but almost against his will he keeps his ear against the ground for her. He hears she wins the Lilycove Contest and the Purika Contest — after a bit of difficulty, apparently — but hasn't heard anything else.

It’s six weeks until the Pokémon Grand Festival and Drew is just out training his Masquerain when he hears someone call his name. He turns around to see May and her friends waving at him so he makes his way down the cliff to them.

May shows off her four ribbons and informs him that she’ll be entering the Pacifidlog Contest with the same happy-go-lucky smile and bright blue eyes. And because Drew doesn’t not like how she looks at him and he doesn’t like how he doesn’t like it, he makes fun of her enough to challenge him to a battle. It doesn’t get far before a trio calling themselves Team Rocket burst from the ocean and proceed to vacuum them into a giant mechanical Magikarp before exploding.

This is what he gets for spending time with May, Drew thinks as he stares out at the foggy ocean. He and May had woken up on the beach alone, together, surrounded by wreckage and with no idea where the others were. Thankfully, Roderick comes and saves them from their incessant bickering, and they set off to find May’s friends.

Admittedly, Drew is a bit excited to have landed on Mirage Island of all places. Few people have managed to set foot on the land, and it was crawling with liechi berries. That’s why when Drew finally spotted them so close to the cliff, he wasn’t as careful as he could've been.

The earth gives out beneath their feet and as they’re falling the only thought Drew has in his mind is that he’s probably going to die. May grabs onto Bellsprout’s vine, and Drew can tell as she grasps his hand that it's not going to save them.

May’s grip slips and they both hit the water, hands still firmly locked with each other. The current rips them apart and Drew desperately surges to the surface, gasping for air.

“May!” He calls, using whatever air he has left in his lungs. The water is stinging his eyes and roaring in his ears, but he’s still desperately searching for the brown-haired coordinator.

He spots her up ahead, choking on the spray of water and being submerged again and again before Drew swims forward and grabs her arm. Her blue eyes find his green ones, and they’re big and wide and scared as she fights against the current. They struggle to stay above water, Drew trying to support May as much as he can before they hear Roderick’s yell above the buffeting waves: “There’s a waterfall dead ahead!”

Fear freezes his veins. If they weren’t going to die, then they certainly would now. There isn’t any time to think straight before it’s on them, but May tightens her grip on Drew as panic seizes them both and Drew clutches her wrist as hard as he can before they go over.

They slam against the bottom, the impact sweeping them apart before Drew falls unconscious.

When he wakes up it’s nighttime, but the first thing he sees is May’s worried face and big blue eyes. She’s crouched over him, and when he opens his eyes her face breaks out into a big, relieved smile. Drew doesn’t know what happened or where he is, but he does know his heart is doing acrobatics in his chest right now and he feels dizzy with the knowledge that May probably saved his life before the Wynaut did.

The Wynaut are nice and thoughtful for wild Pokémon, and with them Drew and May find themselves becoming more at ease from their near-death experience. May releases all her Pokémon and goes to play with the Wynaut while Drew sits to the side and watches with a small smile on his lips.

The May in front of him right now is totally unencumbered and free. Her smile is big and her laugh is bright and for the first time Drew is able to see her in the light that she is a girl, not just a coordinator. This is the first time they are together outside the context of contests, and that means that the girl he is looking at right now is the real May. Normally when they met May would put up a front and talk all big for the sake of their rivalry, but not now. Now, she is completely natural.

Almost against his will, Drew feels a powerful emotion grow inside him as he watches her.

***

May has grown — slowly and steadily, with the help of her friends and Pokémon. Drew sees her start to win contests, learn strategies, her trust in her Pokémon becoming more prominent with every move she calls.

Alongside his admiration, there is something new and exciting that pulse in his veins now, and it makes Drew determined to win. Solidad calls it competition from across the phone line in Pewter City, and Drew actually feels like laughing.

Because, him? Competitive about May? It hasn’t been that long since she was stumbling through coordinating and trying to figure out combinations. But then, he realizes, it has.

May has grown into coordinating, training her partners and catching new Pokémon. Drew thinks that she can make it into the Grand Festival, and looking deeper, he thinks that he wants to face her there.

Drew knows that Solidad can see the realization on his face and quickly hangs up before she can tease him.

His Vibrava had evolved into a Flygon a while ago, and Drew has a sudden idea about who he wants him to train for.

***

It’s not a surprise to see her at the Grand Festival, but Drew is never going to admit it. May lights up when she spots him and is quickly running towards him with a bright smile. Her enthusiasm makes him smile and as she snatches his rose almost petulantly, he feels the strange emotion bubble up again.

Unfortunately, Harley shows up and May is instantly swept up with his bravado and false promises. Drew already knew she trusts easily and is unfalteringly kind, but Harley was pushing it and May is totally unaware. She almost blows her chances at competing in the Grand Festival battle rounds.

Frustration bubbles up, and Drew knows it’s unreasonable, but May doesn’t get it. She’s made it all the way here, and she was talented, but she still doesn’t get it. To be a coordinator one had to trust in themselves and their Pokémon, and find their own style to make their own Pokémon’s appeal shine through.

And May didn’t get it.

Fortunately for her, she manages to impress the judges enough to pass the appeal round and win her way through the battle rounds — until she’s matched up with him. They face off against each other in the third round of the Hoenn Grand Festival; and as they stare each other down from across the pitch, Drew recalls their first battle. He hasn’t had a real contest battle with May since then, and although Drew knows how it’ll end he still wants to see how she’ll react.

Drew calls out Roselia and Flygon. May’s never seen his Pokémon before, and when he tells her that he raised his Flygon specifically to battle her he can tell she is both flattered and scared.

Drew makes the first move and the battle is on.

***

In the end, it isn’t Drew’s time as Robert comes out on top in the Grand Festival Finals, but it was a good battle and Drew gave it his all. He learned a lot from battling Robert and was already coming up with combinations for next year.

He impatiently waits his way through the closing ceremonies and as soon as the party starts he disappears to the beach to practice with his Pokémon. They train for about an hour before someone stumbles upon them, and Drew turns when he realizes it’s May.

She’s confused about why he’s still training and Drew is reminded that it is her first season of coordinating. He gives her advice before heading on his way, but can’t help but leave her with one last thing.

“I’m hoping to see you back here next year too, May,” he says. “You were good.”

She stares at him, gaping slightly. (Has he really never complimented her before? It seems like she takes up most of his thoughts to not have.) Her sapphire eyes are wide as the seabreeze tousles her hair. He’s suddenly aware of the waves crashing against the shore and the stars shining in the night sky. Drew can barely hear the sounds of the party drifting towards the beach.

For such an open space, it feels so entirely intimate in the moment. May looks beautiful in the moonlight, and the realization of what that means strikes him.

Drew walks away from her, feeling as though someone once so out of his reach becomes touchable for just a slither of time.

***

Drew goes to Kanto for the next contest season and is surprised to see May already there. She’s still as rose-scented, sun-kissed and vibrant as she was in Hoenn and Drew is unable to withhold the realization that he likes her. He really, really likes her.

The realization follows him throughout Kanto, so he throws himself into contests and combinations to avoid thinking about it altogether. His Pokémon notice, but Roselia is the only one who knows and Drew can sense her disapproval. He ignores it — they’re rivals above all and Drew values that — her — more than his feelings.

Still though, he can’t help but go see her. Drew knew so little about her. He could easily spot her voice out of a crowd, but he wanted to hear her stories. There was still so much to May that he didn't know. Drew never really minded being a mystery to the average person (sharing parts of himself was something he was naturally against), but with May he wanted her to know him.

He wondered if she had similar thoughts about him and if part of her wanted to know more.

Drew gathers his five ribbons and heads to the Grand Festival. He’ll see her there.

***

Drew meets up with Solidad the morning of the Grand Festival.

When they first met, Solidad had beaten him and Roselia in the final round of their first contest and then invited him out to lunch afterwards. Although Drew had his reservations, he still went.

Solidad explained that she had a season of experience over him, and that her battle with him had to be the most grueling one she’d ever faced. She was impressed with his performance and wanted to see him again in another contest.

As they competed together more throughout the season and their respect for each other grew, he started to open up to her more and meet up with her more often. It's only natural that Solidad is now his best friend.

They have run into each other a couple of times in Kanto, and had carefully shared contest information and have appropriately planned out their routes so they didn’t meet up at every contest. Still, Drew had looked forward to the towns where their paths were scheduled to cross.

“So, what did you think of May?” Drew asks a bit too casually as he sips his tea. He’s not really a fan of the taste, but Solidad loves it so he drinks without complaining.

“I like her. She’s really sweet and friendly. The total opposite of you,” she says with a teasing smirk.

“Uh huh, sure,” Drew rolls his eyes. “Do I even want to know what you two said about me?”

Solidad’s eyes twinkle. “That’s between girls only. Whatever May says is completely on her own volition.”

“Great. She’s definitely going to rub something in my face now.” Drew takes another sip of tea and struggles to not make a face. Solidad does the same, watching him with calm blue eyes.

“I’m a bit sad you haven’t introduced me to her earlier though,” she speaks up suddenly. “Seeing how much you talk about her. I can see why you like her.”

Drew chokes on his tea, and for once it wasn’t because of the taste.

Solidad knows. She's probably always known, Drew rationalizes, but the knowing smile the older coordinator wears cements the fact that nevertheless, Solidad knows.

But then again, if Drew had really wanted it to be kept a secret, he wouldn’t have introduced them in the first place. But Solidad was his closest friend and Drew liked May (enough to give her advice, give her roses) and he had wanted the two of them to meet.

“She — uh, I, uh — ” Drew stammers. He feels uncharacteristically embarrassed and it throws him off his game. “I — ”

“It’s okay, Drew.” Solidad thankfully cuts him off. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I’m actually glad you’ve found someone like May. She’s good for you.” Drew’s face burns and Solidad’s face softens as she observes his flustered reaction. “Just … don’t let your feelings get in the way of your performance, okay?”

Drew scoffs at the thought. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” he reassures her.

He may like her, but they're still rivals.

***

It’s a surprise when he sees Ash and Brock come to talk to him instead of Solidad, but figures she’s probably having a talk with May after he snapped at her.

Guilt twists in his chest as he thinks of her hurt expression before he ignores it and turns to face the sunset. Don’t let your feelings get in the way of your performance, Solidad had said. Drew internally scoffed. She should have said, “Don’t let her performance get in the way of your feelings.”

Seeing her perform with her Munchlax … it shook him. For so long, May had always been the one behind him, chasing after him. It didn’t hit him until today that … she can pass him. She can beat him.

She had changed; she was a threat. He had changed; he was no longer untouchable.

And that scared him.

“Look, I said it was on my mind, alright?” Drew snaps.

“I know that Drew,” Ash clambors down to join him. Pikachu hops down his shoulder.

“Solidad’s having a little talk with May right now. I think it would be a good idea to do the same thing,” Brock says. Drew hmphs.

“You know …” Ash breaks the silence, rubbing Pikachu’s head. “Watching you out there earlier made me think about all the rivals I’ve faced in battle over the years. I never talked to them about how they trained or anything.” Ash turns to face him. “We deal with that on the battlefield.”

Drew can’t help but stare, shocked at the comparison. It's no secret that a lot of competitive battlers don't take coordinators seriously. They saw it as more of a glorified beauty contest than showing off the strength of the Pokémon with appeal. Not to mention, coordinating was more seen as a feminine form of battling, with its emphasis on beauty and combinations.

For a while, Drew thought Ash was one of those battlers — that’s why he challenged him to a battle in Fallarbor Town. But no, Ash is here drawing comparisons from his battling to relate to coordinating. To him and May.

Ash and Brock are here, telling him in their own way that they understood him. That they took his side.

Drew relaxed. “I hear ya,” he chuckles. “We’re rivals, May and I.”

Somehow, that seems to sum up everything and nothing at all.

***

It’s the Kanto Grand Festival at the Indigo Plateau, and it's Drew up against May in the quarterfinals. He walks onto the stage and hears the cheers so loud it makes his ears ring. The atmosphere of the stadium is electric, and Drew keeps his head straight.

His eyes wander across the field to May and he sees the determined glint in her eyes that Drew knows is reflected in her own. Two years, two regions, and two talented coordinators.

They’ve been ready for this their whole lives.

***

In the end, it’s only one of them who can win, and after a long, grueling battle, the winner is decided.

The screams and cheers from the stadium are overwhelming so Drew closes his eyes and takes a breath, steadying himself.

The battle was incredible. May was incredible.

She is still standing there, staring up at the scoreboard in disbelief and unable to believe what it reads. She’s surprised, shaky from the battle, but happy-ecstatic and Drew is proud to have lost to her. It's been two years since they met, since he first saw her on the beach of Slateport City with her plastic pink frisbees, and since then she’s been surprising him ever since. They’ve both changed since they first met; the final battle an accumulation of everything they learned on their journey.

Absol slowly makes his way to him, head already bowed in defeat. His Pokémon took his losses harder than Drew did, but this time the trainer wasn’t feeling bad about this one at all.

Absol looks up in surprise when Drew reaches forward and rubs his head. “Thank you, you fought hard. You're the best, Absol.” Absol lights up at the praise, gratefully pressing his head into his hand.

Drew turns to notice May’s gaze on him, questioning and uncertain. She’s worried about how he’ll take the loss against her, and suddenly the feelings Drew has tried to keep from fully consuming his heart come forth.

It’s because she surprises him. She’s surprised him from the very beginning — from the first time they met, the first time they ever competed, the first time he truly saw her — and she kept on surprising him, whether it be her skill or her passion or her love towards people and Pokémon. Drew hadn’t fallen in love with May; he was struck, stunned by the care and awe he has for her. She completely blindsided him and turned his world upside-down. He never would have imagined that the girl he had met on the beach would turn into one of his greatest rivals.

Drew’s eyes soften, mouth pulling into gentle smile as he nods. It’s okay. He lost, but it was to May and he is okay with that because she more than deserves her victory. May beams at his approval, throwing her arm around Combusken in celebration.

Drew watches for a moment longer before closing his eyes and turning away, smiling.

***

Drew doesn't stick around after the festival. His bags are packed and he’s headed out. Drew has no new destination in mind, so he just travels around Kanto, exploring the parts he didn’t get to see before. He spends two months just wandering, training and discovering himself. His mind is on May, and coordinating, and on where to head next for the next Grand Festival.

Drew finds a beautiful lake — a glittering expanse of blue in front of him — with plenty of open space to practice some tricky appeals he has been working on. He calls out Roselia and Masquerain and they work on some doubles appeals for around an hour before Drew gives them a rest. Roselia wanders along the shoreline, looking happy and relaxed while Masquerain flutters around the lake.

Suddenly, to his surprise, Roselia runs towards her trainer, exclaiming happily. Drew blinks, alarmed, before he hears a familiar voice speak up behind him.

“Hey, Drew!”

Drew turns to see Solidad approaching with Slowbro, a smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" Drew asks before he can stop himself.

Solidad laughs. "Jeez, it's nice to see you too."

Drew smirks and waves his hand at her. "You know what I meant."

"Well, am I not allowed to want to see you?” Solidad asks gently. “You practically ran away from the afterparty of the Grand Festival, and I’ve barely heard from you.” She settles on the grass right next to him as her Pokémon goes to greet his.

Drew runs a hand through his hair and winces. “Sorry. I've been busy.”

Solidad shakes her head. “Typical of you, isn't it? But don't you think you’ve trained enough?”

Drew shrugs and says nothing; she knows what his answer is. They both watch as Roselia comes forward and Solidad rubs her head. “So, have you decided on where to go from here?”

“I think I’ll head to the Johto region next.” Drew says. “What will you do?”

“Johto too, I think.” Solidad turns to meet his gaze. “Just because I became a Top Coordinator doesn’t mean I want to stop. I want to keep coordinating, traveling, and winning. I want to be a master coordinator and be accepted into the Ribbon’s Syndicate.”

Drew smirked and closed his eyes. “Yeah, you’re not the only one, you know.”

The Ribbon Syndicate was a big ordeal for coordinators alike. It was a private, special organization that only coordinators with a legendary status could call their home. Members would finally earn that sought after "Master" status and finally become a part of the world's elite, setting an example for all young coordinators alike.

Solidad smiles. It’s quiet for a while, both of them watching their Pokémon get along before she speaks. “I gave her your rose, you know. She caught you as you were leaving, right?”

Drew tenses, before he relaxes. “Yeah. Thanks for giving it to her. I … couldn’t give her that one in person.” It feels entirely too honest than he meant it to be, so he avoids Solidad’s eyes as she studies him.

When Drew had first given roses to May, it was a mocking. The flowers were filled with taunts about how her Pokémon were carrying her to victory. Then Drew had started to notice May, and his roses became fleeting — everyone knows what red roses meant. How could Drew give out roses when he didn’t even know who he was really giving them to?

But now this one was different. After everything — their fight, their battle, the final leg of their journeys — the rose held a different meaning now. It is a confession of his affection, respect, and awe for her.

It was the only genuine rose.

And they both knew it.

“Here,” Solidad holds out a shrunken Pokéball and Drew takes it. He glances down at it and blinks.

“This is Butterfree’s Pokéball,” he says, surprised. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because you need it,” she says simply. “You’ve done enough reflecting, Drew. You need to get out of your head, and the best way to do that is with a new partner. He’s yours now.” She stands up as Slowbro wanders towards her and returns him.

“Where are you going?” Drew is still reeling.

“To Johto,” Solidad raises a brow as if to say ‘obviously’. “And you’re going to Fennel Valley.”

“What’s in Fennel Valley?” Drew is scared to ask.

“You’ll see.” Solidad smiles.

***

Drew does end up making his way to Fennel Valley and runs into May. As soon as he sees her, he understands why Solidad sent him here instead of going to the Johto region first.

Drew feels like he’s seeing himself a week ago. May is lost, out of sync, and confused. It’s a mental thing he’s seen in himself and other coordinators stuck in a rut, and Drew tries to pull her out of it.

He challenges her to a battle, his heart beating faster when he sees the fire relight in May’s eyes.

They’re talking outside later — May sitting beyond the fence while he leans against it — and Drew tells May he’s going to Johto. He studies her reaction, trying to see how she’s feeling, and watches her eyes lower as she leans against the fence with him. “It’s pretty there, right now,” she says.

Drew gazes at her. She’s looking at the sunset, how the pinks, reds, and golds reflect off the mountains. The sprawling region in front of them looks beautiful, but Drew can’t seem to take his eyes off May. There’s no moonlight this time — May’s dripping with the sunset glow, chestnut hair waving in the wind, azure eyes deep and Drew feels like his heart is going to crawl out of his chest looking at her.

He really, really loves her.

Harley interrupts, as he always does, and soon he and Drew have to leave. May calls out goodbyes behind him as he walks away, and Drew raises a hand in return.

Life insists on — they’re rivals, May and him. They will always come together. As frequently as roses bloom, they will meet each other, again and again.

[sunshine-vx]

Across Space, Time and Dreams (ASTaD) (Ch. 23)

(Blankshippers DNI)

(Please refer to beginning of chapter 1 post for complete list of CWs/TWs)

(Extra notes: Yippiee, chapter 23, second chapter for the day! Once again, this chapter is about Ingo being reintroduced to his origin world, which I think is important. Again, I hope I could make it enjoyable for you all! Either way, it won't be like this for long. Thank you all so much!)

(This chapter's illustration done by @moonlightalpha666 !)

(Reblogs are appreciated!)

-

A few days had passed since Ingo had been reintroduced to his house, and his memories were slowly but surely returning to him. Some made him emotional, others made him laugh, and others simply gave him a sense of content.

Today, Ingo decided he wanted to go and reintroduce himself to arguably one of the most important places in his life of all- the Subway System!

Throughout Ingo's own life, and Emmet's, they both shared 3 major passions: Pokémon- especially battling- trains- especially metro- and helping themselves and others- especially with their goals!

Ingo knew this is why working in the Subway System was such a perfect career for the two of them- it was a mix of a place for both everyday transportation, and a location for amazing battles! This allowed them to help both people and Pokémon alike- including themselves- in multiple ways; helping folks have a safe ride to a new destination, battling to new limits, and sometimes a mix of both!

Ingo was full of energy and anticipation, ready to see the Subway System.

Emmet had issued for the Nimbasa Subway Station to not run overnight that day, so that he and Ingo could tour it by themselves, and for alternative forms of transportation to be provided to those who needed it. Thankfully, there were enough Depot Agents to carry out the job.

By now, the public had been altered of Ingo's return. There were clear signs they were antsy to see him, and Ingo had sent out a small message thanking everyone for their kindness. Ingo was more than glad to be a figure in people's lives, but he preferred that his memory situation be kept to a specific group of people. He did not want to lie to anyone, so he did not specify anything, but he also knew that if his situation got out, there would be a lot more pressure on him than there already was. 

All they needed to know was that he was back, and that he was recovering. Everything would be okay, and he would go on to continue to inspire those who looked up to him. 

Emmet, Ingo and Depot Agents Cloud and Jackie had alerted the other Depot Agents of the memory situation. They were stricken with shock, but understood. There needed to be some people who knew more so that the system could work efficiently while Ingo was still recovering. Thankfully, they also understood Ingo's concerns, and promised not to tell anyone. In the end, they were just glad to see Ingo again- even if there was a bit of heartache, they knew it would heal, and the reunion with the rest of Ingo's workplace family was wonderful.

This put Ingo at ease. With the planning complete and a bit of rest, he was ready to see the Subway!

This time, it was only the brothers who went. Drayden and Elesa would've loved to have gone, and Ingo and Emmet would've loved them to be there, but they had to prepare their own plans for later on.

Besides, as much as Elesa and Drayden were absolutely welcome to join Ingo and Emmet, the Battle System was definitely more of their own thing.

The twins strided towards one of the main entrances of the Subway System. Emmet had told Ingo he thought it would be a good idea to tour the non-battle area of the Subway System first, but of course, if Ingo wanted to do otherwise, Emmet was more than happy to oblige.

Ingo had thought about it, and he decided that Emmet's plan was probably more ideal. He didn't want to end up getting lost or overwhelmed- besides, as long as Ingo got to see everything soon enough, he didn't really mind at all what order they visited things in.

"Here we are!" Emmet announced, stopping in front of the entrance. Ingo stopped walking as well, scanning what was in front of him.

On their way to the entrance, Ingo had seen a few signs and other things that struck him as related to the Subway System. The building was definitely very big, and had a multitude of windows and a pair of large, glass doors. There were signs and decorations on the exterior of the building- Ingo even saw a couple of artistic renditions of him and Emmet!

Just like in his missing persons file and other things, Ingo noticed he looked somewhat different from how he looked now.

"That's us on those signs." Ingo commented.

"That it is!" Emmet replied.

Ingo looked at the glass doors again, and through them he could see the temporarily empty, yet complex and still lively interior of the building. He smiled.

"Let's go in!”

Ingo was amazed at the sight that enveloped his surroundings when he and Emmet entered the building. As expected, it was an extremely wide area, with many places to go. As the twins walked around the place, Ingo examined all the different types of things- ticket stands, signs, and most importantly- a train and its track!

Ingo remembered that this one specifically was for transporting passengers to other destinations. People and Pokémon alike came here for that service. 

As Ingo took in his surroundings, he experienced many emotions and thoughts.

"Wow!" Ingo exclaimed, blinking away a few tears, "It's so amazing! We'll be able to get on one, right?"

Emmet chuckled, "Indeed! But it will be just a bit later, if that is alright!"

Ingo really wanted to get onto the train, but he knew that it would be easier to just wait. He sighed, but let out a breathy laugh.

"Of course! What's next?"

After turning and going through a specific order of rooms and hallways, Emmet and Ingo entered a special area.

"Woah!" Ingo spoke. 

"This is the control room!" Emmet explained, "Or the central terminal- whichever you prefer."

Ingo marveled at the room they had just entered- it had no ceiling lights, but was lit up by the many screens decorating the walls- along with a counter in the middle that had a screen embedded in as the top. The screens along the walls seemed to reflect mostly other areas of the subway, while the countertop screen served as a digital map for the train system.

There were other counters along the screens that had many different types of controls- buttons, levers, sliders. As complex as all of this was, Ingo felt like he didn't really have to think all that hard to understand it- it came naturally, it seemed. 

"Do you recognize how all this works?" Emmet asked Ingo.

Ingo nodded, "I don't feel too confused. I think a bit of it may be a little far from me, but it will return soon enough."

Emmet smiled and nodded, "That is verrry good to hear, brother!"

Next, Emmet showed Ingo to the multitude of offices- it seemed theirs was largest and given the most importance, which made sense.

It looked quite similar to the home office Ingo and Emmet had inside their house, but more organized and professional. There were additional things such as lockers, which would be important for a job such as this.

Ingo sensed a warm feeling grow in him as he scanned more details of the room. He remembered that he and Emmet had many roles within this System, and that they loved doing it!

Afterwards, Emmet showed Ingo to the many storage closets scattered around the area. Inside was, as expected, supplies for the subway, along with the occasional retired scrap and lost personal belongings, and other things of the like.

Then, there was the break room- as its name suggested, it's where the staff would hang out during their break periods, usually lunch break. 

It had a calm vibe to it, which Ingo liked. There were some tables and a water dispenser, along with some other things. Ingo recalled this is often where he and Emmet would speak to the Depot Agents- they were all wonderful individuals. Ingo had wondered if the same staff were still here, and it seemed they were. 

After this, Emmet showed Ingo to arguably the best part of the subway- where all the trains were!

They entered the area, and as everything came into view, Ingo's eyes sparkled and a small smile spread on his face. It was a circular room with a multitude of tunnels carved into the walls, signs hanging from the side of each tunnel, detailing what purpose they served. 

"This is the main hub for the subway station!" Emmet commented.

Ingo jumped, "Bravo!! Don't the tunnels lead to where the trains are?"

"Yup! I will show you to the transportation trains first, and then the battle trains! How does that sound?"

Ingo nodded quickly, and Emmet began to lead Ingo down the tunnels.

Each tunnel led to a larger area, with stands where staff would stay and hand out tickets and such- and then, most importantly- the tracks, the platform, and the train! Ingo's excitement and happiness peaked, his passion for what he loved clearly never having eroded with his time in Hisui. 

Emmet and Ingo stood into the first train, and Ingo's eyes shined, his mouth gaping open ever-so-slightly at the sight, which made Emmet chuckle. 

Emmet led Ingo to the very front of the train first, and Ingo marveled at the contraptions present in front of the train- he felt like he knew these things very well. Probably because he did!

Ingo reached for the locomotive controls, but he was interrupted.

"Wait! Do not touch that, please." Ingo heard Emmet say.

Ingo turned towards Emmet, confused.

"Why not?"

Emmet winced as heard the disappointment in Ingo's voice, but he kept his smile. 

"You will be able to drive one of the trains, I promise!" Emmet explained, "I would love to go on as many rides with you on them as you would like, but if a train is used, it is protocol to check them thoroughly at the end of the day! I do not want to give ourselves or the other staff too much trouble, as much as I would be willing to go through that trouble for you!"

"Oh! Right." Ingo nodded, pulling his hands away from the controls.

“But!" Emmet added, "You can try out the other things!"

A smile spread across Ingo's face, and Emmet watched with glee as he saw Ingo try out everything he could- he honked the horn, he spoke through the PA system.

Ingo's eyes widened and his smile grew further with wonder as he heard the iconic ‘whooo-whoooooo’ of the train whistle. 

"Bravo!!" Ingo announced into the PA, giggling as he heard his voice echo throughout the train.

Ingo placed the PA back into its resting position, turning to Emmet, his eyes now softer. It really felt like this was something he loved doing, in his home world.

"I love it!" Ingo voiced. 

Emmet chuckled, "I am glad! Let us go take a look around the rest of the train!"

Ingo and Emmet strided through the train, Ingo looking around, his eyes having stars in them as he took everything in.

This wouldn't change upon going on the other trains. 

Emmet could tell Ingo was getting even more excited as they went to look at the battle trains, and that didn't seem out of character at all.

Most of the things were similar, but Ingo noticed the areas for the transportation compared to the battle trains, and the trains themselves, differed slightly from each other.

Then, Emmet stopped Ingo. Now, the only train they hadn't been into was the Multi Train.

"Okay! That is most of it! So what do you think of everything so far?" Emmet commented.

Ingo jumped, "What do I think? All I can say is super bravo!! Everything looks incredible!! But don't we have one last train to see..?"

"Yup- the Multi Train!" Emmet stated, "I saved that one for last, and you will see why! Follow me!"

Ingo only nodded, following Emmet with anticipation, excitement and curiosity.

As Emmet and Ingo walked onto one of the train platforms, Emmet announced, "Now! We can finally go on a ride on one of the trains! How about the Multi Battle Train?"

One of the biggest of Ingo unique smile's in a long time spread across his face. He somehow knew it was where he and Emmet spent a lot of time together, so it was the perfect decision! Ingo nodded eagerly. 

Emmet led Ingo to where the Multi Train rested. It looked pretty much the same as an average train, although there were small differences in design, including writing along the side that indicated its purpose. Emmet opened the train's door, and the brothers stepped inside.

Emmet waved Ingo to the front of the train, where the controls of the locomotive were.

"Here! Now you can mess with these! How about you try getting the train to start?" Emmet offered.

Ingo nodded, and scanned the control panel for a moment. He was a bit unsure, but almost as if it was instinctive, Ingo worked with the controls in a specific order, before the train rumbled to life, and began slowly moving down the tracks.

Ingo's eyes gleamed, and Emmet clapped his hands. "Amazing job, Ingo!"

Ingo laughed, the joy in him seemingly endless. He messed with a handful of the other controls, as long as he knew that it was ultimately harmless.

Emmet laughed, as well, happy to see his brother having a good time. After Ingo was done with the controls, the younger twin led the older twin through the rest of the train, Ingo glancing around. As with the other battle trains, Ingo noticed there were a couple of differences, but otherwise, it didn't look that different from the transportation trains. As Emmet motioned for Ingo to stop with him in one cart, it dawned on Ingo.

"Can't it transform?" Ingo conveyed.

"That is right!" Emmet responded, "Here, snap your fingers with me on three!"

Ingo felt a bit puzzled, but the suggestion felt correct. He positioned his hand.

"One...two...three!"

Snap!

The twins snapped their fingers right at the same time, and a quick moment after, Ingo watched in wonder as the interior of the train cart transformed from a regular-looking cart to a wide-open room, complete with patterns on the floor, showing the cart now served as a battlefield!

Ingo beamed, clapping his hands and giggling, feeling extremely nostalgic at the sight of the battle cart.

Then, Emmet began to speak, walking to the other side of the cart.

"Now, if you do not want to, that is absolutely fine, but I personally think it would be a bit incomplete to visit the Battle Subway without doing one thing..."

Ingo's eyes sparkled, and he smirked, "I think my brain is on the same track as yours, brother.."

The twins grabbed the brim of their hats and pointed at each other,

"Emmet!"

"Ingo!"

The brothers announced at the same time:

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

-

The train was at its fastest- all passengers could hear the wheels turning, feeling the all-too-familiar chugga chugga chugga chugga rhythm of the train shooting through the tunnel, bouncing on the tracks, the wind blowing. 

"Chandelure, use Shadow Ball one last time!" Ingo commanded.

"Eelektross, Thunder Bolt!" Emmet countered.

Chandelure formed a dark ball of energy and launched it at Eelektross as the other Ace Pokémon threw down a crack of lightning. Ingo swore he saw Chandelure and Eelektross move out of the way and evade the attacks- or did they? Would another turn be in order? All too soon, the powers collided, and a cloud of smoke enveloped the cart.

As the smoke cleared, Ingo lowered his arms from his face. He immediately snapped his eyes to the battlefield, scanning the scene.

Both Chandelure and Eelektross staggered to their respective sides of the field- before at the same time, Chandelure's bright, blazing flames regressed to ever-so-smaller and darker flames, it floating closer to the floor now. Eelektross lowered its head, the sparks it had been letting off residing, and using both its back fins and arms to hold itself up.

Neither Pokémon could battle further.

Ingo and Emmet locked eyes at the same time. They inhaled deeply, catching their breath. There was a moment of silence, the brothers only being able to guess what the other was thinking.

Then, one of those unique smiles spread across the older twin. Emmet's smaller smile grew as he watched his brother begin to laugh. It started out as a chuckle, then a louder snickering, before he was full-out bursting into laughter.

Emmet blinked, a bit confused, although Ingo's laugh was contagious, as he started laughing some, too. Ingo was laughing so much, tears began to run down his face. 

Then, Emmet jumped as he watched Ingo's joyful laughter transform into sniffling, his wide grin and loud laughter turning into a unstable smile and hushed snickering.

Chandelure, worried, hovered over to Ingo, Emmet doing the same as he darted over the battlefield, Eelektross following with its quick crawling. 

Emmet's smile had turned into a small, worried twinkle, as he stood in front of Ingo, placing his hands on his brother's shoulder.

"Ingo, what is wrong?" 

Ingo let out another chuckle as a slower, less intense stream of tears fell down his face, and he simply stated

"We often did tie, didn't we? Almost every time.."

Emmet was taken aback, his mouth hanging open slightly, but then he beamed, and tears pricked at his eyes, as well. Now, Emmet let out his own soft laugh.

"We even tied at the Champions League."

There was a moment of quiet, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Then, Ingo spoke, "I know maybe it sounds silly, but...I think that was...important. A perfect parallel. Even if I can't remember the details I feel...more complete. I feel as if..my soul has been brought to a stronger state of content."

Ingo's smile turned bittersweet, and another line of tears fell down his face,

"There's so much more to know, to explore, but...this feels like it was one of the more..notable missing pieces. A key. Symbolic of...so much."

Then, Ingo reached his arms outwards, inviting his younger brother into a hug, Emmet gladly accepting the offer, the twins embracing. Ingo waved Chandelure and Eelektross to join them, and the two aces were more than happy to do so. Chandelure hovered closer to Ingo, but didn't hesitate to enfold both trainers in its appendages, while Eelektross, closer to Emmet, wrapped both twins in its body.

"Thank you so much, Emmet. Chandelure. Eelektross."

Now, tears rolled down Emmet's face, too, but he was happy as could be.

"No, thank you, Ingo. And..that is not silly. Not at all."

Chandelure made a series of whistle-esc and clunking sounds, Eelektross letting out a few gurgling and spark-esc noises, both assuring Ingo they were just as grateful, and that there was no reason to feel silly.

This had represented one of Ingo's greatest passions and parts of his life, after all.

After their heart-to-heart, Ingo and Emmet made sure to heal up their Pokémon, thanking and congratulating them for their performance, before returning them to their Pokéballs.

Ingo and Emmet returned to the locomotive, and Ingo watched curiously as Emmet inputted a few commands into the control panel.

"I wanted to show you something, but we will have to wait just a little bit."

"Well, I can't wait to see whatever it is!" 

After a bit of time, Ingo saw as the train rose to tracks above the ground.

"These are the outlying tracks. We do not come here often, but we still technically have authority over it." Emmet explained.

Ingo felt a wave of emotion wash over him as he took in the beautiful view. He had seen and reunited with many important things in his life today, and even though he couldn't remember everything now, he was excited and happy to know he was and would be regaining his memories and reclaiming his life.

Emmet was happy, too, although they didn't have to speak to know that.

"The train will be rounding back to its beginning position soon." Emmet stated, "We still have a few things to do. For now, though, we can just rest for a bit."

Ingo nodded. He and Emmet made their way to the first cart after the locomotive, sitting down next to each other on one of the lines of seats. They spoke for a while- Ingo talked about how he thought they must've worked really hard, and that he was very glad to be able to be rediscovering everything. Emmet replied with his usual blunt yet comforting and helpful remarks, letting Ingo know about what he should know, and the answers he asked for. 

Soon, the brothers felt the train come to a stop. They stood up, Emmet showing Ingo the safety procedures the younger brother had mentioned earlier before leaving the train to its own. Ingo felt familiar with it, and helped perform the procedure almost as if he had never forgotten.

Afterwards, Emmet continued to tour Ingo- just a few more things, and if Ingo wanted to do something of his own suggestion, they would!

As they walked, Ingo felt a feeling of warmth, of resolve, of stability and comfort within himself. Tears pricked at his eyes, and he wiped them away, although a few more broke through. Emmet saw, and before he could ask, Ingo smiled.

"I'm just so happy to be here again." Ingo explained, "This place, everything in it...it's my passion. A huge part of my life....I'm glad to be able to be with it, and see it again. And I'm so grateful you were here with me. Thank you, Emmet."

Emmet's eyes softened, and his small, worried smile turned into a happy grin. 

"Of course, Ingo! Thank you for coming here."

-

Chapter 22

Chapter 24 (Work In Progress!)

[fishhawish]

N from Pokemon with little sibling reader

Character: N Harmonia (Natrual Harmonia Gropius)

Pokémon

Tw: N's past with 'special' pokemon

Fluff / Platonic (headcanons)

(Context: reader is meant to me around the age of 13-14 and has no relation to Gethsis but does to Team Plasma, also takes place after B/W and Gender neutral)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Years ago N couldn't see himself exploring the bonds between Pokémon and Humans.

Now he uses his adoptive little sibling as a prime example of a good Pokémon and Human friendship.

He adopted his little sibling on his own after they wondered into his castle.

He has a hard time talking about his past with his little sibling using the term "special Pokémon" to show how terrible some people can truly be.

Travels with little sibling.

Ferris wheels, 100% while he tells his little sibling the story of the travler who saved all of Unova.

He lets little sibling pet Zekrom, Zekrom doesn't seem to mind.

He also lets little sibling pet Reshiram, Reshiram looks very fluffy tbh.

He tears up with joy if you where to ever call him your older brother.

(Fem reader) Used to only having his two older sisters and often has to go to them for girl reasons which he obviously doesn't understand.

Would give the world to keep his little sibling happy and healthy.

Eventually would settle down and get a small 2 bedroom house outside of a city after traveling for a few years probably. (Won't question where he got the funds to do so either.)

[fleet-admiral-hiba]

OVERWORKED? NAH

A/n: For Clay there was no day off. He was attending his business 24/7, whether it was gym related or not. But even him needed some time off. He wasn't getting younger and the days were getting tougher

Drayden knew that if he wanted to make his husband rest,he needed to get his Pokémon on board. They were worried too, but he dismissed them every time.

He could see the dark bags under his eyes getting heavier, his body aching something fierce, even though he tried to deny it. Waking up sore and exhausted and yet going to work with single minded ferocity.

That was Driftveil city Gym leader and mining tycoon. A self made man who wasn't afraid to get dirty.

But when a call from his secretary reached his phone, he knew that Clay had reached his limit.

He had been the same too, before relinquishing his title to young Iris, and letting the new generation become mayor of Opelucid.

The weather outside wasn't spectacular, but it had stopped raining. He knew that somewhere along the day, he had to go to Twist mountain to check some new tunnels, and he knew for sure that he had forgotten his umbrella.

But nonetheless he was already walking towards the gym.

Less than five minutes later, he was taking the elevator to the office, on the upper floors. The secretary had already cleared the schedule and arranged the necessary changes around. Such competent people were hard to come by.

He didn't need to say a word, before he had lifted the other man, who had almost collapsed on his desk.

"I'm taking you home" he murmured and he didn't need much from his partner to agree. He was able to walk,but upon reaching home, he immediately collapsed into bed, weary weary bones protesting and hurting.

Silently he changed his work attire into something more comfortable, not forgetting to ease the knots he found along the way.

Clay was so tired that he didn't even stir. Fondly shaking his head, he continued his ministration, already familiar with the sight.

Tomorrow he would feel like hell, but at the moment he was catching on so much needed rest.

The sun came up and with it di Drayden, who wanted to prepare something light yet energetic to make up for the lost meals.

The other occupant of the bed didn't even stir, so much that even his Pokémon tried in vain to rouse him. "Be gentle, he needs to rest. He will be okay" he said to the Pokémon, comforting lovingly.

Coffee seemed to rouse the man, but grogginess set in, making his wake that much more hard. He felt every ache of the day before and he was able to sit up in bed, before stopping.

He needed to rest, but how could he, when there had been an emergency after the other in a week?

He thanked him softly, and slowly ate the presented breakfast. He managed barely to finish it before sleep took over once more.

Drayden could only chuckle softly, before going to do some chores.

Just another day in Unova.

[goomysnotebook]

𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 (Hop x !Reader)

A/N, this fic is taken from my old Wattpad account  back from early 2020. This was my first fanfiction that I ever posted, sadly I’ve lost the login to that Wattpad account but luckily I kept all the fics on my google drive. Hope you enjoy :)

---

The sun was setting, a blanket of darkness slowly inched its way around the old and peaceful city. The chilly temperatures combined with the dark clouds predicted a soon to be arriving snowfall. Chichester’s streets, although being quite the bigger town, were quiet, the only commotion came from the stadium.

The only person being seen on the street was you, sitting outside the pokécenter. A rotom phone levitating in front of you, scrolling through social media.

“Zzr, cheer up (Y/N),” the little electric-ghost type tried to comfort its trainer. “It’zzz okay to loze from time to time.”

“I made a complete fool out of myself-” You sighed in defeat, “-on live television!” You continued, starting to feel a burning sensation behind your eyes, but nothing happened. You just sat there, looking at the timeline.

Rotom scrolled past countless posts of other gym challengers, the next one even more powerful than the last. They were all boasting about their recent victories or doing sponsorships. Your gaze fell down to the concrete path underneath the bench. Rotom stopped scrolling.

“What’s the point?” You sniffed, “I’m never gonna become as strong as the others-” your voice becoming small and throaty as you hid away your face, “-I should just give up.” Tears had started to make their way down your cheeks.

“Zztop with that nonzenze!” Rotom bussed, “You fought zo hard to earn your endorzzzement, everyone makez miztakez. You can’t juzt give up! Pluz you’ve made it zo far, zzrt!”

Rotom’s words went in one ear and out the other, “Who brings dragon-flying types to an ice type battle? Let me tell you-” You exclaimed in a fluster, “-an absolute nutter wanker! No one will ever resp-” You got quiet, gaze fastened onto Rotom. The screen was displaying a picture of two boys, they were each holding up a Ballonea stadium gym badge.

You wiped away the tears with the back of your hand. You sighed, looking at the photo. A light tint of pink started to appear on your cheeks. Maybe it was from the cold, or maybe it was because of the purple-haired boy displayed on the screen. “I wish I was as strong as him…” You uttered almost longingly looking down towards the turf again. 

Ever since you’d first ran into each other during the opening ceremony in Motorstoke, you had felt something. You’d only been able to exchange some brief words before your tight schedules ripped them apart. Luckily you’d managed to get his league card before you parted. Pulling out the card from your pocket. Looking at it, the number 189 was written in a big bold font at the bottom left. To the right, a bit smaller was the name ‘Hop’ inscribed. You sighed again, getting lost in the forever frozen in time smile, trailing your thumb along his cheek.

A smile had crept up on your face, but the tears had started to fall again. Feeling like you'd let everyone down, your fans… your pokémon. Although you felt totally gutted, you couldn't let go of the smile. The smile from the card had projected itself onto you.

The feeling of something fluffy brushing up against your leg snapped you back into reality. Quickly putting back the card into your pocket. Looking down to investigate. You saw what looked like a grey-white land cloud pressing up against your leg.

"Dubwool, wait-" A voice was heard by the corner of the building. "-there you are!"

Your heart almost skipped a beat when the owner of the voice appeared in front of you.

"Dubwool return! I'm so sorry-" making eye contact, he stopped for a second and glanced at her form, "-did he cause any trouble?" The boy was calm as soft-spoken. Shifting his height to one leg, scratching the back of his neck. "You're (Y/N), right?"

You nodded, a bit surprised that he'd remembered your name.

"You might not remember me-" he continued, "-We met back in Motorstoke during the opening ceremony. I'm Hope." His smile was even brighter, almost blinding in person.

You started to feel your cheeks turn pink. He really did remember you, you didn't know why but it made you feel really warm inside. But everything fell apart at what he said next.

"I saw your battle with Melody, it was-"

You got a sinking feeling in your stomach, preparing for the inevitable ridicule that would ensue.

"-It was amazing!"

You slightly jerked back, surprised by Hop's words. "But I lost…" you silently replied.

Shifting over his weight onto the other leg, putting his hands in his pockets. Eyes sparkling with passion as he spoke. “So, what if you lost? You were-” He slightly nodded towards the empty space beside you on the bench, “-may I?” He asked,

“Yeah of course.” You replied scouting a bit to the side. Slightly turning your body towards the purple-haired boy as he sat down.

“-You were amazing!” He continued. “If it hadn’t been for Lapras, that Coalossal of yours would have swept through her entire team!”

“I guess…” You smiled, Hop’s encouraging words kinda just stuck with you. Making you feel a bit better about the loss.

“That’z what I told you, Zzrt,” Rotom quietly buzzed in your ear before buzzing back down into your pocket. You just ignored Rotom’s teasing.

Hop returned to speaking calmly as he confessed, “To be honest, I think that all of your battles are amazing-” He looked away to the side, avoiding eye contact. His ears tinted pink. “-You could say that I’m quite the fan…”

You were taken aback by Hop’s statement. Stunned, not knowing what to say. You’d had encounters with fans before, yes. But this was different, Hop was different.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to creep you out!” Hop exclaimed in an almost panicked fluster. He’d taken your silence as you being uncomfortable. “... I should probably leave… It was nice meeting you.” He stood up preparing to leave. 

The sight of Hop slowly starting to walk away, you were snapped out of your pondering state. You sprung up from the bench, “Hop, wait!” You uttered having taken a grip of his arm. 

Hop slowly turned to look over his shoulder. A pleasantly surprised expression spread across his face. He’d turned, now fully facing you. Your difference in hight was prominent as you stood there. Hop was almost towering over you.

Your gaze fell onto the ground, you didn’t have the courage to look him in the eyes. “You see-” you gulped, “-I’m quite the big fan of yours too…”

In a heartbeat Hop’s surprised expression changed into a bright grin. The pink tint from his ears had started to emigrate down his cheeks. But he didn’t say anything. You just stood there, feeling each others warmth as the cold from the outside world tried to force itself upon them.

When suddenly a small white speck hit and melted on the bridge of your nose. Looking around there were dozens of icy specks singling down around the teens. Hop flinched as one landed on his neck. You giggled at his sudden reaction. Hop joined in the snicker.

The familiar sound emanating from the pokécenter reminded you that there was a world outside of your little bubble. You looked back over your shoulder towards the pokécenter.

“I should probably go and cheek on Coalossal and the gang,” you uttered looking back at Hop. “It was nice meeting you again.”

“The pleasure was mine.” Hop responded

With your hand on the door handle. You looked over your shoulder, seeing Hop make his way away from you. Something hit you. A sinking feeling. You couldn’t really pinpoint why, but the thought of never getting to see him again scared you more than death. Catching yourself off guard having started to slowly walk towards him. “Hop wait!” You shouted after him, breaking into a small jog in the light snowfall.

He stopped, looking back at her. A confused expression stapled across his face.

Gathering your thoughts. Rotom buzzed as you took a grip of your phone resting in your pocket. This was it, it was now or never. You let out a heavy sigh before speaking. “Could I get your number?” Your heart racing.

Hop’s face lit up with a pink tint. “Of course,” he responded. You handed over your phone and Hop started to type in his number.

Handing back her phone, they touched hands. Hop’s warmth spread throughout your entire body.

“Cya around,” Hop chimed with a wave.

“Cya”

Making your way back to the pokécenter. You had forgotten all about your loss at the Circhester stadium.

(Y/N) was in love.

[sleepingdeath-light]

last updated ; 27/02/24

listed below is everything that i have written for every game in the pokémon franchise across all of my accounts. the only non-video game characters from this media that i write for are jessie and james.

characters are listed alphabetically by their first names.

* younger characters are aged up by default *

arven (scarlet and violet)

smut hcs — general [here]

avery (shield)

smut hcs — segmented alphabet [d/i/y]

cynthia (diamond and pearl)

hcs — being in a relationship [here]

emmet (black and white)

hcs — male s/o [here]

poly hcs — hinge!submas + male s/o [here]

poly hcs — hinge!submas + male s/o + smut [here]

yandere hcs — s/o who is okay with it [here]

smut hcs — segmented alphabet [d/i/y]

smut hcs — male s/o [here]

smut hcs — make up sex [pending]

giacomo (scarlet and violet)

smut hcs — general [here]

ingo (black and white)

hcs — male s/o [here]

hcs — s/o with adhd [here]

poly hcs — hinge!submas + male s/o [here]

poly hcs — hinge!submas + male s/o + smut [here]

smut hcs — segmented alphabet [d/i/y]

smut hcs — male s/o [here]

smut hcs — make up sex [pending]

james (anime)

hcs — being in a relationship [here]

smut hcs — general [here]

smut hcs — virgin s/o [pending]

jessie (anime)

hcs — being in a relationship [here]

smut hcs — general [here]

smut hcs — virgin s/o [pending]

leon (sword and shield)

drabble — spit roasting his s/o [here] (nsfw) (feat. raihan)

piers (sword and shield)

hcs — being in a relationship [here]

smut hcs — general [here]

smut hcs — segmented alphabet [d/i/y]

raihan (sword and shield)

drabble — spit roasting his s/o [here] (nsfw) (feat. leon)

[nxrdamp]

For a S/V prompt, how about some fluff with Arven & gender-neutral MC taking a well-deserved rest after the events of Area Zero.

I used to have a puffy vest like his, and they are SOFT. I imagine resting one's head on his chest must feel like heaven.

Arven x Gn! Reader -Comfort at Last

Masterlist

After the devastating realization that the only parent he “had”, hadn’t been there the whole time, Arven felt more alone than ever.

Even when Nemona insisted they all walk back together, he stayed silent.

“How the hell can she be so happy?! That was my parent, back there as a AI!!! The AI even left me….”

I don’t even think my (mother/father) got a proper burial….” Arven thought to himself, struggling farther and farther behind the group

After a few moments, the group left him entirely, as he snuck away. While everyone else was headed back to (Naranja/Uva) Academy, he ran back to his (mother’s/father’s) old research center by the lighthouse

He locked the door as soon as he ran in, and collapsed, letting the tears flow from his eyes.

Mabosstiff came out of his pokéball on his own, snuggling up to Arven to comfort him.

“Why Mabosstiff? Why did you have to raise me? I love you, but I just want them back. I want my (mom/dad)….”

Mabosstiff let out a sad bark, nuzzling his face into Arven’s neck.

Days when by, and still not sign of Arven. Nemona couldnt really bother herself to look and Penny didn’t really know him that well.

(Y/n), however, was searching all over Paldea for him. Even going back to Area Zero to see if he was hiding in the 4th research station to mourn his loss

Eventually, they were walking back to their mother’s house, to seek advice.

Arven was loosing his mind, first he lost his parent, and then Mabosstiff ran away. Was it because he was too pathetic to face reality? Or something else. He didn’t know.

————

(Y/n) was strolling down Poco path, before being pinned to the ground.

“H-Hey! What the hell?!”

They crawled out of the captor’s grasp, to get a good look at them.

It was Mabosstiff, he had left Arven to find help.

“Hey Mabosstiff” (Y/n) said, worried,”Where’s Arven? Is he okay?!”

Mabosstiff shook his head no

“Can you show me to him?”

Mabosstiff gave a bark in reply, agreeing to their request.

“Alright” (Y/n) replied,”We’re going to him right now. I’m……I’m really scared Mabosstiff. I want my friend back. I want him.”

Mabosstiff took that as all the confirmation he needed, and took off, dragging (Y/n) behind him across Pogo Path, leading to the place where they first met, the place where Arven’s (mother/father) used to conduct research.

The two of them walked up to the door, before letting out a shaky sigh.

“Here goes nothing…” They whispered to themselves

(Y/n) then gave a firm knock on the door, only to hear a response of shuffling around the room, and disgruntled noises.

“Ugh. Go away.” Arven said, not even bothering to open the door to see who his visitor is.

Mabosstiff barked, demanding the door to be opened at once.

He ripped the door open, ready to pounce on whoever had his partner.

“YOU-“ Arven said, stopping in his tracks before locking eye contact with (Y/n).

Mabosstiff jumped on Arven, giving him a puppy-hug, as (Y/n) stepped into the dusty, once not so long ago abandoned, research facility.

They coughed from the dust being stirred up, only to find an inflatable mattress on the floor, that looked as if it had seen better days. It was adorned with tear stains and shedded fur.

“Why are you here? Student council girl send you for ‘attendance’ or something?” Arven said, shutting the door to let no one else in.

“No. She actually doesn’t know I’m here. Penny either. I……I care for you Arven. I do. I know Area Zero must have fucked with you in the head. I know that, but….please…I wanna be there for you. I’ll never be or replace your (mom/dad), but you do have people that care for you in your life! Well, I don’t know anyone else’s true feelings, but I know mine. You….mean so much to me. I can’t stand you being so….alone”

They walked over to him, cupping his cheek as tears flowed from his eyes at their sweet, encouraging words. “Arven…” (Y/n) said,”I love you. Always will. Plus, you can’t get rid of me. Mabosstiff will just team up with me again.”

Arven let out a chuckle, before hugging them so hard they both fell onto the aged mattress.

“A-Arven!!” (Y/n) laughed, crawling out from underneath him. They then rested their head upon his fluffy, yellow vest.

“I love you too (Y/n)….please know I wasn’t abandoning you-“

“Don’t apologize.” They said, holding him tighter to hear his increased heartbeat,”You lost a parent for Arceus’s sake! I was worried about you, not mad Arvy.”

He sniffled,”Thank you” He said quietly,”Thank you for always being there for me….no one else is-“

Mabosstiff let out a rebuttal, but in the form of an angry bark.

“-besides you and Mabosstiff” Arven finished, laughing his tears away as Mabosstiff tried to smush the both of them on the mattress.

“Just rest” (Y/n) told him,”We’ll worry about Clavell and Nemona chewing our asses out for attendance later”

He gave them a kiss on the forehead, and the three of them got some well deserved rest

Word Count: 898

[calamity-queen]

My first piece of Pokèmon fanfiction is up and posted! Can’t wait to write more!

Title: The Secretary

Rating: Mature

Category: M/F

Fandom: Pokèmon

Relationships: Giovanni/Fem!Reader, Giovanni & Giovanni’s Persian, Reader & Giovanni’s Persian

Characters: Giovanni, Reader-Insert, Giovanni’s Persian, Archer (mentioned,) Proton (mentioned,) Lance (Mentioned)

Additional Tags: Workplace Relationship, Smut, Naked Female Clothed Male, Penis in Vagina Sex, Mutual Pining, Desk Sex, Daddy Kink, Choking, Suggested Breeding Kink, Interrupted Sex, Fluff, No Beta Read

Summary: The leader of Team Rocket prided himself on his professionalism in everything, from his public, gym-leader persona to his position as the boss of the most powerful criminal organization in the world. This included how he interacted with his employees, regardless of their gender. But his secretary… something about her drove him absolutely wild with lust.

[pokespetrash]

nemona.

she’s covering her face, shielding herself from you and the crowd she herself had gathered to watch your ultimate battle. confused, you step toward her slowly.

“you…YOU DID IT!” she cries. she’s beaming from ear to ear. you hear a collective sigh of relief from the surrounding crowd—they had been momentarily uncomfortable seeing her wearing anything but a smile. they aren’t in close enough proximity to see the tears forming in her eyes.

“this is legit incredible! you’re the strongest out there!”

you swear you hear her voice quiver as she says your name.

“i mean, you knocked me flat, and i was giving you absolutely everything i had!”

the crowd has dispersed, appearing uninterested in her supposed typical antics about battling. they know it all too well.

“everything i…i…” her voice grows faint. you almost don’t hear her. you aren’t used to her whispering.

“HAAAA! HA HAAAAA!” the boom of her voice makes you flinch. you can’t help but wonder where this sudden change of character is coming from.

she glances around quickly to find that the director, the top champion, and a couple elite four members are still present. her eyebrows raise ever so slightly, almost as if she had realized that she let her guard down. maybe the crowd wasn’t entirely gone. “oh man. pokémon battling, am i right?”

of course she’s right, you think. at least, you want her to think that she’s right. now you aren’t so sure.

“it’s so much better—so much more fun than i ever even knew!”

you allow yourself to chuckle. that’s her, you think. there she is. you gaze at her as she extends her hand.

“thanks for that incredible match. you beat me for REAL this time!”

for real this time. every time you two battled, you won. a clean sweep of her assembled teams. you knew that she was a champion, and she was proud of it. she only used different teams each time she battled you to make it a fair fight.

or did she?

you smile at her and take her hand. her grip is crushing and you find yourself wincing in pain. the look on her face is heartbreaking. nobody else can see it, but you can. it feels like goodbye.

she quickly starts rambling about having another battle immediately after the one you two had just finished. the remaining crowd rolls their eyes at her in annoyance and they walk away. up until now, you thought that she was completely oblivious to others’ feelings about her fixation with battling. right now though, you still see the tears brimming and the light leave her eyes.

because she knows. she’s aware that she annoys everyone. she never lets it show, but it hurts her to her core. but it didn’t annoy YOU, so she saw an opportunity and hit the ground running. was it to prove something to herself? she would often sit up at night, wondering if something was wrong with her. that is, until you moved in. everything changed then. the pain became bearable and she actually had something to look forward to when seeing you. now that the two of you shared a (truly incredible, you can’t help but agree) final match, there was nothing else for her to grow excited about. she is devastated and thinks that she has lost her best (and only) friend. she plasters on a fake smile and turns to walk away, each step growing faster until she begins to sprint. you don’t follow her. this is how she knows it’s TRULY over.

she also knows that no matter how hard she tries, she will NEVER beat you. because she really did give you EVERYTHING she had.

[thoughtfuldolia]

Kukui experienced many odd forms, but having a ditto for a muzzle made those days in captivity a special kind of miserable.

He thought he might be off the hook when his body gave the muzzle two mouths to choose between. He can be overly optimistic, or perhaps it’s sleep-deprived desperation for some semblance of comfort.

Why is he going through this? He still has no idea who did this to him and why. He loves his life right now.

[so-sures-blog]

Hey so like I recently started getting into ikarishipping and I found your stuff and like???? It's so good???? I need more???? I wanted to request more fluffy hcs and stuff for them, but I totally understand if you don't wanna

listen

Ok, I know this isn’t a headcannon but I was inspired to write this little fic about them, so hope you don’t mind. This was sitting in my drafts for so long now until I finally worked up the courage to get it done.

º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º

Dawn places the finishing touches on Piplup’s outfit, clapping appreciatively as her starter proudly strikes poses in his little cheerleader prince uniform.

“Let’s go show everyone your outfit!” Dawn picks up Piplup and beams as he chirps his agreement.

Dawn exits the room, heading out to meet Ash, Barry, and Brock to talk about the match today. It was the early morning of the Pokémon Sinnoh League, with Ash and Paul finally facing off. After a full year of battling and insults the two were about to meet in the semifinals.

Dawn makes her way down the hall, footsteps echoing. Ash against Paul … it would certainly be a battle to be remembered. It had been a long time since Lake Acuity. Since their very first battle. Ash and his team have only grown stronger since then, and so has Paul.

They all had.

“… I have one last thing to tell you,” a voice suddenly cuts across the lobby and turning around, Dawn gasps and ducks before Paul sees her.

Piplup turns around with a questioning “Pip?” and Dawn claps a hand over his beak. Piplup releases a silent squawk of rage before pecking her hand indignantly. Dawn shakes out her hand with a quiet hiss before pressing a finger to her lips and glaring in a ‘be quiet’ motion. Piplup glares right back before he settles down to eavesdrop. Dawn pokes her head over the counter to watch.

“Paul? Win this. Don’t underestimate Ash’s skill — then win the whole thing!”

Paul’s lips curve into a smile. “I will.”

Reggie hung up with a “Later, Paul,” before Paul turns around — only to meet Dawn’s startled blue eyes.

Dawn froze in embarrassment, a pink blush staining her cheeks once she realizes she’s been caught staring. Paul looks taken aback, staring at her with surprised onyx eyes.

Say something, stupid, her brain says as silence starts to creep between the two.

“Umm …” Dawn laughs nervously, and Paul turns on his heel and begins walking away. She nearly facepalmed herself. Really, that’s what she comes up with?

“That was Reggie you were talking to, right? So, is he coming here today?” Dawn hastily tries to cover up her lack of verbal skills by asking him a question, but she must’ve said the wrong thing because Paul begins walking faster.

Dawn felt stupid. Of course Reggie wasn’t coming, Paul was just on a phone call with him, and Veilstone City was too far to make it in an hour. Before she could wallow in her own self-pity, Paul spoke up.

“So, how’s he doing?” Paul practically sneers.

“Uh, you mean how’s Ash?” Dawn asks. She exchanges a questioning look with Piplup before realizing Paul is almost at the door. She runs after him. “Wait! If you ask a question, don’t you want to hear the answer?”

Dawn catches up with him, falling in a step or two behind him. The brisk morning air hits her face and clears her head. “Ash is doing some last minute training with his Pokémon. Want me to get him?”

“Please don’t. No need.”

“Why did you ask about him then?”

“ … I don’t know.”

Oh great, Dawn thinks sarcastically. Dawn realizes she’s fallen behind him and hurries to catch up.

What do we even say to each other? She thinks nervously. The awkwardness is probably one-sided as she doubts Paul cares about that sort of thing, but it’s all Dawn can think about. 

As a coordinator, Dawn prides herself on being able to entertain the audience and appeal to the judges. Her entire career depends on people’s opinions and how they view her. 

But Paul? Paul was unreadable. She had no idea what he was thinking, much less feeling. 

Should she just peel off, say she forgot something? But they were walking in the same direction. Should she ask him about his Pokémon, if he was ready for his battle? But would Paul get defensive and snap at her? Would Paul even notice if she fell back and walked by herself?

“I just don’t like him,” Paul says suddenly. Dawn’s head whips up. Was Paul actually talking about his feelings? Verbally expressing how he felt? In front of her?

Dawn suddenly felt like she’s walking on a live wire. 

“He talks just like my brother. Friends, trust … my brother says those things all the time too.”

“But Paul, Ash isn’t Reggie. Ash is Ash, and that’s that.” Dawn protests.

“PAUL!”

“Hey Dawn! Paul!”

The two look up to see Barry and Ash racing towards them with bright grins on their faces.

“Look, Ash is like any other trainer I’d have to battle in the quarter-finals … and I’m going to have to beat him if I want to win the Sinnoh League.”

Dawn stares at Paul with an open mouth. Wow. She had no idea Paul felt those things — that he is even feeling things at all. She knows Ash, his nervousness for the battle manifesting in his training and his determination. But Paul is feeling things about the battle too. 

Dawn feels his determination, his strength for what is ahead. The way he speaks and how his eyes focus up ahead — past her, past Ash — as if there is more waiting for him to achieve. 

It makes Dawn realize that being the Sinnoh Champion isn’t just Ash’s dream — it was Paul’s too. The way Paul trained his Pokémon and how he let go of Chimchar — it was ruthless and wrong, but suddenly Dawn realizes it was for a purpose. Paul wasn’t power-hungry for no reason. 

Paul is ambitious and determined and focused and level. His strength to push past things and focus solely on his goal is what makes him powerful, not his Pokémon. His ambition drives him to do better and his determination is what forces him to never stop. This battle with Ash is a stepping stone to something greater, and Paul is going to do everything he can to beat him. 

And Dawn could respect that. 

*** 

Ash and Paul’s battle is as heart-pounding as Dawn expects.

She’s cheering for Ash, calling out encouragement as Piplup cheers and Brock yells. She is rooting for him because she’s his friend, and one little conversation with Paul won’t change that. 

But still, between Barry screaming in her ear and the roaring audience, a small part of her thinks she wouldn’t mind it if Paul won.

[sunshine-vx]

Across Space, Time and Dreams (ASTaD) (Ch. 26- Part 1 of 3)

(Blankshippers DNI)

(Please refer to beginning of chapter 1 post for complete list of CWs/TWs)

(Extra notes: Yippiee, chapter 26 at last! Wow, this one is long! The longest chapter by far, actually. It'll have 2 other parts to it! I hope you guys enjoy!)

(This chapter's illustration done by @moonlightalpha666 !)

(Reblogs are appreciated!)

-

Once again, as the days passed, the pattern of Ingo regaining his memories continued. It had hardly been a day or so after he had regained his memory of meeting Chandelure, and Ingo was already eager to regain the next puzzle piece in the timeline.

His third partner Pokémon. Who it was, Ingo knew that much- his Haxorus.

The older twin had expressed the fact that he wanted to regain another memory to Emmet and his Pokémon. Haxorus had popped up, its tail swishing side to side, excited. Emmet was also happy to help, the younger twin and the Axe Jaw Pokémon getting straight to work with helping Ingo prepare for his next adventure.

Ingo would go on to learn that Haxorus was the first Pokémon he had caught on an adventure all on his own, meaning Emmet wouldn't be coming with them.

While that did seem a bit lonely, both brothers knew that it had been and still was necessary to build their skills as individual trainers- as well as the fact that Ingo knew Emmet would never let Ingo go anywhere or do anything that would endanger him. 

Apparently, it had been quite the adventure based on the few things Emmet had told Ingo. Not only that, Emmet- with Haxorus’ help- had also prepared a camping backpack filled with supplies for Ingo to bring. 

Information is important, you can never be too prepared!

Ingo's excitement outweighed his nerves, and he and Haxorus were ready to go!

Emmet had told Ingo that Alvis from the Driftviel City Daycare would be helping him out, and to go meet him there. Emmet had already filled them in, so they should be prepared!

After thanking Emmet and exiting the house, Ingo had made his way to the Driftviel City Daycare, Haxorus having decided to go into its Pokéball for the time being. Alvis had been waiting for him, Ingo making sure to check In with Mrs. Hagen, as well. All seemed to be well!

With all that settled, Ingo, Alvis at his side, exited the Daycare. Curious, Ingo faced Alvis and asked,

“So, where are we headed? What's the place that'll jog my memory?”

Alvis smiled, repositioning the strap of his handbag. 

“Mistralton Cave!”

-

As Alvis and Ingo made their way to Mistralton Cave, Alvis told Ingo a story of a band of thieves that had taken a group of the Daycare's baby Pokémon years ago. 

“Wow, they really did that? How awful.” Ingo expressed, his expression concerned and shocked.

Alvis nodded in agreement, “Indeed- it was quite the situation. Thankfully, all of the baby Pokémon were found safely.”

Ingo let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that, “Well, that's good. Whatever became of the thieves?”

“Some of them were caught, although apparently others weren't, and went on to become a part of Team Plasma.” Alvis explained

Ingo’s eyes widened upon hearing that, “Team Plasma? You mean, the one Ghetsis led? That team Plasma?”

“Right. Although we all know it's been disbanded for a few years now.”

“Yeah. Thank goodness for that.”

Ingo then met Alvis’ gaze, and he tilted his head to the sight a bit,

“Although, I'm a bit confused about one thing…why exactly are you telling me this?”

Alvis hummed to himself for a moment, thinking. Then, he replied, “Usually I'd tell you, but I think this is one of those things I should say ‘you'll see’ to.”

Ingo was a little tempted to ask why, although he decided against it, assuming that Alvis had his best interests in mind.

“Alright then- I trust you.”

As Ingo and Alvis continued down the path, now entering route six, Ingo went on to experience more and more of that familiar buzzing in the back of his head and heart. He almost found himself lost in thought, before he heard a sudden whistle come from Alvis.

Snapping out of his trance, Ingo watched intently as a patch of the tall grass began to rustle. After a moment, a few Pokémon popped out of the grass- including, a Patrat and a Purrloin. The Patrat and Purrloin approached Alvis, who was waving them over. Alvis smiled and crouched down to pet the two Pokémon, taking turns petting both once at a time.

“Wow! Bravo! Can you befriend Pokémon just by whistling at them?” Ingo inquired. That buzzing feeling was getting even more powerful. 

Alvis laughed heartily and stood back up, the Patrat and Purrloin making their way back to the tall grass.

“Not exactly. These two I just happen to be particularly familiar with.”

Ingo smiled, “They seem to like you.”

Alvis nodded, “They're both quite friendly. Maybe you can make friends with them, too- although we shouldn't get too distracted.”

Ingo nodded as well, “Right. It would be excellent to befriend them, though!”

Ingo turned back down the path they had begun on.

“Well- full steam ahead, we go!”

With that, Alvis and Ingo started again on their way to Mistralton Cave. As they approached the end of the route, Ingo glanced behind him, spotting the same Patrat and Purrloin, watching him with cautious but inviting eyes. Ingo offered them a friendly tip of his hat, before turning back and entering the exit of the route. 

-

Soon enough, Alvis and Ingo had made it to Mistralton Cave, seeing the natural structure before them come into view as they walked down a dirt road between trees and bushes.

The two spotted a few clearings; for some reason, Ingo swore this place had been a little different then he remembered. Nevertheless, curious as he always was, Ingo decided he wanted to explore.

“Hold on,” Alvis spoke, “we should set up camp first. Or, at least some place for myself and possibly your Pokémon to hang out. I'm not planning on going into the cave with you, if that's alright- I've got work to do.”

Ingo nodded and smiled, not bothered by Alvis’ words, “Sounds fine to me, that's a good idea! Let's see here…”

The older twin scanned the area, looking upon the multitude of clearings that presented themselves. Ingo found himself particularly drawn to a clearing in the southeastern direction. It was a larger clearing, as well as being closer to the cave- plus, it had a berry bush!

“How about over there?” Ingo suggested as he pointed towards the clearing.

Alvis nodded in agreement, “Whatever you'd prefer is fine by me!”

Happy to be on the same page as Alvis, Ingo led the way towards the clearing. When they got there, Ingo removed his backpack and placed it on the ground, crouching beside it and thinking of what to do next. 

Then, he voiced, “I'm only going to put down a sleeping bag. We shouldn't be here overnight, right?”

Alvis said, “Right. I'll be out here working on paperwork, although if you need my help, don't hesitate to ask!”

Ingo clasped his hands together and nodded in response.

"Thank you!" He spoke.

Alvis smiled as he took a hardcover-book, a pencil, and a few sheets of paper out of his handbag.

"Of course!"

Satisfied, Ingo went back to where he had put the sleeping bag and picked it up. He quickly but efficiently laid out the sleeping bag, smoothing it out to make sure it was comfortable. 

Ingo then reached towards his Pokébelt, an idea coming to him. One after the other, he tossed up seven Pokéballs, letting out his entire team, plus one Pokémon that the twins shared equally.

“Everyone, come on out!” Ingo exclaimed; with that, a Klinklang, Chandelure, Haxorus, Crustle, Excadrill, Garbodor, and Gurdurr all formed from their respective blue lights that emitted from the Pokéballs. 

Alvis looked on from the side with wide eyes, although not out of fear.

“Quite the impressive team you've got there.” He stated.

Ingo chuckled happily, grabbing the camping backpack and throwing it over his shoulders, “Thank you! I thought it would be a nice idea for everyone to enjoy their time out here while Haxorus and I went inside Mistralton Cave to unlock this memory! You'll watch over them, right? Is that okay with you guys?”

Alvis nodded, happy to watch over the Pokémon, with the Pokémon all making their own respective noises of agreement and content.

Of course, Haxorus was the first to approach Ingo. It had stepped towards the berry bush and picked off an Oran Berry with its mouth, which it still hadn't eaten. 

A few moments later, Chandelure levitated from the group and towards Ingo and Haxorus. With a jingling sound, Chandelure's flames brightened, and it swung gently side to side. 

“Oh, right! You'll be our light source, won't you, Chandelure? You quite like to do that!” Ingo said. 

Chandelure levitated up and down a bit in a happy motion, and Ingo smiled, glad to know Chandelure was going with him and Haxorus. 

As for Haxorus, it bit the Oran Berry in half, both pieces falling to the ground. It chirped happily, using its tail to push one half towards Chandelure, before wrapping the other half and holding it in its tail, although it didn't eat it. Ingo supposed Haxorus wanted to save it for later. 

The trainer chortled, finding the exchange to be very endearing. Chandelure used one of its appendages to gratefully lift up the half of the berry and swiftly consume it, before making an eager whistle-like sound. Both of the Pokémon turned to face Ingo, excited auras emitting from both creatures.

Ingo nodded determinedly, glad that the both of them were ready to go- and was Ingo!

“Right!” Ingo exclaimed. He faced Alvis and the other Pokémon, 

“We'll be back!”

Then, the trainer turned towards Mistralton Cave and pointed towards the entrance, “Into Mistralton Cave we go! Our track awaits!”

-

Ingo, Haxorus and Chandelure made their way through the caverns and chambers of Mistralton Cave. Chandelure floated at Ingo's side, her flames glowing big and bright, providing the light source they needed.

Haxorus stood at Ingo's other side, making the occasional suggestion in direction with the tilt of its head or point of its tail as they explored the cave.

That buzzing- that familiar buzzing in his head and heart, had only gotten more and more powerful and present as they had gone. Ingo felt excited, sure that the moment of reckoning was near.

Eventually, Haxorus began to feel more eager, and a bit antsy, as it took the lead, showing Ingo and Chandelure a particular path. Yet again, the buzzing only intensified. 

After a few more turns and twists, Haxorus chirped loudly, hurrying forward down a passageway, almost losing Chandelure's light. In response, Ingo and Chandelure also picked up their pace, the trainer curious about what Haxorus had seen, and excited to know what it was- it was something important, he was sure of it. 

Haxorus was standing still by the time the two others caught up. Chandelure's light revealed that Haxorus had found…

…A dead end. 

Ingo furrowed his brows, certain it couldn't be that simple- that something of importance was surely here. That buzzing, that feeling- it was almost overwhelming. This memory was on the tip of Ingo's brain, if that's how one would say it. They were almost there!

“Haxorus, what have you found?” Ingo questioned. Chandelure emitted a quiet sound akin to that of a soft breeze, her voice knowing. 

Haxorus turned towards the other two, meeting Ingo's gaze. It rumbled gleefully and held out its tail, handing the piece of Oran Berry it held to Ingo, the trainer taking it in his hands. Ingo looked down at the half of the Oran Berry, then back up to Haxorus, who was taking a few steps backwards, before it stopped near the wall of the cave. Ingo was careful to take in the entire scene in front of him, scanning it thoroughly. 

Then, the buzzing stopped, like a snap of one's fingers. It all came flooding back in that instant. 

-

Ingo was walking through Mistralton Cave, Litwick on his head. It was a little silly, Ingo admits- despite having done this multiple times before, Ingo always found himself laughing quietly when he would put Litwick on top of him, but it worked as a fantastic light source. Thankfully, Litwick had understood pretty quickly when and when not to drain people's life force, and was glad to help its trainer. 

Today was Ingo's first adventure on his own, without his twin brother Emmet- he was looking to catch another wild Pokémon to be the third member of his team. 

It was admittedly a bit lonely without his twin, but Ingo and Emmet had to develop their skills as individual trainers, too- and so Ingo was excited.

Ingo turned around a corner in the cave, realizing after a few more steps forward that it was a dead end.

But that wasn't all he saw. 

"Is that..." Ingo murmured. 

A small mass was laying down on the cave floor. It had the shape of a reptile, with tusks and a green hue.

"..an Axew." Ingo completed his statement. Litwick, also curious, scooted itself downwards and onto Ingo's shoulder.

As the young trainer took a few steps to take a closer look, a feeling of worry washed over him. The Axew was sleeping, but it didn't seem like a restful sleep. It had a few cuts and bruises, and while that wasn't terrible, it was still concerning-- this Axew looked to be just a baby. 

Ingo stood still as he contemplated what to do, multiple options going through his head. He could take it to a Pokémon Center or a Daycare, but what if its parents were still around? Then, a thought crossed Ingo's mind– Emmet had a bit of an interest in breeding and taking care of baby Pokémon; what would he do in this situation? 

Ingo remembered a few times when he had seen Emmet take care of baby Pokémon. He always checked their breathing and heartbeats, and made sure they could move okay. 

However, doing this without waking the Axew would possibly be difficult. Ingo didn't want the poor thing to be frightened by him. Still, he'd need to heal it, as well…then, Ingo remembered! 

As someone with a passion for cooking, he happened to know that the Axew line loves berries! An Oran berry, specifically, would do nicely. 

"Litwick, I need to take care of this Axew." Ingo explained, "I have a plan, but I'll need your help- is that okay?” 

Litwick made a whistle-esc sound of agreement, its goopy mouth forming into a smile. Ingo grinned in return, carefully taking the Candle Pokémon off of his head and turning to place her on the ground to the side. 

"Bravo! Thank you, Litwick." Ingo exclaimed, before turning to take the next step to prepare.

Ingo lifted the camping backpack he had brought, filled with supplies, and quietly placed it on the floor to the other side of himself. He opened it, being mindful not to make much noise, rummaging through it for a few moments, and taking out a few items- including an Oran berry.

Then, when he was finally ready, Ingo turned back to the tiny, slumbering dragon.

The young trainer slowly and carefully stepped towards the Axew until he was towering over it. He crouched down and placed his hand on the Axew's upper back. Its breathing seemed okay, and Ingo let out a sigh of relief. Then, Ingo gently shook the small dragon a few times- in response, the Axew shifted before opening its eyes a little, seeming somewhat out of it.

Ingo lifted his hand off of the Axew, and tried to make his voice quiet and soft, smiling friendlily, "Hello there! My name is Ingo--"

Before the young trainer could continue, however, the Axew's eyes shot wide open, and it quickly stood up as it tried to escape. The Axew turned away and took a few wobbly steps, before realizing it was cornered.

The Axew turned back to Ingo, afraid- it sat on the ground and put its head down, covering its eyes. Ingo felt a twinge in his heart, feeling sad that the Tusk Pokémon felt scared. 

Ingo reached for the Oran berry to his side, taking it in his hand. When he turned back to Axew, it had lifted its head a little and uncovered one of its eyes, taking a peek at Ingo. It noticed Ingo looking at it again and tensed up.

"Hey..." Ingo spoke to Axew, "You don't need to be scared. I know you may have gone through something scary, but I'm not here to hurt you." Ingo spoke in a gentle tone, making sure his body language seemed as friendly as possible. 

After a moment, the Axew uncovered its other eye, but was still tense. 

With that, Ingo slowly took a few steps towards Axew, who scooted back in response- nevertheless, Ingo was able to make an approach.

"Hey, hey, look!" Ingo exclaimed as he held out his arm towards Axew, Oran Berry in hand. "I have an Oran Berry for you. You're probably hungry, and it'll help you feel better, too!"

Axew eyed the berry, but hesitated for a moment. It looked downwards, seemingly thinking.

Ingo sat down, continuing to hold the berry outwards. 

"Hey. You don't have to trust me. But I want to help you, and I can only do that if you trust me. It's your choice, but I'd really like it if you could allow me to help you get better."

Axew looked up and stared at Ingo for a moment, then looked to the side. It made a few squeaky noises under its breath, before it stood up and emitted a happy, chirping noise. 

Ingo smiled as the Axew wobbled towards him, taking the berry from his palm and eating it with glee. Ingo chuckled, happy to see that the Pokémon had decided to trust him. Soon, the Oran Berry was gone- Axew already looked better. Apparently it already felt better, too, because the baby Pokémon squealed happy and stumbled onto Ingo's lap, who laughed in delighted surprise. 

Ingo put his hand on Axew's back, who didn't seem to mind.

"Do you like belly rubs?" Ingo remarked, before scratching Axew's belly. Axew seemed surprised, but not in a bad way. Following a few beats, it closed its eyes and began making a content, soft rumbling noise. After a moment of more belly scratches, Ingo pressed his hand to Axew's chest, who didn't seem to notice at first regarding its lack of belly rubs.

Good. Its heartbeat was normal, too. 

But what should Ingo do now? He hadn't seen any Haxorus or Fraxure. Perhaps it had some family that would return soon. But why had Axew been in that injured state? Maybe there was an emergency. 

He would need to find out.

-

Chapter 25

Chapter 26 (Part 2 of 3)