#bede: why would she do this
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Hop - Loser Like Me
This is an older fic that I’m just now cross-posting from my Wattpad.
Summary: He was never able to win against his rivals, and he didn't become the champion. He couldn't live up to his older brother's name. He wasn't all that special, he thought. So, why would Hop ever think that you would ever glance at him? You were that sweet, lovable person that worked day in and day out to help better the lives of rescued pokémon. Surely, you wouldn't be interested in a loser like him.
Genre: Fluff + light angst
Pairing: Hop X Rescuer!Reader (Gender Neutral)
Content Warnings: | Hop’s self-deprecating thoughts | Fear of rejection | Mentions of abused pokemon | Swearing | Reader gets slapped once (not by Hop) | Slow burn kinda | Both Hop and Reader are depicted as adults. |
Word Count: 14,741
Sonia's lab was awfully quiet. At least, that's what Hop thought as he was the only person present in the building. Sonia was out, she had the urge to get out and do a bit of fieldwork for a change. Hop's Dubwool had fallen asleep near his desk quite some time ago.
Hop was seated at his desk, scribbling down various notes about pokémon and the Dynamax phenomenon. Even if he had been studying by Sonia's side for three years now, he still had a lot to learn and discover. There were so many pokémon out there, and there was new knowledge to be gained from them practically every day.
Behind him, the Dynamax readings showed stability, thankfully. Nothing had been out of the ordinary for a long time, but Hop and Sonia had the habit of keeping a close eye on them. Their slight paranoia was understandable due to the damage caused by the actions of Rose and the royal brothers.
Hop's foot tapped away as he wrote, he twirled his pen every so often. Even though Hop had matured quite a bit over the years, sitting still for long periods was still not his forté.
As he finished jotting down the final words of his report, he gathered up all of the sheets to place them in a neat pile. With a sigh, he leaned back to stretch his sore muscles, he had been hunched over his desk for a good amount of time, so it was much needed. Hop let out a small yelp as his computer chair nearly fell back from the pressure he was applying.
Once he stabilized himself, he reached for his Rotom Phone, turning it on so that he could tune into some live battles. He still had a bit of work to do, but he figured that he could take a small break.
He blinked once he saw footage of his best friend in battle. Hop had almost forgotten that today was Victor's exhibition match. Nonetheless, he smiled as he began to watch it.
Victor was battling Bede, and both men were giving it their all. Seeing those two battle it out on the pitch brought back memories from his own gym challenge. After all, the three had been the biggest rivals throughout their journeys.
Victor was a fantastic champion, and perhaps even better than Leon was, Hop thought. Even today, Hop couldn't believe how powerful his childhood friend was, and it seemed as though his strength grew with every passing day.
Victor wasn't just a strong battler, he was inspirational and a good man. He didn't care much about having many sponsors, nor did he go out of his way to partake in interviews. He often donated his prize money to people in need, and he was exceptionally humble.
Even Bede had matured into a decent man. Now the full-time gym leader of Ballonlea, he was a force to be reckoned with for challengers. Although he still kept a facade of toughness, Hop couldn't deny that Bede was much more polite than before. Even if Bede and Hop had never gotten along, Hop thought that it was great that Bede had found his place in the world.
Hop took a glance at his sleeping Dubwool, reaching down to stroke his coat softly. It dawned on him that it's been quite a while since he had battled someone because he was so focused on his studies to become a respectable professor. He hoped that his pokémon weren't too bored with his decision to lessen pokémon battling to focus on research.
However, they seemed to have accepted his choice of career, as did his friends and relatives. Even though being a professor was far from being his original dream, he thought it was fun.
All his life, Hop had wanted to be the champion. He wanted to prove to the region that he was just as good, possibly better than his brother. But that didn't happen, Victor got there first.
He continued to watch Victor's battle on his phone, completely immersed in the confident and enthusiastic energy that Victor displayed. Victor still had five pokémon standing, while Bede was on his last two.
"It's no wonder you became champion, mate," Hop chuckled to himself.
No wonder indeed. Three years later, and Hop had accepted that he never stood a chance of being champion. Not when he was up against Victor. Hop had never been able to defeat Victor, and he always felt like he was lightyears behind his dear friend.
Even today, he felt underwhelming compared to everyone around him. It felt as though his friends, rivals and family were all achieving great success and making names for themselves while he was constantly scribbling notes and watching wild pokémon.
Hop sighed, shaking his head in annoyance at his own thoughts. He knew better than to think so negatively, but the quiet atmosphere of the lab seemed to be the perfect setting to overthink life itself.
He shook his head once more, smiling to himself as a way to convince himself that everything was fine. He was usually so bubbly and energetic, for crying out loud! He loved doing research. It was his new passion, and that's what was important.
Hop grinned as Victor's battle came to a close, ending in a victory for his best friend. Though the outcome didn't surprise him, Hop mentally congratulated him.
As he turned off his phone to get back to work, the door to the lab opened. He didn't fully pay any mind to it as it was most likely Sonia since she was to return around these hours.
"H-Hello? Is there anyone?" A meek voice timidly sounded.
Hop's gaze lifted. That was most definitely not Sonia. He got up from his chair and smoothed his lab coat before heading to the entrance of the lab.
There stood a young, short-haired girl who looked to be more or less ten-years-old. She shyly fiddled with her sweater's sleeves as her gaze was fixated to the ground.
Hop blinked but quickly shook off his surprise to smile at the youngling. "Hi, there! What brings you here?"
"W-Well... is Professor Sonia here? I'm supposed to get my first pokémon today," she said.
Now that Hop thought about it, he did remember Sonia saying something about a girl coming to get her starter today. He had completely forgotten about that.
He looked around nervously, Sonia had most likely lost track of time. It happened to her often whenever she was really into her work, and he really couldn't blame her.
He scratched the back of his head. "R-Right! You must be Annabelle, yeah?"
The little girl nodded in response with a soft smile.
"So, er, the thing is that Sonia isn't here right now..." he said.
Annabelle's smile faltered a bit. "Oh... that's okay. I'll come back. I'm sorry for bothering you," she said.
Hop cringed at the dejected look she had, and before she could turn around and leave, he stopped her.
"Hey, wait! I can give you your pokémon, you don't have to come back later," he said before he could stop himself.
Surely, Sonia wouldn't mind if he took matters into his own hands, right? After all, he felt too bad at the thought of making her wait, he knew all too well just how exciting it was to get your very first pokémon.
"Really? Oh, thank you so much!" She said enthusiastically.
Hop chuckled and motioned her to follow him. "Well, come along. Let's have you meet the little fellows!"
She did as told and followed Hop. He then headed to a shelf where three pokéballs sat. He grabbed them and turned back to Annabelle.
As he called out the pokémon, three familiar faces excitedly made their entrance. Hop couldn't help but smile as the nostalgia hit him as he watched the Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble all pose adorably.
Annabelle seemed absolutely enamoured with them as well as she cooed at their cuteness.
Hop nodded to himself, it was time for him to put his knowledge to good use. This would be a good way for him to evaluate his performance as a future professor.
"Sobble is just about the most gentle Water-type pokémon out there! It can be pretty sensitive and timid, but don't let that fool you, Sobble is a master of camouflage and silent attacks. It never fails to aim for an opponent's weak spot! She's a little girl!" Hop explained.
Sobble wiggled her fin as she covered her cheeks to hide a little blush. It sounded like she was giggling.
"Scorbunny is a very energetic Fire-type! It's always raring to go and up for a good fight. It's a very confident pokémon who will always do its best to impress and protect its trainer! This little guy is a boy," Hop continued.
Sorbunny bounced in the air, pumping his little paw with a wink. He was trying to showboat a little.
"And lastly, we have the Grass-type, Grookey! It's a very peaceful pokémon with a good sense of leadership. It's a very speedy pokémon that can get quite immersed in battles. This one is a boy!" He concluded.
Grookey wagged his tail, chirping happily with a bright smile as he bounced up and down. He grabbed his stick to tap a little beat onto the tile floor.
"So, which one will you take? Choose wisely. This will be your most trusted partner who will stick by your side throughout your journey no matter what," Hop said.
Annabelle's gaze flicked between the three pokémon, but not for long as she had her eyes set on the little Grookey.
"They're all so cute, but I decided that I wanted a Grookey ages ago!" She said as she crouched to the pokémon's height.
"Would you like to travel with me?" She asked, holding out her hand.
Grookey nodded excitedly as he put his little paws onto her hand. Annabelle giggled at the pokémon's cuteness.
Hop grinned. "Grookey, huh? A great choice. It was the pokémon that I chose to travel with along with Wooloo when I first started."
Annabelle giggled softly, picking up her new Grookey in her arms. "I know. That's why I wanted one, Mr. Hop!"
Hop blinked in surprise as he registered what the young girl had said. "I- Really?"
"Yeah! I always watched your battles with my mummy when you did your gym challenge. You were my favourite trainer, and I want to be just as good as you!" She said.
Hop was at a loss for words. Not only did this child know who he was, but she was admitting that she favoured him as a trainer. He didn't think this could even be a reality. He wasn't that special, he knew that for a fact. Sure, he made it through his gym challenge, but he had always been in both Victor and Leon's shadows, and, in his opinion, rightfully so.
His friends, brother and rivals all outshined him by so much. He didn't have their strength, he knew that as he could never beat a single one of them. Not even once. Hop had since accepted that he was destined to be the weakest person of his entourage.
He definitely felt happiness at knowing that someone thought so highly of him, yet he couldn't help but listen to the little voice at the back of his mind, saying that this sweet girl was making the worst mistake of her life by idolizing such a loser.
Hop chuckled nervously as he scratched at his hair. "A-Ah! Well, I appreciate that, but I'm not that gr-"
He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Sonia made her frantic appearance into the lab, huffing slightly to catch her breath.
"I am so sorry! I got sidetracked and didn't see time fly!" She said.
Annabelle shook her head. "It's okay, Professor Sonia. Professor Hop gave me a pokémon!" She said as she snuggled her Grookey.
"But I'm not a prof-"
"I can see that!" Sonia chuckled. "Annabelle, dear, what do you say we equip that Rotom Phone of yours with a Pokédex?" She continued.
"Please!" She said, handing Sonia her phone.
"Alright. Hop, why don't you go get some Pokéballs for her while I set this up?" Sonia asked.
Hop nodded. "Of course."
As Hop distanced himself to rummage through some drawers for Pokéballs, Sonia explained to Annabelle the Pokédex's functions. It was just like she had done when he and Victor had first started their journeys.
He found five Pokéballs to get the young girl started on her team, so he headed back to the duo and handed Annabelle the catching devices.
"Here you go. They'll help you get started on your team," he said.
When she took the balls from Hop, he reached into his pocket to grab another one. "Here. This is your Grookey's Pokéball."
"Thank you very much for everything!" She said as she took her starter's Pokéball.
Hop shook his head. "It's our pleasure! Now, get out there and meet tons of pokémon! But remember to stay safe and have fun," he said.
"I will! Thanks again, you two!" She said before exiting the lab with her Grookey still in her arms.
When Annabelle left, Hop sighed in relief, happy that everything went smoothly. He then turned to Sonia, laughing nervously.
"S-Sorry, Professor. I hope you don't mind that I took care of things. I didn't want to make her wait too long, and I didn't know when you would be back," he said.
Sonia shook her head. "No, no, don't worry a thing. I'm glad you did, and by the looks of it, you handled that really well. Proper job!" She said with a grin.
"Thank you... I did my best," Hop said, relieved that he didn't mess anything up.
Sonia glanced at the desk where a large pile of notes sat before turning back to Hop. "Would you like to switch places with me? Arceus knows how much you hate sitting still."
"Yeah, I'll take you up on that. Fieldwork is my favourite kind of work!" He laughed.
Fresh air was definitely needed at the moment. Hopefully, it would help him keep his mind at ease from the negativity that has been plaguing him recently.
~~~~~~
"Thank you for having me over, Magnolia. I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced," you said.
Having decided to take a well-deserved break from work, you dropped by Magnolia's home for a visit. You found her company to be warm and homely, which was something you loved, especially when you needed to sit back and relax.
You sat in Magnolia's plant room on one of the comfortable loveseats as the older woman prepared cups of the finest tea she had in her kitchen. The scenery of her home, particularly the room you were in, had you feeling at peace.
Perched atop your head was your beloved Frosmoth. She could get quite heavy, so she made sure to not put her full weight on you. She absolutely refused to be left home alone today, no matter how much you protested. Thankfully, Magnolia didn't mind the presence of the larger moth pokémon, as she was very well-behaved.
Magnolia stepped into the room, a tray in hand and a warm smile upon her features. "Nonsense, dear. You're welcomed in my home at any moment. I don't get to see you nearly as often as I'd like," she said as she set the tea down.
You thanked her as she handed you a cup. "I know, and I'm sorry about that. I feel bad, trust me."
"Don't. It's to be expected with the kind of work you do, and I fully understand. Just know that you're always welcomed to knock on my door should you need anything," she said as she sat across from you.
You smiled. "Thank you. It's nice to have someone I can trust living nearby."
"Of course! You're practically family at this point!" She said, laughing softly.
You truly appreciated it. Your work required your constant presence at home, so you didn't have much time to go out of your way to make close friends, much less someone you could trust. Magnolia was such an understanding and patient woman, and she knew that you didn't mean anything ill by not dropping by all the time. You had your duties, and she accepted that. She was well aware that you cared even if you weren't always around, and for that, you were thankful.
"Speaking of which..." Magnolia started as she set her cup down, "... my granddaughter should be coming over shortly with her assistant."
"O-Oh! Should I leave then? I wouldn't want to be a bother," you said.
"Don't even get that idea. Sonia will be thrilled to see you, you know she adores you!" Magnolia said.
You chuckled at the woman's light scolding. "You're right. It's been a while since I've seen her, or that she's dropped by my place. She's pretty busy now, huh? Being a full-time professor and all."
"She certainly is, though she loves her work. It seems that journeying through Galar a second time was what she needed to discover her true passion," Magnolia said, fondness for her granddaughter could be heard in her voice.
"Sometimes, I think of having another journey myself, but I think I made the right call with the path I ended up taking," you said.
Magnolia nodded in agreement. "Absolutely! What was your original goal again?"
You laughed, shaking your head. "I wanted to be a gym leader of all things."
"Oh, that's right! You know, you're absolutely phenomenal at taking care of pokémon that I just can't even fathom the idea of you as a gym leader," she playfully teased.
"I know, right? Plans change, but that's okay!" You said.
You shivered when you felt your Frosmoth blow a faint gust of frigid air onto you in an attempt to get your attention.
"Are you hungry, Dumpling?" You asked, chuckling at her behaviour.
She let out a small cry in confirmation. So, you reached into your bag, which rested at your feet, and pulled out a plastic container that held Dumpling's favourite food. You held the container right in front of her, letting her sniff it out. Once she did, she happily chowed down.
As you fed your Frosmoth, you heard the front door open, followed by the familiar voice of Sonia.
"Hellooo! I'm here, and I brought Hop!" She called out.
Magnolia smiled. "We're in here, dear!"
"We?" Sonia said as she stepped into the room in which you were seated. Once she saw you, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Heya, Sonia!" You said with a bright smile.
"(Y/N), no way! How are you, stranger?" She asked, laughing.
You got up from your seat so that you could give your friend a hug. Dumpling flew off of your head to let you do so.
"I'm doing great! It's been a while, huh?" You said, letting go of her.
"No kidding. I mean, you're a hermit!" She teased.
You rolled her eyes. "Pft. It's not just me. Aren't you always buried in piles of research?" You shot back.
"You got me there," she chuckled. She turned to her grandmother. "You didn't tell me that (Y/N) would be here!"
Magnolia chuckled. "Ah... I wanted to keep it a surprise."
Sonia's eyes then landed on Dumpling. "And you've got Dumpling with you! She looks great!"
Sonia gently approached the pokémon and held out her hand in front of her. Dumpling sniffed her hand, and once she recognized Sonia's scent, she squealed happily and nuzzled her hand.
"Hey, you remember me!" Sonia said as she patted the affectionate moth.
"Of course, she does!" You said.
At that moment, someone cleared their throat. When you glanced at the doorway, you saw who you assumed to be Sonia's assistant.
He had an award-winning smile as he scratched the back of his head in a slightly nervous manner. Though he didn't seem much younger than you, he was pretty tall, more or less six feet. His hair was a lovely shade of purple, which fit rather nicely with his bright, yellow eyes. You were sure you recognized him from somewhere.
Letting go of Dumpling, Sonia clapped her hands together as she headed to her assistant's side.
"Right, you've never met. (Y/N), meet Hop. He's my assistant. Hop, this is (Y/N). They’re a good friend of mine!" She said, introducing the two of you.
Hop grinned at you, holding out his hand for you to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
You took his hand. "Right back at you, Hop!"
And then, it clicked.
"Hey, you're the former champion's little brother, right? You were in the challenge, like, three years ago?" You asked.
Hop blinked, a glimmer of surprise flashing in his eyes for a second. "Yeah, actually. You're spot on."
He certainly was not expecting for this stranger to know who he was. Maybe it wouldn't have surprised him if someone recognized him three years ago when he had finished his challenge, but now, he had convinced himself that practically everyone in Galar had forgotten about his existence.
Sonia raised a brow, which made you roll your eyes. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I like to watch the gym battles whenever I have the chance."
Magnolia spoke up. "Hey, now. What are you all standing around for? Why don't you younglings sit down while I go make some more tea? Perhaps some snacks as well?" She said as she stood up.
The three of you nodded in agreement. Hop and Sonia sat next to each other. Before you sat down, you scratched Dumpling's belly and gently guided her to you so she could perch herself atop your head once more.
Hop tilted his head in slight confusion at your interaction with the pokémon, but he didn't question it any further. At least, he tried. He couldn't help but analyze your Frosmoth, blame it on the researcher in him. As he looked at her, he noticed something off about her eyes. A Frosmoth's eyes were usually a deep blue, but yours were somewhat cloudy.
"Is your Frosmoth blind?" He blurted before he could stop himself.
He mentally cringed, hoping that he didn't seem too nosy or impolite by asking such a thing. However, you smiled at him, features clear of any kind of offence.
"She is, actually!" You said, reaching up to pat Dumpling's head.
"(Y/N) takes care of a lot of disabled and injured pokémon. They run their own sanctuary!" Sonia intervened.
At that, Hop's eyes practically lit up with wonder. "Seriously? Wow, that's amazing!"
You chuckled with a light hue of pink coating your cheeks. "Yeah, I do! It's not far from here, actually. Just a few kilometres behind Magnolia's house, there's my house and my sanctuary."
"Wait... really? I didn't even know that there was anything past Magnolia's house," he said, surprised.
"Yeah... it's pretty easy to miss, but that was kind of the point of picking that particular spot. It's just me and the pokémon with little to no disturbances, which is just what these pokémon need," you explained.
Hop nodded at your explanation. He then leaned forward, nearly slamming his hands onto the coffee table excitedly.
"So, what kind of pokémon do you have there?" He asked, eyes shining with interest.
Sonia chuckled, tapping at his shoulder. "Whoa. Simmer down there, Hop."
Hop immediately retracted as he was made aware of his little burst of excitement. He scratched the back of his head, blushing in embarrassment. He felt like a total child.
"S-Sorry about that. I got carried away," he said.
You laughed, waving him off. "No, no, it's totally fine! If anything, I'm glad that you're so interested!"
Taking care of rescued pokémon was your biggest passion, and you had sworn to dedicate yourself to making a difference for pokémon who were in need of a second chance at life. It was your favourite topic to discuss, and meeting people who seemed so excited to hear you speak about your work and experiences was something that made you beyond ecstatic.
You had to be honest with yourself: you were sometimes afraid that people would get bored or annoyed with you since you could never shut up about your sanctuary. You had the habit of always swerving your conversations towards it, and you really couldn't help it.
So, that's why you got along so well with women like Magnolia and Sonia. They were professors, researchers, and they loved to hear about your experiences regarding the pokémon you helped. You could always have great conversations with them.
You knew for a fact that Hop was highly passionate about pokémon. It showed when you watched his battles back then. And to want to become a professor, it took a lot of dedication and love towards these creatures. You were sure that you would get along great with him.
"You see, there are quite a few pokémon that are in my care. They all have their own story, and they are all unique. Every single one of them has a place in my heart, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for them. They're my number one priority in life," you gushed.
Your eyes then widened, and you chuckled nervously as you noticed that you were rambling.
"Ah... sorry. Here I go again, just talking my mouth off," you apologized.
"Wha-? Why are you apologizing?" Hop asked.
Before you could answer, Sonia chimed in. "They're a dummy, that's why. They think that they’ll annoy us if they talk too much about their sanctuary."
"Oh, come on! That's rubbish!" Hop exclaimed. "Can you tell me how you met your Frosmoth... Dumbo, was that it?" He continued.
You chuckled at the way Hop had managed to butcher her name. "It's Dumpling, and I'd be happy to!"
"It wasn't super out of the ordinary, but I met her right outside Circhester when she was just a tiny hatchling Snom, and when I say tiny, I mean it. She was smaller than any other Snom I had seen before, even for a baby. I guessed that she was the runt out of her siblings," you started.
"Oh! That explains why she seems smaller than the typical Frosmoth," he said. "R-Right, carry on!" He quickly added as he noticed that he had accidentally cut you off.
"She was still near her nest when I found her, but her family was nowhere to be seen. The thing that caught my eye, though, was that she was really unstable. She had a hard time walking without bumping into things. I was curious, so I managed to approach her, and she seemed to panic once she sensed that something was approaching, but she was turning in all sorts of directions, and she didn't seem to know where to look," you continued.
"And that's when you understood that she was blind," Hop said, making you nod.
"Yeah. I kept calm and talked to her in a gentle voice. I was really trying to reassure her that everything was alright. When she calmed down, she let me pet her and even pick her up eventually. I tried looking around the route for her family, but I couldn't find them. I guessed that the mother left her behind because she was the weakest, less likely to survive of the hatchings," you said.
You scratched Dumpling's cheek, causing her to nuzzle your hand with a soft, melodic cry sounding from her.
"I just kind of, you know, took her in. I mean... I just couldn't leave her out there. I don't think I would have been able to forgive myself if I left a vulnerable baby out there, you know?" You finished.
Hop grinned. "You should pat yourself on the back, mate! I mean, you gave her a chance, and she looks like she appreciates it a lot."
At Hop's words, Dumpling happily fluttered her wings, little snowflakes emitting from her as she did so.
"O-Oh... it was just the right thing to do!" You said.
"(Y/N), give yourself more credit. A lot of people wouldn't have had the same heart of gold that you had in that situation. It's not everyone who would have wanted to take so much time in helping and caring for an 'imperfect' pokémon," Sonia said, making Hop nod in agreement.
It might have been the first time he's met you, but Hop could immediately say that you were a great person. Lovable, even. His mind raced as he felt that he would love to get to know you some more. You had such a warm and inviting presence that practically pulled him to you.
As you were speaking, he could only find himself being completely pulled into a state of immersion at your words. He certainly didn't miss the way your eyes practically shined with life when you spoke about your meeting with Dumpling. You had so much emotion in your voice, and he found it to be absolutely endearing.
Of course, he knew that his desire to get to know you was most likely one-sided and merely wishful thinking on his part. After all, Hop knew that he wasn't very impressive. He was just an assistant who hasn't done anything remarkable. Surely, you wouldn't spare him a minute.
"Say, Hop," you started, making him snap out of his thoughts.
"How about you come over to my place for a visit whenever you have some free time? I could show you around the sanctuary if you're interested!" You offered.
Sonia nudged him. "You should take her up on that offer. You'll love it, I swear! It's so pretty at her place," She said.
"You really mean that?" He asked.
"Of course!" You said.
Hop was caught off guard by your offer. He didn't expect you to invite a nobody like him to your precious sanctuary. He really hoped that he wouldn't be a waste of time to you.
Still, he couldn't help but grin wildly as he practically bounced in his seat. "That would be amazing! Thanks a bunch, (Y/N)!" He exclaimed.
"Please, it's my pleasure!" You said with a smile. "Would you hand me your phone? I'll give you my phone number so you can text me whenever you want to come over!" You said.
"O-Oh! Right!" Hop said with a light blush.
He pulled out his phone and opened up a new contact page before handing it to you. Hop was definitely surprised, it wasn't everyday that a woman offered him her phone number.
"Alright. Here you go!" You said, handing him back his phone.
"I'm pretty much always at my place, so come on over anytime, honestly. Just let me know so that I don't miss when you ring the doorbell since I'm often outside!" You said.
"Gotcha. Thanks a bunch for the opportunity, (Y/N)," he grinned.
You smiled. Hop's smile and enthusiasm was contagious. You hoped that he would go through with your offer. Hop was precisely the kind of person you wanted to share your work and passion with.
~~~~~~
To: (Y/N)
12:08 P.M
- Hiya! It's Hop, Sonia's assistant from the other day. I have some free time, and I was hoping to maybe come and visit you, maybe?
From: (Y/N)
12:11 PM
- Hop, hey! I've been waiting for you to hit me up! I'd love for you to visit. Come on over. I can't wait to show you around!
To: (Y/N)
12:11 PM
- Great! I'm on my way, like, right now. Is that cool with you?
From: (Y/N)
12:12 PM
- Of course. See you in a bit!
Hop couldn't help the huge, dorky grin on his face as he hurried along the nearly hidden path behind Magnolia's house that led to your sanctuary.
He was beyond excited to get a feel for the kind of life you had as a pokémon rescuer. Plus, he had to be honest with himself: he was excited to see you again.
He was definitely relieved that you meant it when you had offered him to visit, he had almost expected for your words to be hollow. He wouldn't have blamed you, you probably had better things to do than waste your precious time on him. Still, he was grateful.
And he couldn't help but re-read your messages. Especially the 'I've been waiting for you to hit me up.' It was simple, yet he couldn't deny that it made him feel like he was desirable, like you actually might be interested in his company.
The path to your home was rather bumpy. There were quite a few rocks and branches along the way. He had to slow down a bit as he kept tripping over the various debris on the road. You had really picked one hell of a spot for your sanctuary.
When he finally managed to navigate the narrow path of debris and trees, he came to a gorgeous clearing. There, he saw what was most likely your home, which was situated between a large fenced off area and a berry garden.
He could already see many trees planted inside the fence, and there seemed to be a second building connected to the area, most likely an indoor area for the pokémon.
Hop grinned as he accelerated towards your house, completely hyped now that he was there and about to experience something entirely new to him.
Your home was a rather small, white farmhouse. It seemed that there were two stories to your home, and there was a small porch with an outdoor swing on it. It looked cozy, and for some reason, it was exactly the kind of house that he would think someone with a rescue would have.
Now at your front door, his hand froze midair as he was about to ring your doorbell. He mentally groaned, was he seriously having second thoughts about everything?
It's not that he didn't want to visit you. If anything, nothing could make him any happier than visiting you at the moment. What if he was going to slow you down in your work? Hop didn't want you to put your whole day on hold just for him.
He knew that you had told him that he could drop in anytime, but what if he had caught you at a bad time, and you were simply too nice to turn him away? The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a nuisance.
"Get it together, mate. You're here to have fun and get to know a sweet person better. That's all there is to it," Hop whispered to himself, attempting to calm his nerves.
When he finally rang the doorbell, he immediately heard frantic shuffling coming from inside your house. Barely a few seconds had passed, and you had already opened the door, greeting him with a big grin. You were holding a little Sobble in your arms, one of its front legs was bandaged.
Hop couldn't help but be surprised at the speed you had just displayed. Had you really been waiting for him to such a point? The thought was quickly lost, though. You most likely weren't. At least, not for someone as uninteresting as he was.
"Hop! I'm so glad you came by!" You said, stepping out of your home.
"I'm glad to be here! You're absolutely sure that this okay with you, right? I wouldn't want to be a bother," Hop asked.
He regretted asking as he wanted to keep the outing positive, but he really couldn't help sliding that question in.
"Don't be silly. Really, I'm happy you're here," you said.
When your tone was laced with such sincerity, Hop couldn't help but grin at you. Perhaps, you truly would enjoy his company.
"Ah... wait. You've got a few leaves in your hair," you said.
You reached your hand to his hair, gently brushing it and causing Hop to slightly squeak in surprise. You couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. It was pretty cute.
"Yeah. I... well, I smashed into a few branches on my way here. I was so hyped that I could barely slow down and look where I was going," Hop admitted.
"Hey, it still happens to me!" You chuckled.
When you were done brushing the debris out of Hop's hair, you shut the door of your home.
"Well? Ready?" You asked as you beckoned him to follow you. "Front gate's just this way."
Hop nodded excitedly as he walked by your side. His gaze went to the Sobble that you were still holding.
"So, who's this little fellow?" He asked.
"I call him Dizzy!" You said.
"Dizzy?"
"Yeah... he has a neurological disorder that affects his balance and cognition. He's not super stable on his feet and took a bit of a tumble today. Nothing too drastic, though, just a little scrape!" You explained.
"Whoa, alright. Is it curable, the disorder? S-Sorry if it sounds stupid, I've just never met a pokémon with a neurological problem," Hop asked.
"Not stupid at all. You won't know unless you ask. It can't be cured. It's genetic, and it's there to stay. Unfortunately, Dizzy has the worst level of it, so he has to take medication every day, or else he could get seizures," you said.
Hop frowned at that. "That's... poor thing."
You rubbed Dizzy's head, making him purr in delight. "Yeah... but he's been great!"
You came to a stop so that you could open the main gate of your rescue, holding it out for Hop to go first. You followed after him, shutting the gate afterwards.
"Flygon?" You called out once you were in the perimeter.
Almost instantly, a Flygon dived from the sky, landing right in front of you and Hop. Poor Hop nearly squealed in surprise at the large dragon, especially since it was glaring right at him.
"Hey, hey, ease up! Hop's a friend, he's good!" You cooed, which seemed to calm him.
"Could you take him back to the water area, please?" You asked, handing him the oblivious Sobble.
With a happy cry of his name, the dragon nodded and took to the skies in the direction of the area you had told him.
"You okay there, Hop?" You asked, chuckling at the look on his face.
He quickly shook his head. "Y-Yeah! I just didn't expect you to have a big Flygon around," he said, chuckling.
"Yeah... Flygon's a big help around here!" You said.
"That's pretty sweet."
You nodded in agreement before clasping your hands together. "Now, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" You said enthusiastically.
Barely into your rescue, and it was already bustling with life. Beautiful, healthy plants, flowers and trees bloomed all over the area. It was rather grassy, except for the main pathway.
Hootoots, Rookidees and Corvisquires were perched atop the branches. Hop could also make out a Leafeon peacefully sleeping in a shaded area. A Galvantula was carefully working on a burrow inside of a cavity in the base of a tree. Its web looked like a work of art.
There were even some berry trees, and a sweet Flapple was knocking ripe berries out of the tree so that a duo of Appletun could snack on them.
Where large patches of flowers laid, there was a group of Gossifleurs, Eldegoss, Cottonees and Whimsicotts hanging together. Combees, Cutiflies and Ribombees happily twirled around the flowers.
Hop had to freeze in his steps to let a trio of Nickit, Purrloin and Yamper pass as they seemed to be playing a game of chase with each other.
Your place was gorgeous and immaculate. He felt like he was in a pokémon research lab; only this was a much more natural environment.
"Look at all of 'em..." Hop said, eyes shining in absolute wonder.
You couldn't help but giggle at how cute Hop looked. He was truly in his element.
"There's even more of them too! Some might be hiding, and others are in other areas," you said with a small yet proud smirk.
"Bloody hell... this is so cool!" He said. "So, do these pokémon all belong to you?" He asked.
"Not necessarily. Some are still wild pokémon, but they happen to be in my care," you said.
As the two of you kept walking along the path, Hop noticed that there was a lack of human presence in your area. Not a single person other than the two of you was in sight.
"Do.... do you run this all by yourself, (Y/N)?" Hop asked incredulously.
"Well... yes," you said, scratching the back of your head.
"How?! Taking care of pokémon with particular needs can't be an easy feat!" Hop said, mouth agape.
You laughed. "It's definitely something, but knowing that I'm helping pokémon in need, the fatigue is worth it."
"You don't have a single employee? Not even one?" Hop asked, still barely believing it.
"Nope. The closest thing that I have to employees is my team of pokémon that I raised during the gym challenge. I have some stationed in each area of the rescue, so if there are any problems, they'll come to me. I also have my Flygon, who keeps an eye on things from the sky during day time, and my Gengar is on night patrol!" You explained.
"Wow, mate, you sure have a handle on things," he smiled.
And then it hit him. "Wait, you were in the challenge?" He asked.
"Yeah! I wasn't doing it the same year as you though. I didn't get to the end... I met Dumpling, and I was so focused on helping her out that I just, you know, dropped out. But I'm happy I-"
You were cut off by the happy barking of your Growlithe, who was running as fast as she could towards you.
You smiled and crouched to her level, patting her fur as she rapidly and excitedly wagged her tail all the while snuggling you.
"Nubby, my little girl! How are you doing?" You cooed.
Alright. Hop had to compose himself for a few seconds as he nearly melted into a puddle of feelings at the sound of your adorable baby voice.
The more he spoke to you, the more he realized just how incredible you were. Boy, did he feel blessed that you even considered giving him a second of your precious time.
You were leagues above him in so many ways. The two of you had started off the same way: you had both started your lives as mere challengers. You didn't even finish yours, yet you still had managed to become someone. You had a goal, and you were accomplishing incredible things. Meanwhile, Hop had completed his challenge, but he was still utter rubbish who had not managed to do anything impressive of his life.
Your presence, Hop loved it more and more as the minutes went by. But he knew that he didn't deserve it. You shouldn't be associating with a loser like him.
He shook his head, trying to snap himself out of his thoughts, pronto. It was then that he noticed that the Growlithe was missing her right front leg. Only a little nub remained, which was probably why you referred to her as Nubby.
"So, who's this girl?" He asked.
"This is Nubby! Her leg had to be amputated because she had severe trauma where she suffered from too many fractures to the point where it was unfixable," you explained.
Hop crouched down as well, cringing slightly at the thought. "I'm kind of scared to ask what happened to her..." he added, extending his hand.
At that, Nubby bounced to Hop's hand, sniffing it before barking happily once again.
"Yeah... let's just say that her previous owner wasn't a very nice person," you said, a bitter frown on your face as you recalled the memories.
"That's absolute rubbish. How could someone treat a pokémon so poorly?" Hop said.
Nubby began to lick and nuzzle Hop's hand as she wanted some head pats, which is precisely what he did.
"Aw... but you're such a good girl. You didn't deserve that," he cooed.
"She really likes you, Hop! You're a natural with pokémon," You said, laughing softly.
"You think?" He asked with a big grin. His heart practically soared at the compliment.
"Duh! Why wouldn't I?" You said.
"I mean... I've never been a great trainer like my brother or Victor, and I can barely consider myself a professor. I still have a lot to learn, you know?" He said.
Hop instantly cringed as the words left his mouth. He wanted nothing more than to remain positive for the day. After all, he's been adoring every second with you. Yet, Hop couldn't help but let his feelings pour a bit. You just gave him that sentiment of trust that made him want to confide in you.
But, he felt absolutely silly at having unloaded his negativity on you. You didn't deserve to have his self-pity on your shoulders.
However, you just sent him a soft smile before crawling to his side and gently putting your hand on his shoulder. The touch had his stomach fluttering.
"Give yourself more credit, Hop. While Victor was completely destroying everyone, you were the only trainer to give him a run for his money. And you already know so much about pokémon, so imagine in a few years how much of an amazing professor you'll be," you said.
"I-" Hop stuttered, unable to express himself as he felt his face heat up. "Geez, (Y/N), thanks... you're too kind," he said.
"I'm just being factual," you said, grinning at him before standing up.
"Heya, Nubby? I have to finish the tour. Come find me later, and we'll play, okay?" You said.
She barked and nodded. She licked him one last time before pulling away from Hop. She then bounced off to play with other pokémon.
You extended your hand to Hop, which he took and let you pull him up from the ground. Hop's mind ran wild as he noticed that you had not let go of his hand as you led him through your rescue. You were so casual about it.
As you brought him to the next area, his eyes widened at the gorgeous scenery—a large pond surrounded by rocks, shrubs and trees. There was even a little trickling waterfall. Aquatic plants were surfacing, and the stones had natural moss growing on them.
The little Sobble from earlier seemed like he was having a blast floating on top of a Lotad's head. Little Pyukumukus were chilling on the edges of the rocks, and many fish pokémon happily splashed about. Even non-water type pokémon were running around the area.
"So? What do you think?" You asked.
"What do I think? Mate, it's amazing! If I were a pokémon, I'd never want to leave. How'd you even manage all of this?" He asked, absolutely stunned.
"With a lot of work. My family and I all pitched in to build, landscape and plant everything," you said.
"Bloody hell. You definitely succeeded!" Hop said.
Off in the distance, he saw a more rocky and sandy area. Larvitars were rolling around in the sand. A Sizzlipede and Helioptile were sunbathing on rocks. Hop could also see a large group of Salandits.
"Whoa, you've got a lot of Salandits," he commented.
"Yeah... they tend to be a pretty common pokémon in the rescue," you said.
"Is it because of the Salazzles? I'm pretty sure some Salazzles are pretty ruthless with Salandits. You know, taking all their food and stuff," Hop said.
You grinned. "You're actually spot on, Hop! See? You do know your stuff!"
He blushed again, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. Hop was definitely happy that you were complimenting him. It was a nice, refreshing change from his usual intrusive thoughts.
"They're all males, and they've been starved to the point of near-death because of overly dominant Salazzles. Nature can be just as cruel as humans at times," you said.
You sat down in the shade of a tree. Hop followed, sitting next to you.
"Definitely. But they seem really ha- huh? Is that a shiny Salandit," he asked with wide eyes.
You followed his gaze, and you smiled once you saw the sweet Salandit that he was referring to. The little guy was watching you from afar, yet he made no moves to come to you.
"It is... that would be Blizzard," you said. "Blizzard, sweetie, come over here," you called out.
Blizzard flinched, but he complied. However, he was taking slow, shaky steps, and his posture was excessively nervous, which didn't go unnoticed by Hop.
"Hey... what's wrong with the fellow?" He asked.
"Oh... well, he's petrified of anyone who isn't me," you said.
"O-Oh... maybe I should leave, then? I wouldn't want to cause problems," he said.
You shook your head. "Don't be silly, Hop. You're allowed to stay."
"Can I ask why he's so nervous with people?" Hop asked.
You nodded, sighing at the horrible story. "I happened to be in the area when it all went down, releasing some pokémon who were fit to go back in the wild. A shiny hunter had been looking for a shiny Salandit for months to add to his 'collection.' When he finally found Blizzard, he was outraged that he found a male since they're incapable of evolving. In his fit of rage, the hunter yelled at Blizzard, calling him a worthless piece of shit and kicked him so hard against a rock the poor thing's skull cracked."
"What the hell?!" Hop nearly yelled.
"I know..." you said.
Blizzard had finally crawled to your hand. He sniffed your hand before rubbing his head against your hand. Hop noticed a few scars on top of the Salandit's head.
"He seems so sweet," Hop said.
You nodded as you scooped Blizzard into your arms and your lap. He curled up into a bundle, really cuddling up to you as much as he could.
"Hey... thanks again for letting me come here, I mean, look at this place! It's amazing! I could just sit here and watch the pokémon all day," Hop said enthusiastically.
"Well, why don't you drop by more often?" You proposed.
"R-Really? I mean, I'd love to. B-But I wouldn't want to be a bother!" He stuttered, voice laced with surprise.
"Oh, come on! I really enjoyed your company today. It's so nice to have someone as enthusiastic and passionate as you around. Plus, wouldn't it be good for your research? To come here and all?" You said.
"I.... you have a point. I had fun today too, and well, you know..." he said, trailing off near the end as his cheeks erupted in a cherry hue.
Hop was adorable, and you meant it when you said that you'd like to have him over more often. You hoped he would as you definitely had an interest in him blossoming within you.
~~~~~~
Hop never expected that a visit to Magnolia's home would make him meet someone like you. Someone he felt at peace and ease with, someone who he sought out their company.
He kept telling himself that he shouldn't be such a burden by dropping in on you so often, but he couldn't help it.
He went to see you whenever possible, and he lived for the moments where he did. Hop was always so mesmerized by all of the pokémon you took care of. You brought so much to his research, even Sonia had noticed.
And today was another day where he was racing down to your home to see you again.
Getting to your place, he immediately saw you on the porch, sitting on your little swing. As he got closer, he noticed that you were holding two little Dreepys. Next to you was Blizzard, who was snuggling against your thigh.
Hop also saw two bottles and blankets placed onto the table next to the swing. You were probably in the midst of caring for the little ones.
You heard footsteps approaching you. Lifting your head, you saw Hop heading your way, a perfect smile upon his face as he waved at you.
"Heya, Hoppers! Come sit with me, you've got to meet these little cuties," you called out.
Upon realizing that Hop was here, the Salandit that had been cuddling you scurried off of the swing to hide behind your feet and under the swing.
Hop frowned at that. Most of the pokémon had gotten used to his presence, and they all let him play and pet them. But it wasn't the case for Blizzard. The poor thing was still terrified of Hop. Not that Hop blamed him.
"Shoot, sorry. I didn't mean to scare him off," Hop apologized, sitting next to you.
You waved off his apology. "It's fine. He'll come around eventually."
"When did you get Dreepys, (Y/N)?" He asked.
"Just the other day. Aren't they cute?" You gushed as you wiggled your fingers at the little ones, causing them to squeal happily.
"They're tiny. Babies?" Hop said.
"Yeah... they're practically newborns. Their mum passed away. Someone contacted me the other day saying that he found the babies near their mum's body," you explained.
Hop frowned. "Poor things. I wonder what happened to the mum."
"I'm not sure. The Dragapult didn't seem to have any wounds, so she may have been sick," you said.
"So, are you going to keep them until they're old enough to fend for themselves? Like what mother Dragapults do?" Hop said.
You smiled. "That's the plan! Unless they decide that they want to stay."
Suddenly, the duo of babies was trying to nibble at your fingers, causing you to retract them before you got chomped.
"They're probably hungry. Why don't we feed them?" You said.
"We? But-"
Hop was interrupted as you handed him one of the hungry babies. It wiggled its paws excitedly in Hop's arms.
"A-Are you sure, (Y/N)? Maybe you're better off handling things. I don't want to mess anything up," Hop said with an undertone of nervousness.
You couldn't help but frown. This was a recurring problem with Hop. You had noticed that he seemed to think rather lowly of himself ever since you first met him at Magnolia's. At the time, you had brushed off his behaviour as pure nervousness, but you were most definitely wrong.
Hop put everyone around him on the highest pedestal while he put himself down. He was constantly doubting his abilities and brushing off his accomplishments as if they were nothing. Every so often, he would make pessimistic comments about himself.
His low self-esteem was heartbreaking to you. You thought that Hop was great, and you wished that he could see himself the way you saw him.
"This isn't the first time you've helped me feed a pokémon from the sanctuary, you'll be fine!" You reassured him.
"I- well, alright then," Hop said.
You grabbed the bottles from the table and handed one to Hop. You shook your bottle and held it out to the baby Dreepy who immediately latched onto it.
"Don't tip the bottle too much, so the Dreepy doesn't drink too fast and choke. That's all there is to it!" You said.
Hop stared at you as you fed the baby dragon with a small blush colouring his face. You looked so cute when you took care of pokémon. Your passion and love for what you did really surfaced, and it was so sweet.
The Dreepy that Hop was holding nudged him, wanting food as well. Hop mumbled a small apology to the pokémon for making him wait.
So, Hop copied what you were doing to feed the baby. Hop had never fed a baby dragon before, so this was a pleasant experience.
Your Dreepy was already done eating, and he let out a big yawn. You set the bottle down and grabbed one of the blankets, wrapping him in a little bundle.
"It helps them feel more secure. They usually spend a lot of time in their mother's catapults at this age, so they like being bundled up," you explained.
"You'd make a good parent," Hop blurted, which he instantly regretted.
His blush worsened as he processed the idiotic and embarrassing thing he had just said. What the hell was wrong with him? How in Arceus' name did he come to the conclusion that that was an appropriate thing to say?
"I-I mean I- never mind! J-Just pretend that you didn't hear that!" Hop said, embarrassed.
But, all you did was grin at him. "You really think so?"
He blinked, surprised that you weren't mad or uncomfortable. "Well... yes," he admitted.
You nodded, still smiling. You glanced at his lap and noticed that the baby Dreepy was finished eating and had fallen asleep all curled up in his lap.
"And... you'd definitely be a great dad," you said, winking at him as you held out the other blanket.
Hop's mind practically stopped functioning at your reply, and he would most likely have a heart attack if this kept up.
He grabbed the blanket, and although his hands were a little shaky from what had just transpired, he managed to wrap it around the Dreepy.
"See? You did really well with the Dreepy! Thanks for giving me a hand," you said.
"I-It's my pleasure- huh?"
Hop paused as he noticed that Blizzard was starting to poke his head out from underneath the swing. The Salandit was looking straight at Hop and tilting his head. He seemed to be intrigued in Hop.
Hop smiled. "Heya, lil' buddy."
You grinned at the scene. Although Blizzard wasn't making any moves to come to Hop, he was starting to recognize Hop as a good person, which was a good thing.
Hop leaned down, holding his hand out to Blizzard. Blizzard continued to stare at Hop's hand, but he ultimately decided to back away a little and hold onto your leg.
"Still not passed the 'no touchy' boundaries, huh? It's alright, take your time," Hop said, sitting upright.
"If anything, I think Blizzard likes you. He's never even tried to make eye contact with others," you said.
"Really?"
"Yeah! He must sense that you're absolutely amazing!" You said.
Hop blushed. "I- thanks, (Y/N)"
Hop never expected that a visit to Magnolia's home would make him meet someone like you. Someone he would end up crushing on, even if he knew that you would never glance at him in that way.
~~~~~~
"Hello? Sonia? Hop?" You called out, entering the research lab.
Hop, who was putting away some books on the second story, turned around at the sound of your voice. He grinned when he saw you.
"(Y/N)! Whatcha doing here?" He asked, heading down the stairs.
You hugged him, which he immediately reciprocated. Thankfully for him, you couldn't see the dorky, lovesick smile plastered on his face when you did.
"I was actually dropping off some rare berries by Sonia's request. You know how much she loves making curry," you said, waving a bag around.
Hop took your bag to place it onto the desk for Sonia to grab whenever she came back to the lab.
He looked back at you, playfully pouting. "Aw... you didn't come here to see me?"
"Well, it might have been an excuse to come and see you," you winked.
You were just joking around, he knew that. You had to be, there was no way you actually meant that. Even if he knew not to put much thought into it, he couldn't help but hang onto the slight sliver of hope that there was some underlying flirtatious message in your comment.
"But, er, do you mind if I stay with you a bit?" You asked. "I'll leave if you're busy, though," you added.
Hop practically lit up at your desire to stay with him, and he hoped that he didn't seem like such a dork.
"No, no, I'd be happy for you to stay. I was getting kind of bored any- hey... are you alright?" Hop interrupted himself, smile faltering a bit when he noticed that you looked exhausted.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Perfectly fine," you said.
You mentally cursed yourself for not covering up your fatigued state better. You were completely drained, and that was a big fact, a fact that you tried to push away as best as you could.
You knew that you needed to rest, yet you were so stubborn and strict with yourself that you continued to work and work until you looked and felt like a wreck. It made you so happy to make your pokémon happy that you had managed to convince yourself that your own health wasn't as crucial as their wellbeing.
The last few days and nights were particularly rough with the baby Dreepys getting up a few times per night. Plus, you had gotten a difficult Toxtricity who was pulled from a sadistic owner. The pokémon was missing an eye, and scars littered his entire body. He was exceptionally aggressive and defensive, and you had spent a lot of time and energy on him to try to ease him up a bit. There was progress, but the rehabilitation would be long.
You had hoped that it would have gone unnoticed by Hop. He was already struggling with his own self-esteem issues, and you didn't want him to worry about you. You wanted him to take care of himself first and foremost. To hell with the state you brought upon yourself.
But, you knew that he wouldn't let it slide. Hop was just as stubborn as you were.
"Have you been sleeping all that well at all, (Y/N)?" He asked.
"Yes!" You said enthusiastically, though your voice cracked as you felt your head pound from how tired you were.
"You should sit down," Hop insisted, gently taking your hand in his to drag you to the couch.
"I swear, I'm fine, Hop," you protested, even though it was apparent that you were lying as you made no effort to stop Hop from sitting you down.
"(Y/N), we both know that's rubbish. I mean, you can barely keep your eyes open," Hop said.
"I... I guess you're right," you sighed, rubbing your eyes and forehead.
Hop put his hands on your shoulders, rubbing them soothingly. "Take it easy on yourself, you poor thing."
You nodded, barely having the energy to even speak properly.
Feeling a bit bolder, Hop wrapped an arm around your shoulders and brought you closer against him. You immediately responded by laying your head on his chest, making him blush at the unexpected action.
"You don't mind, yeah? You're kinda comfy," you said.
"I-It's fine," Hop squeaked.
His heart raced a mile a minute, which you could probably hear. Still, he managed to bring his hand up to your head to run it through your soft hair. He swore that you practically purred at the contact.
"I might fall asleep if you keep doing that," you mumbled.
He chuckled. "Guess I'll keep at it then."
And that's exactly what happened. After a few minutes of innocent cuddling, you had ultimately passed out on him. You seemed so peaceful that Hop didn't bother moving from his spot.
It was also because he enjoyed having you so close to him.
He figured that this was the closest thing to more intimate physical contact he would get with you. So, he wasn't complaining. But he kept telling himself that it was just a coincidence that you happened to fall asleep on him, that it didn't make him special.
As Hop kept playing with your hair, Sonia had walked into the lab, and the first thing she saw was you and Hop cuddled up against one another.
She stared for a few seconds before smirking. "Well, isn't that just adorable?" She teased.
"It's... not what it looks like," Hop defended rather poorly, cheeks beginning to heat up.
"Oh, right, pardon me. You totally aren't cuddling with (Y/N)," she winked.
"They... they were just really tired and ended up passing out... on me," he said, mumbling the last part.
"I mean... it's not like you're complaining, right?" Sonia said.
"Sonia..." Hop warned.
She ignored him. "Like, you're crazy for them, so it must be a dream come true!"
Hop huffed, red-faced in embarrassment. "Your berries are on the desk..."
"You're not getting out of this that easily," she said.
Hop sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. No, I don't mind having them like this. Far from it, actually."
Sonia giggled, heading over to the bag of berries. "So, when do you plan on asking them out on an actual date?" She said, rummaging through the bag.
He shrugged. "Not now... or ever."
Sonia turned around, looking at Hop questionably. "Why?"
Hop shrugged again, a sad smile overtaking him. "We're just friends, and that's all we'll be. I know they’ll never like me the way I do, so why risk ruining everything, you know?"
"What makes you say that, Hop?" She asked.
"They just... won't. B-But that's fine!" He said, not wanting to pour his feelings of insecurity to Sonia.
She frowned. "Right... well, you should give it a chance. If anything, I've never seen (Y/N) come to the lab as often as this ever since they met you. I think you've got a good chance."
Hop nodded. However, Sonia's words practically went over his head. He would rather endure a one-sided crush than face the reality of rejection. He was convinced that that's what you would do should he try to say anything about his feelings.
Why would you like him? Hop couldn't find a single reason why you would, and it did shatter his heart to pieces.
Even if he would die to have the chance of calling himself your boyfriend, the shattering feeling of rejection and ruining your friendship weren't things Hop wanted to go through.
~~~~~~
Hop was visiting you once more, and he was giving you a hand in handing out food for all of the pokémon. Really, he couldn't have asked for a better way to spend his days; spending time with you, helping you, taking care of pokémon and learning new things.
He was outdoors, near the water and sandy areas of the rescue. You weren't too far from him. He could see you through some trees sitting at a fair distance from your Toxtricity. He could hear you talking about random little things as a tactic to get the pokémon used to your presence.
Glancing at you, he smiled at how determined you looked to get Toxtricity to trust again. There was a small difference in behaviour that was noticeable. The pokémon no longer tried to attack you on sight.
He placed various dishes down for the pokémon that were hanging near the water area, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the little Sobble lose his balance, which had the lizard nearly slip off the rocks.
Hop rushed over to Dizzy, catching him before he could fall and hurt himself.
"Heya, you've gotta be more careful, mate. You don't want to get hurt again, huh?" He lightly scolded.
Dizzy, still in Hop's arms, tilted his head innocently, not understanding what was going on. Hop chuckled at that and patted Dizzy's head, making him purr in delight.
"Everything alright, Hoppers?" You called out from the trees.
"All good! Just Dizzy being, well, dizzy," Hop replied.
"You sure are a handful, aren't you?" He said to Dizzy. "Not that you mean it, or anything."
Hop set the Sobble back down onto the ground, near all the other pokémon so that he could eat. It was one big, happy family, and all of the pokémon of the area always pitched in to keep an eye on the Sobble whenever possible.
Turning around, Hop blinked in surprise as saw the shiny Salandit slowly crawling over to him. However, Blizzard immediately froze in his tracks when he noticed that Hop saw him.
Hop crouched, holding his hand out. "You have nothing to be afraid of. Trust me, please?"
To his absolute bafflement, Blizzard took more steps forward. They were slow and shaky, but he was approaching Hop nonetheless.
And then, the Salandit sniffed Hop's hand. Going a bit further, Hop rubbed the underside of Blizzard's chin, which he responded by nuzzling Hop's hand, happily wagging his tail.
"See? I'm not so bad, right?" Hop said, making Blizzard nod in agreement.
"Can I help you, sir?"
Hop stopped petting Blizzard at the sound of your voice, immediately on alert. The tone of your voice sounded very wary, and rightfully so as there was an unknown man in front of you.
You stared at the new presence with caution. Your sanctuary wasn't open to the public, so this man was trespassing.
You didn't like the way that he was looking at you, glaring at you and scanning you with a sneer. He was making you slightly uncomfortable, but you kept your cool. If anything happened that you didn't like, both your Flygon and Hop would be by your side.
And you had a feeling that Hop was keeping an eye on you in the distance. You had noticed how he had started becoming a little protective of you. It was especially noticeable when he scolded you about taking poor care of yourself.
As the man wasn't responding, you spoke up again. "If you don't have any particular business with me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This is private property."
"I've got business with you," he said.
"And that would be..?" You pressed.
"You the bitch who's got my Toxtricity?" He asked.
Your eyes widened. The Toxtricity you had gotten just two weeks ago, this was his previous owner. From the corner of your eye, you saw the pokémon in question flinch. You were, suddenly, feeling very bitter.
"Oh... you mean the Toxtricity that's covered in scars and burn marks? The one that's missing an eye?" You said.
He smirked. "Yeah. That one. I'm here to pick it up. Just hand it over to me, and we ain't gon' have any problems."
"I don't think so," you said, taking a step back as the man stepped forward.
The air felt heavy as the man kept a glare etched on you. He was tall and rather buff. If he had no issues harming his own pokémon for nothing more than sick pleasure, then what would stop him from hurting you?
"I'm not gonna say it again. Hand the fucking thing over if you don't wanna end up like it," he said.
That was enough for Hop.
"Is there a problem?" Hop said as he stepped to your side.
The intruder chuckled, his tone was full of mockery. "This fuckin' stick is your bodyguard? How cute."
"I swear, mate, leave them alone," Hop nearly growled, taking a step forward so he could be in front of you.
"What the fuck do you expect to do- oh... there you are," the man said, glancing off to the side and noticing Toxtricity.
Toxtricity growled at the man, though you could clearly see the poor thing shaking in absolute fear.
In mockery, the man chuckled and took a few steps towards the panicked pokémon, causing you to panic a bit.
"No! Don't even think of getting close to him," you yelled.
You tried to hurry to Toxtricity before he could, but before you could, the man had smacked you hard enough for you to plunge to the ground.
This caused your Flygon to dive from the sky, snarling at the man as he shielded both you and Toxtricity. As for Hop, utterly furious, he had decided to release one of his most prized pokémon to come to your aid. That's how the intruder found himself sandwiched between a furious Flygon and a powerful Zacian.
"Zacian, Flygon, pin him down! Make sure that this worthless piece of rubbish can't escape," Hop ordered.
The two pokémon were more than happy to comply, the man never stood a chance as Flygon whacked the man with his tail, causing him to fly to Zacian's side where the legendary wolf kept a paw on him to prevent him from escaping. It looked beyond painful, but Hop didn't care.
"Keep him in place, Zacian," Hop said.
Even with the aching pain you felt, you couldn't help but stare at the legendary pokémon in wonder. You knew that Hop had Zacian by his side, but you had never seen it. And looking at it in person, obeying Hop's commands without a single protest was terrific. Hop was truly a great trainer that deserved every ounce of recognition, but you had never doubted that. Not once.
With that, Hop raced to your side, wasting no time in hugging you tightly before helping you back up on your feet.
"(Y/N)! Are you okay? Shit, that's gonna leave a bruise," he said, analyzing your injury.
"I-I'll be-"
"Shit... I'm so sorry I let that happen," he continued, not letting you speak.
"Hop, it's not-"
"Oh fuck... how could I let that happen to you?"
"Hop..."
"I'm so stupid. I should have reacted sooner. What was I thinking?"
You hugged him tightly, catching him off guard and causing him to finally cease his frantic, pessimistic comments about himself.
"I'm glad you stepped in when you did. If you hadn't, who knows what would have happened to Toxtricity and me. Thank you," you said.
"B-But... you got hurt," Hop muttered, voice cracking slightly.
"It'll heal. It's not your fault. You're a hero, for all I care," you said, pulling away with a smile.
"I... I'm glad you think so," he said.
He turned back to glare at the piece of shit, still struggling underneath his Zacian's weight.
"Go inside and clean yourself up. Get a bag of ice, sit down and decompress, okay? I'll call the police so they can come to pick up the trash. I'll stay here until they arrive," he said, turning back to you.
"Okay. Thank you. But... can you, you know, come inside with me after? I don't want to be alone after what happened," you said, cheeks heating a bit.
Hop felt his heart skip a few beats at the fact that you were seeking comfort in him.
He nodded. "Anything for you," he said, smiling nervously at his choice of words, but you didn't seem to mind.
As you distanced yourself from the scene, you couldn't help but smile despite it all. You were so thankful that Hop was there for you, and you knew that you could trust him with everything. He was wonderful.
~~~~~~
You stared at yourself in your bedroom mirror, nodding confidently as you felt that you looked presentable. Although you weren't really going for an extravagant look, you looked cute.
There had always been chemistry between you and Hop. Being with him felt natural and right; you had practically instantly clicked. Over the months, your interest in Hop grew and grew until you could confidently say that you had fallen in love with him.
And so, after much consideration and hyping yourself up, you had decided that you would take it upon yourself to make a romantic move on Hop. You were going to ask him on a little date.
You exited your house to head to Wedgehurst, a giddy and warm feeling surfacing. If Hop accepted, you would be the happiest person in Galar.
It's been so long since you've dated anyone, and although you hadn't been actively looking for a significant other, you were happy that you happened to meet Hop.
Hop was the kind of man you'd love to date. He was such a bundle of energy, passion and ambition, which made him stand out from other people you've met. He was such a sweetheart with you, and he obviously cared a lot for you. What more could you ask for?
When you were in front of the lab, you took a deep breath, trying to compose yourself. You were excited, but nervous. You nodded to yourself, it was now or never. Entering the lab, you saw Hop lazing on the lab's couch, watching something on his Rotom Phone. You heard some rummaging noises coming from the back of the lab, most likely Sonia.
Hop lifted his gaze, grinning when he saw you heading his way. He set his phone down.
"(Y/N)! Hi! What brings you here?" Hop asked, still grinning.
"Well, I... I'm not bothering you, right?" You asked as feeble attempt to take your time in asking him out.
"Pft. When do you ever bother me?" Hop said.
"Okay. Good, that's good," you said, already feeling your cheeks heat up.
You came here, feeling so confident in yourself, knowing exactly what to say and how to say it, only to transform into a moron when you were in front of Hop.
"Hey... you feeling alright? Are you sick or something?" Hop asked, concern lacing his voice.
"No, no, I'm cool. I just-" you took a deep breath. "You see... there's this really nice café in Turrfield, and well, would you like to go with me?" You finally asked.
Hop blinked, visibly processing your words before blushing madly. "Wait. Are you... are you asking me on a date," he asked, completely shocked.
You giggled. "Well, yes!"
Hop couldn't believe it. Why were you asking him on a date? Of all people that you could choose, you were going for the most significant failure the region had ever seen.
Hop had been pining for you for so long now, but he had convinced himself that this scenario was improbable, impossible, even. This had to be some kind of sick joke, right?
But, you weren't the type of person to do such a thing, to play with someone's feelings. You were better than that.
And that was the problem: you were too good for him. You deserved better, and he knew it. Hop accepted it.
Meanwhile, your heart was practically pounding out of your chest as you waited for Hop's answer. His silence was making you beyond nervous.
Hop shook his head and cleared his throat. "I... I'm sorry, (Y/N), but I'll have to say no."
Your heart shattered in millions of pieces at that.
"O-Oh..." was all you managed to say.
Hop cringed at the dejected look you had. He didn't mean to hurt you, but hopefully, this would push you to seek someone better than him.
Or maybe it was a ridiculous thought that he was regretting. He regretted it so much, but he couldn't seem to voice his actual feelings. He was so deep in his low self-esteem.
You nodded, averting your gaze from Hop's. "Right. Yeah. That's totally fine!" You said, trying to remain positive, but it was more than evident that your enthusiasm was fake.
"(Y/N), I-"
"It's fine, really! You don't have to explain yourself. You have every right not to want to go on a date with me," you said, voice quivering.
Hop didn't say anything. There was nothing more that he desired than go out with you. Why couldn't he say anything?
"I'm gonna go now, okay? I'll go do... stuff. I'll see you, right?" You said, already backing away.
Hop bit his lip. "Yeah..."
And you were out the door quicker than you could have imagined. Feelings of humiliation, frustration and heartbreak were taking over you, and you didn't want to stick around for anyone to see your tears.
Hop stared at the door, running his hands through his hair in absolute horror at what he had just done. He initially thought that this was going to be the best option to keep you from dating an absolute nobody, but he was processing what a colossal mistake that was.
Hop hated seeing you upset, he always wanted to see your eyes shine with life. Now, he had never seen you so broken, and he was the cause of it. That stung on so many levels.
"I outta smack you right now. What in the world was that about, Hop?" Sonia exclaimed, stomping over to him.
"I-"
Sonia interrupted him. "No, you know what? I don't even want to hear your excuses. I thought you liked them!"
"I do like them!" Hop said, flinching at Sonia's tone with him.
"Then, why did you reject them? I don't get it, Hop. They obviously like you!"
"But..."
"No! You are going to take the day off, and you are going to go see your friend, whose heart you just split, and talk things out with them," Sonia ordered.
Hop bit his lip and nodded. Sonia was right, he fucked up, and he needed to make up for his mistake. He needed to open up to you.
Weren't you, after all, the best person that he could pour his heart to? Weren't you the sweetest, most open-minded and trustworthy person he knew and fell in love with?
~~~~~~
Sitting on your living room couch, your Frosmoth cuddled up to you as you cried your heart out. She was trying to make you feel better, and you appreciated her efforts, even if you both knew that your heartbreak wouldn't cure with little cuddles.
You glanced at your front door as someone knocked on it. You ignored it at first, not having the energy to get up, but you eventually caved in as the knocking became more frantic.
You reluctantly stood up, and when you opened up the door, Hop was there, looking as guilty as ever. His eyes seemed glossy, seemingly about to cry himself. You contemplated slamming the door in his face, but you couldn't bring yourself to do that to Hop.
"(Y/N). Can... can I come in?" He asked softly.
You nodded, sidestepping to let him in. The two of you remained silent for what seemed to be an eternity. The air was tense.
Suddenly, Hop tightly wrapped his arms around you, placing your head against his chest. He rested his face in the crook of your neck, and you felt little droplets streaming down your skin.
"I'm... damn it. I'm so sorry, (Y/N)," he muttered. "I'm such an idiot. I just- I didn't want to hurt you like that. I'm the worst."
"I told you, Hop. It's okay if you don't want to go out with me. I'm not forcing you," you whispered.
He pulled away from you, keeping his hands on your shoulders. "But I do want to go out with you."
"Wha-? But you said-"
"I know what I said, and I lied through my teeth," he admitted.
"Why? If you wanted to, then why did you reject me?" You asked, genuinely confused.
"It's going to sound stupid, and it really is, b-but I..." he said, trailing off as he struggled to find the right words.
You took his hand in yours. "Here, let's sit," you said as you guided him to the couch.
You didn't let go of his hand when you sat down, hoping to give him a bit of comfort. You weren't as upset as you were just a few minutes ago, though you were confused and wanted answers.
"I said no because I thought you would be better off with someone else," he admitted.
"Someone else? Why would you think that?" You asked, completely flabbergasted.
"(Y/N), I- damn it. I'm nothing special! You could do so much better than a failure like me. You deserve the best, and I'm not that. I'm talentless rubbish."
Your jaw nearly dropped. It wasn't uncommon for Hop to make small, negative comments about himself, but this was the first time you've heard him degrade himself to such an extent.
"I wanted to be a legend, to surpass my brother and become the champion, but my friend was better than me. Everyone throughout my entire journey was better than me. Everyone is still better than me."
"Hop-"
"I haven't accomplished anything, there's nothing to set me apart from others. I figured that the right thing to do was to spare you from the embarrassment that would come with dating Galar's biggest loser..." he squeezed your hand, "... but it would destroy me to see you with someone else, even if I know that you deserve the world. The world that I can't provide."
More tears streamed down his cheeks as all of his darkest thoughts finally came out of him. It was heartbreaking to see Hop in such a state, to voice what he thought of himself.
You thought none of the things he had just said, and you thought that you had made it obvious over all the time you've spent together. You were always there to give him reassurance, to hype him up when he didn't believe in himself. Hop looked so broken and lost like he didn't know what else to do or think. You couldn't believe that he thought so lowly of himself to the point where he felt that he didn't deserve anything good happening to him.
"Hop, sweetheart, look at me," you said. "How could you even have the audacity to say all these horrible things about yourself?"
"It's the tru-"
"No. You think you're a failure because you didn't become a champion? Please. I don't care that you didn't win. Don't you like what you're doing right now?"
"Yes..."
"There! That's all that matters. And for the record, you're phenomenal at what you do. You have so much knowledge about pokémon, and you're a natural with them. I should know, I see the way you are at the sanctuary. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: imagine just how amazing you're going to be as a professor in the future when you're already that good."
Hop wiped at his tears a bit. "You... really think I'm doing okay?"
You smiled. "More than okay! You think you're talentless, that you haven't accomplished anything and that you're not unique? Bullshit. Say that to the Zacian, who chose you as one of the heroes. Say that to Victor, who has a hard time standing against you in battle when no one else can. Say that to the insane amount of progress you've made to become a professor. Heck, you might just become one of the youngest professors!"
"(Y/N)... I- you really think that of me?" He asked, hope lacing his tone.
You nodded, rubbing soothing circles on his hand with your thumb. "Yes, and I really like you, Hop. Without even looking at what you've accomplished, I still like you. You could be the most ordinary person, and I'd still like you. You get what I'm saying? I'm attracted to you as a person for all of your amazing qualities and your adorable quirks. I like you because I feel a connection between us, and I just feel comfortable with you."
Hop chuckled, his bright smile returning to him as he blushed madly. He pulled you into a hug, and you immediately clung onto him.
"Thank you, (Y/N). I needed to talk to someone about this, and I just- thank you. I like you too, a lot. So, so much," he said. He pulled away from you. "So.. about that date?"
You laughed softly, leaning in to plant a small kiss to the corner of his lips. That alone made Hop's mind go blank as he chuckled with a smitten look on his face.
Maybe he wasn't Galar's ultimate winner, but why should he care when he already had everything he needed and wanted? Hop would be damned to let a gem such as yourself go, so he'd be selfish just this once and keep you for himself.
Not that you seemed to mind.
#pokemon#pokemon sword and shield#pokemon headcanons#hop pokemon#hop x reader#pokemon hop x reader#gn reader#gender neutral insert#pokemon imagines#galar region#pokemon shield#pokemon sword#pokemon x reader#pokemon sword and shield x reader#fanfiction#one shot#reader insert#x reader#gender neutral reader
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The Summoning (ch. six)
FT. Leon x Gym Leader!F!Reader
series m.list
WARNINGS: This chapter seems all over the place, but I promise it’ll come together towards the end. I made some interesting choices when it came to certain characters, but I believe that each choice works well with the story. I didn’t proofread this too well, so if there’s any major mistakes, please let me know!
Hammerlocke stadium towered over Gloria as she stood before it. For some reason, this gym seemed much more intimidating than the others. She had to stop and make sure that she was ready, despite training nonstop since she left your gym. Hop didn’t, however, and had run along to challenge the gym’s leader. Marnie was nowhere to be found, but Gloria didn’t mind. She had mentioned a while back that she was set to be the next gym leader of Spikemuth. Bede had gone missing too, but she thought he’d be fine. He seemed independent enough anyhow.
The battle against you had shaken her some. She knew her strength, but fighting against you made her doubt herself. That’s why she was apprehensive about facing Raihan. If you were able to make her question her every move, then what would Raihan do to her? She shook her head, hesitating to take a step forward. To the untrained eye, she looked like an anxious gym challenger, yet to those that she challenged, they’d recognize her resolve crumbling. Up until now she had sailed through the gym challenge, simply due to observing those around her. But you… you had honestly frightened her.
Seeing that video of you battling the Kommo-o had just unnerved her further. She was thankful she didn’t witness it, seeing as she would’ve been to paralyzed by fear to escape. You were just that powerful.
She sighed. She didn’t have the time to think about that right now. She needed to defeat Raihan. Gloria looked down at the Pokéballs strapped to her waist. She could feel that things were going to gradually get more intense, she just didn’t know how. She thought back to the stories her mother would tell her before she passed. Each region has had a crisis with its legendary Pokémon in recent years, which Gloria believed to be part of a bigger picture. The most recent one was a few years ago when the Alolan region had things called ‘ultra wormholes’ open up. Researchers and trainers from all over jumped at the opportunity to see the phenomena, including her mother. Different wormholes led to different worlds, some that were even inhabited by human-like beings and Pokémon.
Gloria sighed. She was getting ahead of herself. She needed to defeat Leon before she could do anything about Alola. Her mind wandered off to her encounter with Zacian back in the Slumbering Wield. For whatever reason, Hop hadn’t seen it. Instead, Zamazenta had been the one to reveal itself to him. But why? How had those two legendary Pokémon picked them? What had led up to that decision? She sighed again. Her bloodline meant something to them. Hop’s too. Could they have possibly fought alongside them in a past life?
Hop suddenly rushed out of Hammerlocke stadium, running straight for her. She jumped at the sight of him. If only he were aware that he was a small piece in a much bigger puzzle.
“He beat me! He beat me!” He wailed, throwing himself into Gloria’s arms dramatically. She chuckled before pushing him away. Hop himself was a strong trainer, it was his emotions that he let run him. That’s mostly what caused him to lose. “He’s really strong, Gloria! Make sure you’re prepared!” She shook her head. She was always prepared.
She began to sign out her words. Her hearing aid hadn’t been working for quite some time, which made it a struggle for her to get through the gym challenge. She planned on getting a new one with the money she saved up from her gym challenge, but that wouldn’t be for another month or so. It was unfortunate.
‘What is his trial like?’ She signed out slowly, since Hop wasn’t exactly too quick with his Galarian Sign Language. She stopped and looked at him, glancing at his lips every now and then as he formulated a response.
“Oh it’s simply awful!” Hop whined, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. “He drags out three of his gym trainers and makes you prove your worth! That’s it! But they’re soooo strong!!!” He groaned and hung his head. He was such a character. Always dramatic. Gloria smiled, nodding in response.
‘See you on the other side,’ she responded, grinning at him. Hop frowned and pouted at her.
“You’ve got this, Gloria! Kick his butt on my behalf!” He waved her off and ran in the direction of the PokéCenter. She watched as he left, gripping the straps of her bag tightly. She then turned to face the looming building that was Hammerlocke stadium. She swallowed nervously. This was simply just another step in her challenge.
She began to walk across the bridge, taking her time with each step. This battle would be easy. Hopefully. According to sources, Raihan wasn’t in it for the game, but for the thrill of battle. If she could throw him off with strategy, then she’d continue on undefeated. Gloria pushed past the doors to the gym lobby. Raihan met her there.
“Yo! I’ve been waiting for ya!” He grinned, showcasing his weirdly sharp teeth. She cringed. “Follow me.”
꧁ ༺ ─── ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ─── ༻ ꧂
You sat in your living room, your head between your hands as you stared down at your floor. Piers had since gone back to Spikemuth, promising to return later to check in on you. Leon however, was sitting across from you, his eyes full of worry. He didn’t know what to say or what to do that could make you feel just a bit better. He felt… guilty.
“Leon. Eternatus is clearly trying to get ahold of me,” you started out, “but why? Why is Opal’s family connected to it? What connections did they have to the Darkest Day? And…” you looked up slowly, your eyes meeting his. Realization had struck you. “It’s not just me,” you muttered in awe, your mouth slightly agape.
“What do you mean? Is Eternatus reaching out to people other than you?” He cocked his head to the side, racking his brain to make sense of the situation.
“That child, Gloria, and your brother Hop. They encountered the sword and the shield Pokémon in the Slumbering Wield a day or so ago, right? Those Pokémon hadn’t been seen in nearly two hundred years before that. Think about it, they must be able to sense that something dangerous is happening in the region,” you got up and walked over to the bookshelf that stood in the corner of the room. Dozens of history filled books lined the shelves, each of them provided by Opal. You scanned the shelves, your eyes landing on a book that you had seen many times before. You just hadn’t been aware of its significance up until now. “There must be something important about the both of those children that caused them to show themselves…” you slowly opened up the book, skimming through its pages manically. There was something in particular that you just needed to confirm. Sure enough. There it was.
A drawn out family tree of Opal’s bloodline took up two full pages, and two more families followed it. Opal’s handwriting was at the bottom of the page, drawing you into the generation. On the next set of pages was a tree of names that you couldn’t recognize. The last name added to the tree was a child, descendant of Adriana, named Gloria.
“Leon…” you whispered, turning around with the book in your hands. You continued to scan its contents, your eyes reading over each name on the tree. You hesitated to turn the page. Another, slightly shorter family tree met your eyes. The latest addition to the line was a child, descendant of Cedrinne, named Hop. Opal had documented their births, which ultimately connected them to you. “Look…” you passed off the book to him. You weren’t quite sure what this meant. And you couldn’t remember if you had any more of Opal’s old books that explained the significance of it all. You looked back at the bookshelf and then back at Leon.
If Opal’s ancestors were worshippers of the being that was Eternatus, then what were Gloria and Hop’s? Were they firm believers in the sword and shield Pokémon? Had they worshipped them? Were there hidden statues in their honor? You felt your heartbeat grow faster, now pounding within your chest. What did this mean? The world spun around you. This felt horribly surreal. Two fifteen year olds and a twenty something year old had been picked by Pokémon that were powerful beyond belief and for what? Was it them that would save the region?
“I…” Leon looked up at you, his eyes widening. You looked pale, and you had broken out into a cold sweat. “Are you alright?” He asked slowly. Setting aside the book, he got up and reached for you, to which you rejected.
“We need to go to the clearing,” you blurted out. “I’m going to see if I can get answers. I need answers.” You pushed past him, grabbing your coat and sliding it over your arms. You struggled to put on your shoes, your hands shaking terribly. Leon rushed to follow you.
“How are you even going to do that?” His tone was filled with nothing other than worry as he copied your movements. Once he had his coat on, he waited for your next move. You seemed frantic, and it was bothering him. He wasn’t sure why, but it was.
“I’m going to reach out to it this time. The last time I saw it, I was shown the true importance of that area. If I can just get it to show me more, then maybe I’ll be able to piece some of this together and have it finally make sense. And maybe then we can formulate a plan to deal with Eternatus and Rose.” You walked briskly, pushing past various tree branches that blocked your path. This plan needed to work. If it didn’t, then you’d be at a total loss. Everything would have been for nothing and Eternatus would then be unstoppable.
“Y/n…” The man behind you stammered, holding his phone in his hands. You payed him no mind and continued on. “Y/n!” He raised his voice slightly, which caused you to jump. Slowly, you turned around to face him. “Hop and his friends… they beat Raihan…” Your expression fell. Shit! You thought that you would have more time to figure out a plan together. Now… now he was leaving. Now you’d be back to square one.
“Damnit,” you huffed, looking at him with a pained expression. You didn’t want him to leave. Not yet, anyways. You needed him. After all he had done to help you, you needed him! “Well, I suppose you ought to get back to Wyndon,” you frowned, hanging your head slightly. “I’ll let you know if I come up with anything, alright? I don’t doubt that they’ll want me to participate in the competition, so I’ll be seeing you soon enough,” you paused, “just don’t get lost.”
“Got it,” he nodded, giving you a wide smile. A heat rose to your cheeks. “Just be careful out here. I’ll…” he cleared his throat, “I’ll see you soon.” Leon turned his back to you and began heading back to your house.
You continued on to the clearing. It somehow looked much more dead than the last time you were here, as if the life had been drained from it entirely. The statue stood before you in all its glory. You felt the strength of its presence. The hairs on the back of your neck rose. An overwhelming feeling washed over you, and suddenly everything went black.
Your eyes were wide open, yet you couldn’t see anything. Scared, you called out, sticking your arms out to feel for something you could lean on. There was nothing. In fact, you couldn’t even hear the ambience of the forest anymore. You turned around and your sight returned. Eternatus was in front of you, seemingly restless. It was as if it wanted something from you.
Hesitantly, you stepped forward, hoping to touch it. Your hand was a few centimeters away when the scenery changed. The two of you were back in the clearing, right next to the statue, which appeared to be in pretty rough condition. The creature let out a cry.
“What do you want from me?” You asked, frustrated. It wouldn’t give you answers. It couldn’t. The thought upset you. If it had been putting you through all of this, then why couldn’t it answer a simple question? Eternatus stood still, its silence eerie. The sound of footsteps made you redirect your attention. Your eyes widened. “Opal…”
The woman appeared to be a bit older than the last time you had seen her, and behind her followed a teenage version of yourself. “I’ve told you before that this is our history, but I’ve never told you why,” the older woman smiled, her eyes focused on the statue. She turned to face the younger you, gesturing for you to come closer. She had a far off look in her eye that made your heart clench. Oh how you missed her.
Opal cleared her throat before sitting down gently on the grass. “Come now, child. This story is quite a long one.” You looked at Eternatus. So this was its way of responding to you. You looked back at Opal and yourself. It had been here all along. A gasp escaped you at the sudden realization.
“A very long time ago, an event called the Darkest Day took place. It caused the Pokémon in the region to dynamax randomly, which led to chaos. That statue right there is a depiction of the creature that caused all of that chaos. It fed off of the energy that dynamaxing provided up until the two kings defeated it. With the help of the sword and the shield Pokémon, they were able to save the region and capture the creature. But they didn’t know what to do with it. Would they bury it? Would they turn it in? Well, they didn’t do either of those things. The brothers chose to pass it off to the region’s strongest line of psychics,” she grinned, “those psychics, dear child, are my ancestors. They entrusted them to properly handle the situation, to which they decided to trap its soul within the statue. Since then, it’s been a tradition to prepare the next in line for the responsibility of their choice. We look after it.
“You see, each of the women in my bloodline has had a connection to this being. Some have even reported to see it in their dreams,” she sighed and placed a hand on your shoulder. “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to do the same, due to your situation and relation to the family,” Opal paused, her eyes searching yours, “I believe that if it wants to reach out to you, then it will find a way. I’ve no doubt that it can sense that you’re now a member of the family. And while I understand that this is very exciting for a child your age, I need you to understand that this is a dangerous being. The statue must never break, or its soul will return to its body, do you understand—“
The memory faded away slowly. Opal had been the last thing to dissolve, which only hurt your heart more. Vast nothingness now surrounded you and Eternatus.
“You…” you muttered, staring at it in awe. “You want to be freed of this curse…” you trailed off slowly. “But… if you’re still in the statue when Rose awakens your physical body, then what? Won’t you just go anyway?” The Pokémon roared at your question. “I’m guessing that’s a no…” A sudden shock ran through your body, causing you to gasp.
“Save… me…” a deep and powerful voice echoed within your head. It sounded incredibly raspy, its words hardly intelligible. Shivers ran down your spine. You had no clue that it could communicate.
“But… I can’t!” You took a step back. “You’re stuck here for a reason! How am I supposed to believe that you won’t go with Rose when your body is awakened? This is dangerous. You’re dangerous. I refuse to put my region at risk.” It roared. Opal’s voice suddenly met your ears.
“You misunderstand… child…” each word was choppy, as if Eternatus was sifting through its memories to get to you. “I’m… right here. Rose… won’t… have me.” You groaned and covered your ears, shutting out the voice.
“Stop that! I’m not letting you out!” You shouted, taking another step back from it. You stumbled and fell. When you landed, the void around you had disappeared, the original sight of the clearing greeting you. The statue’s aura seemed much more intense than when you had gotten there, and it unnerved you. Slowly, you rose to your feet. You did your best to dust off the dirt from your rear before inspecting the statue. Everything seemed fine. No cracks or anything.
A loud, shrill cry suddenly met your ears. The sound was followed by a few thunderous footsteps. Each one shook the forest floor, and each one brought it closer to you. Horror struck you as you stared. Above you towered a dynamaxed Espurr, a Pokémon that was said to not have any control over its psychic abilities. You panicked as you felt around for at least one of your Pokéballs. Quickly, you threw out the first one you could find. Polteageist.
The Espurr cried out and stomped its foot, causing a few of the nearby trees to fall. Your heart sank. The trees weren’t the only thing that had fallen. The statue was now on the ground, reduced to nothing but tiny pieces. A black cloud flew from the rubble and into the sky. That must’ve been Eternatus’ soul. It vanished in an instant, taking the dynamaxed energy away from the Espurr and knocking it unconscious.
“Oh no…” you muttered, looking up at the sky.
꧁ ༺ ─── ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ─── ༻ ꧂
There was nothing more Leon feared than losing. Without his title as the champion, he'd be nothing. He sat in his private locker rooms, his head hung between his shoulders. From everything that Hop had told him, Gloria sure was a force to be reckoned with. Even Raihan admitted that he had a tough time battling her. He was proud of the girl for making it so far into the gym challenge, but he had a nagging feeling. If Gloria was strong enough to take both you and Raihan out on the first go, then what did that mean for him? Would he too struggle and inevitably lose?
He frowned. Being the champion was all he had ever known. He had remained undefeated since the tender age of ten, taking down the former champion at eleven. All he had ever really gotten the chance to do with his life was fight. Now he regretted it. He wished he had chosen something different as his passion. It was too late now, however. Leon was doomed to repeat an endless cycle of repetitive winning.
The intercom crackled as the speaker called for all of the challengers to make their ways to the locker rooms for further information. The first round of preliminary battles were about to take place. There were four singular challengers. Only one, if any, would be able to claim the title as champion.
Leon sat up, turning to look at the wall beside him. He wondered if you had managed to discover anything in reference to Eternatus. He couldn't help but worry. You had seemed so sure of yourself when he left, plus you had yet to send him any kind of message-
His phone suddenly began to ring. He picked it up immediately, holding to his ear as he waited for you to begin speaking.
"Leon this is bad," you sounded out of breath, as if you had been running. His heart sank. "Leon this is so bad. Eternatus' soul was trapped inside the statue! It wanted me to free it, and I told it no, but right after that a dynamaxed Espurr appeared and fucking knocked it over!! Leon! That accursed thing broke the statue!" your voice wavered. You were panicked, and now, of course, Leon was too. "If it get's back to its physical form, then we're done for! All of that research, all of that hard work we put in- wasted! Leon Galar is fucking doomed!" He heard you let out a sob. "It's all my fault..."
"Hey hey hey- wait- um," he choked on his words. Fuck. Eternatus was free. That meant that he and you were staring the inevitable doom of the region in the face. "You need to tell Rose. He needs to know what's going on. Where are you? I'm heading out. Hey, take a deep breath. We'll put a stop to this."
You sniffled, holding your breath to prevent you from letting out another sob. "I'm at my place... the boys are out at the gym... if they found me like this I- fuck..." You mumbled, simply verbalizing your current thoughts. Leon sighed and stood up. You hung up, leaving him alone with his thoughts. If he wasn't scared before, he definitely was now. He grabbed his cape and threw it over his shoulders before briskly walking out into the lobby. Several fans stopped him, but he pushed onward. Oh if only they knew the amount of trouble they were in.
He managed to grab a flying taxi and head out to Ballonlea. He tipped the cabby and rushed towards your house. The sky was dark. A storm was coming.
Dread filled him as he set foot in Ballonlea. The weight of his current situation was just now beginning to hit him. He was at a loss. If Eternatus was free, then what did that mean for Rose’s plan? His heart sank. If the soul and the body had been separated, then there was a chance that Eternatus was trying to get back to stop the use of its body. Unfortunately, the chances of that being the case were slim.
You came into his line of sight, your eyes puffy from crying. Without warning, you ran up to him, wrapping your arms around him and burying your face in his chest. A sob escaped you. Leon could feel his own eyes begin to water. He couldn’t tell if this was the end and it scared him. He hesitated to return your embrace. His heart throbbed in his chest. The moment felt so incredibly bittersweet that he didn’t know if he wanted it to last forever or not. Having you so close to him reminded him of how much you meant to him. You were everything.
After a few minutes, he let you go, taking a step back so you could collect yourself. It didn’t take you long to catch your breath before you led him back to your house. You stared down at the ground the whole time, your eyes focused on nothing in particular. It hurt him to see you in such a state. You looked broken, and there wasn’t anything he could do to help fix that. He frowned and looked away.
You opened the front door and let him in, avoiding looking directly into his eyes. You feared that he would get mad at you. Actually, you hoped that he would. You wanted him to put the blame on you and accept things as they were. If he did that, then maybe it’d be easier for him to handle it. Oh what were you thinking. You’d fall apart if he blamed you. Yet you felt you deserved it.
With a sigh, you sat down onto the couch. Bede and Allister were still out, blissfully unaware of what was soon to come. Your lip quivered slightly as you thought about what to say. Was there even anything you could say? ‘Sorry I fucked up and now the region is done for.’
“It’s not your fault.” Leon’s words pulled you from your thoughts. You turned to look at him with teary eyes. “How were you supposed to know that was going to happen?”
“But I—“ you sniffled, looking back down at the floor. He walked over and sat next to you, wrapping his arm around you. “Opal chose me to watch over it… and I—“ you cut yourself off with a sob. Leon pulled you closer to him and rested his head atop of yours. He wished he could offer you some advice. He really wanted to be able to tell you that everything would be fine.
But he just didn’t know.
He pulled away and grabbed you by the shoulders. His eyes searched yours in silence, as he was too awestruck by your beauty to form a sentence. He swallowed nervously. “I don’t know if this is the end or not, but I wanted to tell you that I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to know you better,” he took a second to gather his thoughts, “I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else…” he could feel himself beginning to tear up. If only he could tell you just how much he loved you. But now wasn’t the time. It would never be the time.
“I…” you sighed. Suddenly you were at a loss for words. Your heart ached, and you longed to tell him how you yearned for him, but you knew you couldn’t. You feared that now wasn’t an appropriate time. But if not now, then when? “Leon… I never thought I’d grow close to you. But… I’m happy that I did. I… I’m not sure if it’s all going to end soon, so I wanted to say—“
He leaned in and gently placed his lips against yours. When he leaned back, he saw your widened eyes and panicked. He quickly scooted back, looking away out of embarrassment. He could feel his face burning.
“S-Sorry! I-I thought that— and uh— um…” he trailed off, his voice rising in pitch the longer he spoke. It had been so long since the last time he had felt this embarrassed. He wanted to disappear.
“Can you do that again?” You asked slowly, reaching out and placing a hand on his arm. His head whipped around, his eyes wide as he stared at you. He couldn’t believe that you were serious. In fact, he was overjoyed. Forget about the world possibly ending, the one he’s in love with just asked him for another kiss. He could actually die in peace now.
Experimentally, he placed his hand on your cheek, his thumb caressing the skin gently. He then leaned in, planting another kiss on your lips. You leaned into it this time, placing your hand atop his. You could feel him smile before he pulled away.
“I think I might—“ Leon was interrupted by the sound of the door practically being kicked open. Instinctively, he scooted away from you, his eyes widened.
“Y/n!” Bede screamed, nearly tripping over his own feet when he saw you in the living room. He was horribly out of breath, and his eyes were wide with fear. You rushed over to him. He grabbed you by your shoulders and let out a choked sob. “A-Allister’s Mimikyu dynamaxed while we were out! I t-tried to stop it, but it t-took out my team so fast a-and… he said he’d be able to handle it b-but…!” You stopped him, your expression serious.
“Stay here with Leon,” your voice quivered slightly. Allister didn’t have any other Pokémon besides Mimikyu, so how was he going to take it down? Wait a second… you recalled seeing another Pokéball in his room, but you were sure that this mystery Pokémon wasn’t strong enough to take down Mimikyu. You looked back at Leon briefly before rushing out of the house.
Thunder rolled in the distance, nearly covering up the loud cry of a Pokémon that came from the Glimwood Tangle. You ran off in the direction, making sure you had Chandelure ready. You hoped that you’d be able to reach it in time, and feared what would happen if you didn’t. The world flew by as you ran, the cries gradually growing closer.
A soft groan met your ears, causing your heart to sink. You ran out into a clearing where the enraged Mimikyu had settled. To your left stood Allister, and in front of him was a tired looking Dusclops. You ran over to him and pushed him to the side. In the same movement, you brought out Chandelure, giving it free rein over the battle. You grabbed the child, looking at him with teary eyes. His mask was broken, hanging off of his face and revealing one of his eyes. He looked horrified, as did you.
You got up and turned around, watching as Chandelure fought off the Pokémon. You began to aid it, calling out moves and commands. Now that you were between it and Allister, you could rest easy. But not too easy. See, the thing with Allister’s Mimikyu was that it was by far one of the strongest Pokémon you had ever seen. You had just made sure to keep him unaware of that fact. It had always been an issue for you while training with him, unfortunately, but you knew that having this secret was for his own good.
With your body in between Allister and Mimikyu, you were practically a shield. At this point, you were willing to take a hit from the thing if it meant that he would be safe. You winced as Chandelure was attacked. Its pain was your own, and you could feel it gradually growing weaker. A pained expression crossed your features. Your knees began to weaken. You weren’t sure if you and your partner could keep this up for much longer. You frowned, bracing yourself for the inevitable.
But it never came. In fact, Mimikyu had returned to its normal form all on its own, now laying on the forest floor unconscious. You looked at it in shock before turning to face the child. He had been frozen in terror, a sight that shattered your heart.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?” You asked back to back, moving him as you inspected his current state. You shook him as you spoke. The absolute fear in your voice would grow to be something he’d never forget. You pulled him into your arms and held him as tight as you possibly could, not giving him room to breathe. Tears welled in your eyes. Oh you were so worried. It made you more than happy to know that he was alright. “Let’s get you back to the house, okay? I’m sure Bede will be happy to see you,” you finally stepped back, fixing his mask with a smile. You gathered Mimikyu and carried it, walking alongside the Dusclops that Allister had summoned.
It was a miracle that it had withstood Mimikyu’s attacks so well. You couldn’t help but be amazed. How had he managed to find a Pokémon as strong as this one? Did he just get lucky? Surely not.
“We’re almost back to town,” you turned to look over your shoulder, giving him another soft smile. You froze. “Allister?” You turned around, your eyes wide. “Allister?!” You called, panic washing over you. “ALLISTER??” You raised your voice in hopes that he would respond. Yet you heard nothing. “Shit shit shit…” The Dusclops beside you sensed your worry, trailing alongside you as you walked deeper into the Glimwood Tangle. He had been right behind you the whole time! How had he vanished so quickly?! Your heart raced and you handed off Mimikyu to the Dusclops before breaking out into a full sprint on your search.
“ALLISTER!!” You shouted, out of breath. No response. You stopped. Your running had led you to the clearing where the statue of Eternatus once stood. Dread filled you. It was no coincidence that you would up back here, you were sure of it. You looked around the area frantically, stopping when you saw the child sitting in front of the base of the statue. He turned to face you as you got closer.
“My premonition…” he took off his mask and set it to the side. “I-It’s going to be fulfilled soon…”
A nervous chuckle left your lips. Fuck. “Come now Allister, let’s get you out of here and back home,” you extended your hand for him to take. He stood up and you picked him up, carrying him on your back carefully. It had been quite a long time since you had done this, but you figured the timing was right. You frowned as you carried him back to the house.
“Y/n..?”
“Yes?”
“What was that place?”
“Just an old shrine for the two kings, Allister.”
“Alright.”
꧁ ༺ ─── ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ─── ༻ ꧂
“Those trainers that are fighting in the wild area are getting killed.”
“You think I don’t know that?!” Rose slammed his hands down onto the table, causing some tea to spill. Oleana flinched, her eyes widening slightly before she cleared her throat. He sighed and stood upright, fixing his tie in an attempt to maintain professionalism. He turned around and looked out at the large window. “What I meant to say was, I’m already aware of that unfortunate fact.”
“Is there not anything that you can do?” She gave him an exasperated look. She wasn’t sure if her love for him was worth it anymore. “Can you not issue a warning? This is a serious matter!”
“They knew the dangers when they signed up to take those Pokémon down,” he retorted. He couldn’t do this much longer. “It’s no one’s fault but their own, do you understand?”
“But Chairman the—“
“Do you understand?!” He whipped his head around, giving her a serious glare that caused her to wince. She frowned, hanging her head in shame.
“I understand.” She mumbled, rising from her seat in silence. She turned to leave, but stopped. There were so many things that she wanted to say to him, but he wouldn’t listen. He would never truly listen to her. Sadness filled her heart. He was so horrible to her. She hated him. But oh, what would she do without him?
The sound of her heels clicking on the marble floor echoed as she made her way to the door. Once again, Rose was alone. His eye twitched. His plan would be executed soon enough, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore.
He grabbed his teacup and threw it across the large room in a fit of rage. Watching it shatter gave him a small feeling of satisfaction. The little glass pieces shined on the floor, each one reflecting a different perspective. He watched it in awe. Each piece reminded him of the different stages of his life. First his family, then his gym challenge, and then his rise to fame as the Chairman. His heart ached at the sight.
There simply was no escaping the path that he took to get there.
It seemed that he couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without being reminded of how much he had lost. And he had lost so much. He swallowed thickly. If his plan worked, then he wouldn’t have to lose ever again. No one would. In fact, the Galar region would simply be a thing of the past.
Rose laughed bitterly. He found it ironic that he feared death, despite having nothing more to lose. He thought of Oleana and sighed, hanging his head. The thought of her made his knees weak. He found her to be utterly annoying, and yet, she had been the only person to stay by his side since he had taken on the position as chairman. A tear rolled down his cheek. Confused, he wiped it away. He didn’t care for her that much, did he? He shook his head. There was no way. She was insufferable. But… was she really insufferable or was she simply just trying to help him.
He froze. Everything he ever thought about her he began to doubt. When was the last time she had smiled? He had no clue. Another tear fell, and then another, and then another until he was fully crying at the thought of someone caring about him that much.
He wrapped his arms around himself and shuddered. Maybe he did have something to lose.
꧁ ༺ ─── ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ─── ༻ ꧂
Piers had booked a room at the Rose of the Rondelands so he could be with Marnie for the Champion Cup tournament. The final rounds between the final challenger and the gym leaders was set to commence tomorrow. Both he and you were set to battle in it, as well as Raihan. It was sure to be an interesting series of battles. If Gloria were to win each of her battles and move on to the next round with Leon, then that battle would commence immediately after the final round ended. It would be a back to back event, with fans from all over tuning in to see the challenger Gloria fight.
The sound of knocking tore him from his thoughts, causing him to jump slightly. “Oh, come in.” He called weakly. Marnie opened the door, followed by Gloria and Hop. The children’s worried gazes made him frown. “What’s wrong? Did ya not get t’ the dessert bar in time?” Hop shook his head and frowned.
“Do you know where Lee is? He promised he’d meet us for dinner, but we can’t find him anywhere!” He sighed, hanging his head. Gloria placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
“I don’t. Have you tried lookin’ around? He really could be anywhere,” Piers stretched as he rose to his feet. “Come on, let’s go lookin’ for ‘im. I’m sure he’s not too far from here.” He led the way out of the room and to the elevator. “So when was the last time you saw ‘im?” Hop furrowed his brows in thought.
Gloria began to sign. ‘He appeared right after we finished the first round.’
“Oh yeah! That’s right! He looked like he had gotten there in a hurry, and he seemed real desperate to spend time with me and Gloria over here!” Hop paused and frowned once again. “But then he vanished. He told us that it would be a late meal, but we had no clue it was going to be this late!”
“They were telling me about it, an’ I figured that you might know somethin’ since you’re in kahoots with him,” Marnie shrugged. “I don’t wan’ t’ send you on a wild goose chase just because.” Piers nodded understandingly.
The group walked out of the hotel lobby and into the parking lot. For some reason, despite it being about nine pm, the area was rather busy. They walked through the crowd and headed towards the plaza, where they were greeted by even more people. Piers looked around, growing more and more suspicious of the situation. He looked at Marnie, who returned his look. So she could feel it too.
“Why don’t you go check th’ station?” He looked at Gloria, who nodded in response. “And you, purple hair, why don’t you check the other end of th’ plaza. Marnie, I need you to go get some of the nearby Team Yell members.” She nodded and ran off. Each of the children went their separate ways, which gave him some time to think before he executed a plan.
His eyes scanned the crowd. An unusual amount of league staff members were in the crowd, doing their best to blend in by interacting with the crowd. Odd. Usually there was one by the station, but now there were at least five or six mixed into the cluster of civilians before him. Come to think of it, those civilians hardly seemed… well… to be normal. Piers was a well known celebrity in the region, and not one of them had turned to acknowledge him. He hated to seem selfish, but he found it incredibly strange.
Gloria rushed up to him, signing frantically about some guy in the station that had battled her and ran. She said that he was working for Macro Cosmos, the company that Rose owned. Piers scowled. Of course.
“Where did he go?” He looked around, looking for something— anything suspicious. If he could get a lead, then he’d be set. All he needed was a hint. He looked over at Gloria. She informed him that this staff member had a different set of sunglasses than the usual ones did. He smirked. That was all he needed.
Marnie returned with the Team Yell members, each one of them eager to help out. Piers quickly explained their situation to them before sending them off in search of the staff member. He instructed Gloria and Marnie to stay together in the plaza while they looked. He’d rather they face off this stranger side by side than them be alone. There was no telling how far this guy was willing to go.
It didn’t take them long to find that son of a bitch. When they did, Piers had stepped up to battle him head on, but Gloria offered herself up instead. Her raw talent never failed to amaze him, and apparently Hop felt the same way, seeing as he watched the battle very closely.
“Hey kid, you’re staring,” he elbowed Hop with a smirk, resulting in the kid’s face turning a bright shade of red. He chuckled and directed his attention back to Gloria, who had finished her battle and was now facing them. She told them that they could now use the monorail, but they’d have to be quick. Apparently Leon was at Rose Tower.
“You guys go on ahead,” Marnie took a step back from them. She looked apprehensive. “I’ll deal with these numbskulls and join you over there,” she turned around and headed off in the direction of the hotel. Gloria turned to Piers, gazing up at him expectantly.
“You expect me to lead this mission?” She smiled slowly and he sighed. “Alright, come on you two. We’re in this together.”
When they got to Rose Tower, they stopped. After all, Piers didn’t really know what to do. It’s not like they could just rush in there and demand that they see Leon—
“I’m gonna go right on in there and demand that they let me see my big brother!” Hop huffed as he began marching toward the tower’s entrance. Piers rolled his eyes and Gloria held him back.
“That’s a bad idea. You need t’ work out a plan,” he crossed his arms and sighed. This was difficult alright. And it sure was strange.
“I have! I want to see my brother!” Hop raised his voice, glaring daggers at Piers. “And you can’t stop me!” He turned on his heels and stormed into the building. Gloria ran after him, worry painting her face. Children. Leave it to them to make poor decisions. He sighed. He was going to keep his happy ass right here just in case those two needed anything. He doubted it though. They were quite the duo.
“Gloria, you didn’t have to follow me.” Hop crossed his arms inside the entrance, turning his head away from her. She sighed and shook her head. At this point she really didn’t have much of a choice.
The two children took a few steps into the lobby of the tower, where they were immediately confronted by staff members. Naturally, they had to battle them to get past them. Once they got past that, they were free to use the elevator to the top.
She turned to face him, looking deep into his eyes before reaching out her hand for him to hold. He blushed and took it, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as the elevator continued to go up. He could feel his face burning, but he didn’t mind. He was living the dream in this moment, and he was content with that.
The elevator came to a halt, and Hop froze. “There’s no way we’re already at the top…” he mumbled, bracing himself. Two doors to his left opened, a pair of staff members joining them on the platform.
“That’s right, kid. We’re gonna take you down!” One of them taunted with a smirk. He pulled out a Pokéball and looked over at his partner.
“We’ll see about that!” Hop grinned, bringing out Dubwool. Gloria nodded and sent out Inteleon.
꧁ ༺ ─── ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ─── ༻ ꧂
“Do you understand the magnitude of this plan?” Rose asked the man beside him as he stared down at the city of Wyndon. He folded his hands nearly behind him. He had called Leon in to inform him of his new job in this plan.
“I’m afraid I don’t…” he frowned, following Rose’s gaze. “You say that me taking down Eternatus would save the region from imminent destruction… but how do you know that’s true?” His brows furrowed. He really didn’t want to agree with him, but it was looking like he had no other choice. And after everything that he had worked for too… it pained him.
“It’s called faith,” Rose’s tone grew serious. “And I have faith in you, dear champion. You’ve never failed before, so what makes you think that you’ll fail now?”
“I—“
“LEE!!” Hop’s voice echoed throughout the room. The sound surprised Leon so much that he gasped loudly, his eyes widened with shock. Gloria ran up beside him, a soft grin on her face.
“Hey there Hop,” he forced himself to smile, “how did you make it all the way up here?”
“Oh it was horrible! They were all ‘you’re not gonna get past us!’ and we were all ‘think again suckers!’ and then we faced off against Oleana, who was simply mad!! I told each and every one of those people that all I wanted to do was see my brother, and they wouldn’t let me!” He huffed and crossed his arms. “Plus you still owe us dinner! It’s been hours since we saw you last! I was so worried, Lee!” Hop whined and pouted dramatically.
Leon forced a chuckle, shaking his head as he did so. “I’m sorry Hop, I really am. I had every intention of taking you two out for dinner tonight, but I got caught up with important champion matters. Listen,” he squatted down some to look him in the eyes, “why don’t we go out for breakfast tomorrow before the final round of the Champion Cup begins?” Hop nodded excitedly. He was practically jumping up and down at the thought.
Rose frowned. He had never noticed that Leon and Hop were so close. He envied them.
“Why don’t you just go on back to the hotel?” Rose asked, resulting in a confused look from Leon. “Yes, you too. You’re all going to want to be properly rested before to tomorrow, so just go ahead and get your rest.”
“You heard him,” Leon chuckled again. “Alright let’s get going.” He ushered them out of the room, still grinning. Rose felt his heart ache.
He missed his family.
He missed his brother.
Rose hung his head, biting the inside of his cheek so hard that it began to bleed. Oh how he envied Leon and Hop. And Piers and Marnie. And you and Allister. Each of you were so close to one another, and it hurt him to witness. It wasn’t fair. He had worked for everything he had, and he couldn’t have a family? Even before they died, his parents wanted nothing to do with him. It just wasn’t fair. He brought an unreal amount of money to their name that they had never seen before, and all he got in return was cut off.
It wasn’t fair.
None of it was fair.
His knees buckled and he fell to the floor.
If only his mother were still alive.
꧁ ༺ ─── ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ ─── ༻ ꧂
You didn’t want to, but you had no other choice. You booked a suite at the Rose of the Rondelands, guaranteeing that Bede and Allister would have enough space to be comfortable. You refused to leave them home alone after the incident with Mimikyu. Naturally, Bede was reluctant to go back to Wyndon, but he knew he couldn’t argue with you.
It was late when you checked in, and the person at the front desk was half asleep. Thankfully she recognized you, otherwise you would’ve been there for a while. Once you made it up to the suite, you put the boys to bed and then rested in the open area. Everything seemed like it was moving fast, and to make things it didn’t even feel real.
Every time you thought about Eternatus, you couldn’t grasp that it was a real being. But it was. And it haunted you. Ever since that statue had been destroyed, bad things had continuously happened to you, as if you were cursed. You shuddered at the thought. Eternatus may’ve been a powerful creature, but it surely wasn’t powerful enough to place a curse on you. You weren’t even sure that Arceus was capable of that, and Arceus was the being above all beings.
You sighed, rolling over onto your side with a frown. You had a splitting headache, and wanted nothing more than to rest, but you couldn’t. What if you closed your eyes and Eternatus found you again? Or what if you dreamt about what happened earlier with Mimikyu? You feared what might come for you in your sleep. It seemed slightly irrational, but you knew it wasn’t. A groan escaped your lips. Secretly, you dreaded participating in the matches tomorrow. You never cared for them in the past, so what made them think that you would now?
It was probably to make it more challenging than the round prior. Which made sense given that they usually brought in Raihan and Melony to make a show of it. When they brung you in is when things tend to get much more serious. You’re a challenge in and of yourself, and that’s exactly what the board is looking for.
You can’t help but cringe at the thought. Why not call in someone like Piers or Kabu? Why did it always have to be you and Raihan? You groaned again. Exhaustion washed over you. Unfortunately, you planned on forcing yourself to stay awake. You just didn’t want to risk seeing Eternatus again. Not after the encounter from earlier. That was going to bother you for a while.
A rueful chuckle left your lips. Maybe you should look into therapy after this mess gets cleared up. Arceus knows you need it. Oh well. That was a discussion for a later date. You yawned. Your eyes felt heavy. You didn’t want to go to sleep.
You yawned again. Your eyes closed.
You dreamt of nothing.
#I don’t know why I keep adding pictures of him smiling#as if he doesn’t get put through an emotional roller coaster regularly in this series#leon x reader#leon pokemon#Pokémon#pokemon#x reader#leon#leon swsh#leon pokémon#Pokémon swsh x reader#pokémon sword and shield#pokémon swsh#pokémon x reader#leon swsh x reader#character x reader#pokemon x reader
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Promised words and deeds
John Allerdyce x tva agent!reader
warning : emotional, hurt/comfort, revival, kissing, cuddling, fear
Summary : He had relied on the organization of time and now he was lying dead on a road, his neck broken in a universe that wasn't even likely his. But a soul in the Time Organization had promised him something, and she wouldn't let her own boss do nothing. Was there any hope for the flame tamer? Was there the peace he had always wanted in the end?
info : Soo something very angsty sad it just had to be he had experienced too much sadness not to use it. So have fun reading and have a nice day :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The TVA was an organization that only a handful of people knew about, an organization that was necessary to monitor the flow of the timelines, to correct them or to let them die.
An organization guided by duty and loyalty, each group, each team had a task to do precisely, all except for one team that was to take care of a very special universe under the supervision of Paradox.
A man who liked to hear himself talk, but most of all her boss who had made a promise to her beloved, a deal that involved John Allerdyce working as a spy to keep Cassandra in that damned void…to the point where everything broke down and the tva agent had to watch all that precision and rules end in chaos.
,,What about John!" she had shouted at her superior as he was still nursing his broken nose and looking stressed at the flickering and flashing screens, he didn't seem to hear her plea to do something to finally pull him out of the void after Wolverine had knocked him unconscious.
They had left John there for too long, it had been years since they had said goodbye, since she herself had sought him out, a lost mutant who would otherwise have strayed from his path, it was he who showed her for the first time how beautiful something without rules could be and all this freedom, this love and possibilities.
It was all a devilish creatures blown paradox who had her in his hands and wanted to do something good for John for the first time, which is why he had gone instead of her to be your pawn.
But this sacrifice now seemed to end with a blow as she saw her beloved lying unconscious on the floor, ,,Paradox! Get him out!" she called out again, rising from her seat at the desk and rushing to the larger main console, seeing the older man only now turn his gaze to her and make a puzzled expression, his hands suddenly gripping her shoulders before he shook her.
,,Are you completely stupid! If we intervene now, she'll understand what we've done!" he shouted back as they heard a flicker and bede looked at the screen in shock and worry as Cassandra had actually found some semblance of kindness when it came to her life and actually let Wolverine and Deadpool go.
It was all just a matter of time but the fear that tightened around her heart turned to panic as she realized that John was now alone ,,She's going to kill him" went through her mind and she tore herself away from the man before punching him in the nose again ignoring the yelp and grabbing the timepad that was taken from her for "reasons" so she wouldn't do anything.
She still heard the ban, heard the guards who wanted to capture her, who wanted to prevent her from doing what John had told her for the first time and disappeared into the bright golden portal.
Moments, fractions of seconds could be like years when it came to someone you loved, someone you would defend with your life. John back after the battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants was an outcast among outcasts, a wanderer who wanted to give up on his path as a villain.
She knew and he knew that he was tired of killing that he wanted to go back to the people who could truly be like a family but it wasn't meant to be and so they met, those bright eyes looking at her with interest he demonstrated his power to her and she was assigned to take care of him.
It was almost cute how he seemed puzzled by the technology as if there were hundreds of years between them, his compliments and flirting attempts as much as she tried to ignore it set her heart on fire and the hand-holding hid soon after work became kissing and more.
He was a love, a real love for them both and it could have been something if it wasn't too late this damn deal and this universe, the timeline had turned against them both.
When she had stepped through the portal nothing had happened she was in her office in the place where she had last seen him, still seeing the blood on the floor where the fight had taken place she still seemed to see him in front of her that grin she knew he had every right to freak out she blamed herself as well as Paradox that all this had happened.
The hit wouldn't kill him but Cassandra that crazy psychopath would, it was just a question she didn't want to get answered at the moment.
But he would only have to wait a moment, a moment that had passed and her gaze still saw the portal of magic, there he was there she would have to endure a moment of uncertainty and death and she would try to free herself from Cassandra's clutches all in a moment as she stepped through her own portal. She wanted to feel his warmth again, to know he was with her and to rekindle his hope, his flame of hope together in a shared future.
But the second time through the portal, arriving at the subway entrance, the underpass with the steel bars, the smoke and the bald woman who walked past her in the blink of an eye, neither noticing nor killing her, left nothing but death.
A man lying motionless on the floor she had heard the crack within a heartbeat knew what had happened as tears filled her eyes she rushed to her John and knelt beside him on the floor, ,,John…it's me-I'll-I'll bring you back" she sobbed tears blurring her vision as she shakily reached for her small device she knew she didn't have forever as she carefully lifted him with it.
It was only a moment but he was clinging to life, she was clinging to his heart and he was clinging to hers. she would not lose him even if she had a dead man in front of her. The promise of the future and life would both be hers while her apologies and tears fell on mute ears.
His body that slowly extinguished the warmth of life, the fire as she looked into his fearful expression, wishing she could warm him, wishing he could hear her as she took him back with her to the tva, directly to the center for emergency medical care.
The moment of his last life his breath was decided when she took him to her known of the ward knew it was against the rules but with her attention, the greater threat and a threat he was taken care of immediately, a matter of simplicity but it would take some time a horror as he slowly came back to consciousness while she could only be beside him.
She held his hand in state as his condition slowly improved, staying with him for hours until the doctor told her she could now take him with her, breaking the rules by stealing someone from the organization to testify against Paradox afterwards and then disappearing from her time with John, but it was all worth it when he woke up.
When she rushed out of the hospital with John her evidence had long since gone to the right places but none of this mattered when they found themselves in the apartment the agents had been given as a hideout in alternate universes it would serve as home and a new beginning she continued to hold his hand as he lay in the dark bedding his breathing calm the only sign he was alive.
She knew that at some point he would wake up, that he would be able to feel his fire again and that he would not only experience justice but also peace, ,,I'm sorry-I'm sorry I didn't act sooner," the guilt she gave herself finally burst out of her as she grabbed his hand again and kissed it, feeling the light warmth of life clinging to him.
Tears threatened to well up in her eyes again, the cracking of his neck and everything he had to suffer, all of which would not have been done sooner.
Laying her head on his stomach she tried to cuddle up to him lightly tiredness was slowly pulling at her she had barely slept the coffee was keeping her body awake but not her mind ,,I'll stay with you John" she mumbled before giving her eyes a little rest listening to his calm heartbeat before drifting off into a light sleep.
A sleep filled with memories of the past with John, of beautiful loving moments that meant everything to her and that she had looked at again and again.
His warmth seemed so close and his voice called her, he reached out his hand to her and held her close, finally lying in his arms again, it was the only thing they both wanted.
Until she saw the shadow in her dream, the dark shadow spreading over her, the fingers reaching out to destroy her, she saw those crazy eyes, the mutant who could kill her if she wanted to, the destroyer who had already killed him.
Fear flooded her body and her fingers automatically clung to John unconsciously that when she felt a hand on her head her eyes opened and she looked into a soft painful smile, ,,Hello Flame" she heard his voice slightly scratchy from the use but his warmth was back his hand caressing her head, he held her and didn't let go as she fell into his embrace.
Tears flowed down her cheeks as murmured words of apology and love left her and she felt his hand run down her back, ,,John I'm-I'm sorry I should have-" she began to stammer between tears and relief as he placed his hand on her cheek, wiped away some of the tears and pulled her into a long, deep kiss.
She saw his own devastation, the slight tears in his eyes as he realized it was past time he realized he was safe and didn't have to be afraid, ,,You saved me…it's over, isn't it?" he dared to ask, sniffling and blinking to get the tears away as she nodded hastily, hearing the relieved exhale as he dropped into the pillows and pulled her back to him.
Practically sitting on his lap, he had his arms wrapped around her again and she heard his heartbeat quicken and life was truly back with him, a quiet moment between them as she listened to John's almost relieved breathing while she was simply relieved to have him back.
The fear she had of not having his death recalled vanished, ,,We can finally have our own future," she said, feeling his hand on her cheek again as he placed a kiss on her head and reached out his other hand to feel for a source of heat until a heart flamed in his hand.
A heart like the one he had made when they parted, a heart of flames that would burn away the past to make room for a new beginning together in love in their own self-created timeline.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@thefandomqueen2882 , @oceansrose2002 , @girlypieee , @paintmekala , @gingersnaps-obsessed12 , @arisja3701
#deadpool 3#deadpool and wolverine#john allerdyce#john allerdyce x reader#xmen pyro#xmen pyro xreader#pyro x reader#aaron stanford
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[A video is attached. Would you like to view?]
[Dovewing’s phone remains down. While it is recording, it’s shoved into the saddle so it won’t be seen.
“I don’t understand why she asked to meet in the Vault. I guess it’s.. out of the way? Assuming Sonia isn’t there? But.. these stairs.. Dear Starclan…”
Eventually, she makes it to the top, shaking out her fluff. The door’s opens with a creak.
“You’re late.” Bede says.
“..Oh. Hello.” Her tone is sharp. “I’m here to meet with Oleana, I thought. Unless there was a change I wasn’t aware of?”
“There’s no need to be rude. I’m here to apologize.”
By the ‘rrow’ that can be made out, Dovewing certainly sounds confused. “..What??”
Bede just continues. “I have come to realize that me referring to you as just a skitty was.. rude of me. It is clear now that you’re your own thing. A cat, I’ve heard?”
“What’s the point of this now?? You were just awful to Hop from the sound of things, for no reason—do you think you apologizing for this is gonna make me like you?? Not after how you’ve hurt my best-“
“Oh. I never wanted to be friends, we’re still enemies in the challenge,” Bede corrects, “I still need wishing stars. I still need to become the Champion. I doubt you’ll get farther, and Hop’ll do worse. I have simply just been.. educated.”
“A few days ago I read through your mousebrained ‘takeover’ of my blog. What do you mean ‘educated’? Multiple people tried to explain this to you! What chang-?!”
The door opens again, and heels click.
“Dovewing.” A voice, assumedly Oleana, calls, “We’re so glad you could join us.”
Two voices gasp, one of which is clearly Dovewing’s. “W-wait-!”
“..Dovewing?”
“Ivypool?!” Dovewing shouts, “You’re here too?!”
“I thought I was the only one here after that thing attacked the clans.. where have you been?” Ivypool’s voice shares that same sort of ‘accent’ as Dovewing.
“I woke up in Postwick, taken in and then taught about the Challenge,” she explains. There’s still some edge to Dovewing’s voice, but it’s mostly gone, “Where have you been?”
“I was found by Oleana here, taught about Wishing Stars and what they need to do.”
“..What they…?”
“You have to understand, Dovewing.” Oleana’s voice is sharp, “In a thousand years, our world will be destroyed from a power crisis. We need to use these Wishing Stars in order to summon what will stop it. Surely our future is worth more than a silly Gym Challenge, isn’t it?”
“..W-what?”
“That’s why I’ve been taking them. I’m just doing what is needed.”
“You can have fun all you like, Dove. But destroying this new home of ours to it just isn’t right.”
“I’m not destroying it though! If these really were bad, Professor Magnolia herself wouldn’t given it to me! Right??”
“Why you-!”
“Bede.” Oleana pauses, waiting to see if the boy continued, and took a breath when he didn’t. “Dovewing, I can see you’re hesitant. Chairman Rose wouldn’t want to force you. However, think upon what I’ve said. I also hear a real reunion is in order.”
Oleana’s heels clack again, and from the sound of it Ivypool hops off from somewhere and runs at Dovewing, who laughs and purrs upon having her sister again.
“I’m not in the challenge, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind me following you… right?”
“Of course not! Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet Hop!”
“I need to get going now—Chairman Rose is in need of me. Bede?”
“Of course.”
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Jerk Rivals = Just young boys with bad/no family lives
I'll be covering the following "Jerk" Rivals
-Blue Oak
-Silver
-Gideon
-Bede
-Arven (at first)
Secondly, why do you think they are jerks? What is the one thing all 5 have in common? Shitty or no families.
Thirdly I am not covering Carmine since she's more of an "I don't want my home to become a tourist destination," kind of jerk
Let's get into this
Blue: In the games (not counting let's go) Oak shows he likes Red more then Blue. When the Professor take you to the lab and Blue say he was sick of waiting, Oak makes it know he forgot Blue was even waiting for him and allowed Red to pick first.
In FR/LG if you lose to Blue, Oak says it's disappointing that Blue won. How much do you think it hurt to hear your own grandfather put you down for winning your first every battle?
When you become champion after beating Blue, Oak tells his grandson how disappointed he is in Blue and that he doesn't love his Pokémon which is why you win. It doesn't matter that Blue worked as hard as we did to reach the same point.
Silver: Having Giovanni abandon him when he was only 7/8 years old had to be hard on Silver. More so when he was raised to only see Pokémon as tools. Having to unlearn all of them while he's still a child might have been easy, but it could have could still have been a hard lesson to learn.
Gideon: His father went missing which sent his mother insane causing her to be obsessive of both him and his sister Lillie.
Bede: A orphan boy who was take on by Rose, only to be thrown away after one big mistake. Who knows how long he was orphaned for or if he saw his parents die.
Arven: Having one parent be a workaholic and the other get up and leave while he was still young basically left him with no family. Then to have the workaholic parent be killed (Arven most likely saw it) and having his best friend almost killed would make him hostile to anyone who has Maridon/Karidon
So all in all, I don't think they wanted to be jerks. They just had shit home lives and lashing out is all they knew till they could improve.
(I have missed something Gideon and Bede so if I have let me know)
#Pokemon rivals#Pokemon Jerk rivals#Rival Blue#Rival Green#Rival Silver#Rival Gideon#Rival Bede#Rival Arven
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Hello!! can I req Raihan x Female Reader where reader is a Ice/Grass specialist and has a Glaceon and Leafeon who protects her because she gets picked on a lot Maybe some angst to fluff Thank you already!❤️
Sure thing.
Lonely Without Friendship
Raihan x F! Reader Angst/Fluff
Growing up you were always bullied. You didn't do anything to cause the bullying. It's just that kids are mean. You didn't have any friends because of this, so your parents ended up giving you a Glaceon and a Leafeon to help and protect you. They were your only friends throughout all of your school years. That was until you moved to Galar to continue studying.
So far your only friends were Hop, Milo, Marnie, Gloria (Fairy Gym Leader), Nessa, Melony, Sonia, and Bea. Your two Eeveelutions didn't like men all that much since boys were the main bullies from your younger years. Hop and Milo were the exceptions since Leafeon and Glaceon could tell that they had good intentions and wouldn't hurt you in any way. There were some people in Galar who would bully you and they would either wake up to a yard full of leaves or a yard full of ice that was covered in snow.
Raihan wanted to befriend you, but your two friends wouldn't allow it to happen. You would always have to put them into their Great Balls in order to talk to him. You couldn't blame them because Raihan is an intimidating-looking man. Towering over you and his fangs were a little scary at first. Leafeon would give him cuts by using razor leaf and Glaceon would purposely make the surrounding area cold by using snowy terrain.
It has been two years since you came to Galar and your two partners have eased up a little bit. They now like Kabu, Leon, Bede, Gordie, and Piers. Raihan was close to giving up on becoming friends with you entirely because he still isn't liked or even remotely close to being liked. That was until he was sitting with you on your bed while you were crying. You were crying because your boyfriend of three years broke up with you over text. Leafeon and Glaceon were laying their heads on your lap trying to comfort you. You were leaning your head against Raihans chest in a way that he couldn't see your tear-stained face.
"Y/N, I am going, to be honest with you and you may not like what I am about to say."
You sniffle and hiccup before responding
"What is it, Rai?"
"Your boyfriend was a complete jerk. He didn't deserve you."
You remove your head from his chest and look up at him.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you deserve someone who will treat you like you are the queen of the world."
You giggle a little bit before sniffing again
"I am no queen, Raihan. You know that."
He gently takes your hands in one of his and puts his other hand on your cheek.
"You are a queen, Y/N. You may not see it. But you are a queen to your Leafeon and Glaceon."
The two Pokémon nuzzle against you making happy purring noises agreeing with Raihan.
"And if I am being honest. You are my queen. I would do anything to see you smile. I will embarrass myself in order to make you laugh."
After telling you that he kisses the top of your head and you smile.
"Thank you, Raihan. I appreciate that. I really do."
"You are very welcome. Now, why don't you lay down with Leafeon and Glaceon and take a nap because I bet you feel tired after letting out all those emotions."
You nod and lay down. Glaceon and Leafeon lay down by your feet. Raihan gets off the bed and heads towards the door until you grab his hand.
"Could you cuddle with me, Raihan? Please?"
He looks at you and then at the two Pokémon for their responses. They nod their heads, yes and he lays down next to you putting your head on his chest. You and Raihan smile knowing that Leafeon and Glaceon finally accept that he would never hurt you. Ever.
#raihan pokemon#raihan#pokemon raihan#pokémon raihan#raihan x reader#pokemonlemon#pokemon sword and shield#swsh#gym leader raihan#pokemon raihan x reader
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Head cannons
But it’s only characters i know a lot about
Kabu
He hates being touched by people he doesn’t care about, if he cares about someone it’s ok.
When he was a kid people would talk over him, he hated it. He still hates it, but now he can do something about it.
I wanna say he’s bi and trans i think. Goes under the pronouns of he/him he came out as trans when he was 18-20 a couple years after surgery he moved to where he is now.
If he finds a lost or distrusted ( that’s how he met allister ) he’ll try his best to calm them down and help them .
One year the other gym leader gave him a ‘ best dad ever ‘ shirt that’s the first time they had ever seen him cry like ever.
Man’s knows what your thinking and before you can do anything stupid he’ll tell you to stop it
Bede
Like kabu he also hates touch, and they hates it even if you know him, in-fact he’s only ok with it if your dating them or have known him for many many years.
I wanna say Demisexual/gay and his also trans and goes under the pronouns of he/they.
He was horrible with dancing until opal taught him how to( he still stumbles a lot in it though )
I like to think he got his stuck up personality because he was in foster care, when he was 7-9 ( then rose picked him up ) because none of the homes wanted him because he was ‘ to traumatized for they’re likening’ so in a way of coping they start to act like that, he also came out as trans when he was 11 ( rose may be a bad man but he supported bede).
Theater kid
He’s nickname for people he cares about is idiot. Yes he shows affection through mean names
Listens to music that’s like the music sleeping at last makes
Probably have a squishmallow collection
Leon
I think that he’s a demi-boy ( trans ) he/they and he’s gay ( yes he has dated rahain )
Has a arua that can calm down any Pokémon or human
He stress draws, and he’s gotten good at drawing because he’s always stressed
Loves to put his head on peoples thighs if they’re ok with is, like it’s just a built in pillow for people
Other that kabu he happens to be one of the shortest mf’s you’ll ever find ( this is a joke )
Breedable
Probably also has a squishmallow collection
Bimbo
He’s gotten lost in a IKEA before, it was a challenge to find him
Play with his hair, he loves it
Leon has a undercut
Rahain
He’s pansexual ( i mean he already flirts with everyone he thinks is hot ) he goes by he/him
He’s a funny drunk, (yes that means blackmail )
Also likes to lay on peoples thighs( mostly Leon’s when he can get away with it )
The breeder
Has stolen Leon’s squishmallows before and will again
Peirs
He’s online friends with emmet
Hes reciprosexual and goes by he/him ( props to the people who know what that is )
He has so many chains in his closet he can and will strangle people with them, like an e-girl
Collects only the ‘scary’ squishmallows
He likes to fall asleep on his partners chest because he can hear they’re heart beat
Steals his partners clothes if they’re a size bigger than him because they’re comfortable unlike his
He has really pale skin right, but it wouldn’t burn he like, reflects all the like off him before it hits his skin
Hops
He’s gay ( has dated bede they ended it on goodish terms) and goes by he/him
He learned how to braid and put hair in a bun for leon, he still will and does Leon’s hair for him
Also has squishmallow but only because bede gave them to him as a birthday present
He can’t sleep alone for the life of him so his Pokémon all cuddle with him in his bed
Learned how to draw when he was younger so he could be like Leon ( not knowing leon did it only when he was stressed)
Marnie
Doesn’t really smile but when she does it’s only for family and loved ones
She’s bi. And goes by they/she
Is an absolute freezer and steals like all the blankets they can
She blacks out ( doesn’t know why still ) and it can cause her to faint
Has salt packets in they’re pockets don’t ask why ( black outs
Has a stuffy collection and a squishmallow collection
Ingo
He has adhd
I think that he’s gay and demisexual and his pronouns are he/him ( trans )
I can imagine ingo with one of those giant beer mugs so there’s that
He listens to peirs music because of emmet
He does little hand movements well talking
Has a overwhelming obsession on history more so, the Hisuian Sneasels
Has plushies of his Pokémon
Has dislexia has asked emmet to read stuff to him before
Emmet
He’s bi as F*** he’s pronouns are he/they ( trans )
They have adhd ( joliks being he’s main opposition’s)
He listens to peirs music, they’re online friends
He’s very touchy might come with being a joltik breeder thou Idk
Likes to sleep on his livers chest so he can here they’re heart beat, so he knows they haven’t disappeared to.
Has plushies of they’re pokemom
Emmets theme song is material girl by Madonna
Milo
I think that he’s pansexual ( mostly men ) and he’s a he/him
Has a mommy/breeding/pregnancy kink
Has adhd
Can talk on and on about wooloos and other grass type Pokémon for hours
He likes to pick up people well hugging them it’s just easier for him
He taught the wooloos how to Sence that someone’s going to have a panic attack
Has a squishmallow collection and plushies collection of his Pokémon
Hau
He is a demi-boy he/they and is pansexual ( he has dating gladion before )
Also has a squishmallow collection
He has a second bed set up at all times so gladion can sleep over
Can and will cuddle with his Pokémon
Gets nightmare easily
Does not like horror movies at all
He infact reads fanfics
Has his ears pierced
He knows how to draw
Gladion
He listens to peirs music
He is trans and gay and goes by he/him
Has gone to almost all peirs consorts
He gets panic attacks
He got bullied as a kid and now will beat the a** of anyone who’s bullying someone
He pierced hau’s ears for him
Has a squishmallow collection
Null is counting as his emotions support.. Pokémon? Idk
He knows how to draw
Has a strong fear of losing people close to him
Lillie
She’s bi/poly ( not sexual ) goes by she/her
Is dating mallow and lana
Collection squishmallows
Knows how to draw
Has a strong fear of people dear to her
She has tramau from a Pokémon attack, she can still touch them, she’s just slightly scared
Mallow
Lesbian/ poly ( not sexual ) they go by they/she )
Is dating Lillie and lana
Also collection squishmallows
Is a really good chef
Has a herb garden
Lana
They are neptunic/poly and go by they/them ( props to the people that know that )
Is dating mallow and Lillie
Is a really fast swimmer
Has adhd
Will and does collect little things from the shore and bottom of the sea, to give to they’re girlfriends
Professor kukui
Is a straight ally i mean his wife is bi so
Has adhd
Also has tramau from people leaving him
Has a fear of people leaving him
Has a breeding kink
Guzma
He is gay ( thought he liked kukui for a like just a hallway crush thou) and goes by he/they
Has adhd
Will collect little thinks he finds on the ground he gives to people he likes
If he finds another bug type trainer he will pick them up and leave with them
Likes cuddles
Likes to lay on his lovers chest so he can feel they’re heart beat
Allister
They are omnisexual and go by they/they ( non-binary )
Has a aura that attaches ghost types
Likes to write little stories
Has a squishmallow collection
Likes to draw
Does prank people with they’re Pokémon
Cuddles
Has really bad anxiety
Also has a peanut allergy ( they can use that to get away from annoying men)
Has adhd
He can tell who a person is based on they’re voice
Bea
They’re lesbian and go by they/she
She looks up to kabu a lot
Will ignore people she doesn’t like
Will fight anyone that hurts Allister
Has dislexia the only one to know about is it Allister
Gets migraines if they try to read to hard
N
I think they’re non-binary they/them don’t really mind if someone messes it up but if it’s on purpose they’ll kick you so hard you meet arceus, they’re also asexual
Has this arua around them that can calm down any Pokémon
Has adhd
Does little hand movements well they talk
Has ticks
They jump up and down and or shake they hands up and down when happy
Warden ingo
Still has adhd ( doesn’t know it )
He/him and pansexual ( it changed now you gotta have options)
He has a breeding kink
He has a over opposition on sneasels
Has dislexia still it’s just worse now
If he hates you he will forever hate you and ignore you
Has short term memory lose
I’ll add more later
#milo pokemon#peirs pokemon#warden ingo#guzma#pokemon bede#profesor kukui#bea pokemon#allister pokemon#x reader?#Pokémon#pokemon kabu#raihen Pokémon#hops Pokémon#marnie pokemon#ingo pokemon#hau pokemon#gladion pokemon#lillie pokemon#mallow pokemon#lana pokemon#n pokémon#leon pokemon#emmet pokemon#bede pokemon
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dash || 26 || she/her
links: about+faq || masterlist || ao3 || ask || tags+organisation
dash it all for personal posts, including answered asks.
though not all content on this blog is 18+, the content that i personally create generally is. minors, please do not interact/follow.
ongoing projects:
[bnha] soulmate trope. various bnha characters/fem!reader, choose-yer-own-adventure style.
currently working on [secret character's] route. it is the last route i have planned for the series, but that is subject to change.
viper. tom holland/fem!lawyer!reader, chapter 12. thank you for being so, so patient with me on this one. i feel pressure to be “clever” with this, so it’s harder to write. i have not abandoned it, and it will be finished. there will probably be two or three more chapters.
upcoming projects:
[haikyuu] fae oikawa/reader, in which the crown prince is pissed that's he's magically bound to a human
[jjk] star trek au gojo/reader, next gen flavoured
[bnha] [multi-chaptered] pro-hero!shinsou/reader. reader keeps popping up at crime scenes of a certain villain shinsou is tracking, and no one can figure out why.
[haikyuu] [oneshot] miya atsumu/reader, in which reader is a session musician hired for a song on the msby jackals’ next album
[pokemon] [oneshot] bede/reader. bede is secretly married to the galar champion and befuddled that she would give up so much of her life for him.
[pokemon] [oneshot] grusha/reader. the power goes out after a gym challenge.
[pearl at the soul of the world] [oneshot] fix-it fic. not an x reader.
shaping loose ideas into a plot for:
[bnha] [oneshot] spirited away au. bakugou/reader. we are not quite chihiro.
[haikyuu] kitsune!miya atsumu/reader
[jjk] arranged marriage inumaki/reader
[kamisama kiss] mizuki/reader, in which both of them are left behind by love but move forward with each other.
[mystic messenger] [oneshot] merman!saeran/reader
[mystic messenger] saeran/reader, companion to the love is real series on ao3. exploring sexual dynamics and kink in the light of mint eye trauma.
[genshin impact] tartaglia/reader, in which reader is isekai’d into genshin impact and is thoroughly unhelpful, bc she’s never played genshin impact. for accuracy, i have not and will not play genshin impact. this will be written solely based on cultural osmosis. if you can convince me something is canon, i’ll work to include it
thank you v v v much for being here!! i hope yer day is peaceful xx.
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this is a lot further along the plot line but Ash doesn’t stay in Alola, despite becoming the first Champion of the islands, and he especially doesn’t stay working at the school. he still very much has his wandering spirit and therefore goes to Galar right afterwards.
Ash doesn’t become a research assistant for Professor Cerise, instead leaning more into his missions and just kind of wandering around the world, so Oak takes it upon himself to offer Ash up as some kind of assistant to the Professor’s actual assistants. so now sometimes Ash gets guilted into accompany Goh and Chloe-who takes his spot in the au and does school online-around the world as come kind of babysitter and he hates it for the first few times but he also gets it.
Chloe is Professor Cerise’s daughter and the man didn’t want to impose on Ash but he also had heard stories, the kind that have bad men stiffening at Ash’s name or at a distant cry of a Pikachu, and even though he’s shaking in his shoes he still ask’s Ash to watch over his little girl. Goh’s just a part of the deal and reminds him to much of Gary when he was the same age.
*Goh and Chloe are 10/11 and Ash is about 23 and a half when first approached by Cerise.
it’s not like he’s around them all the time. most of their jobs are in Kanto and Johto and it’s good that the kids are traveling but not to far from their parents. Goh seems to be fine for the most part, besides interacting with people in the more western regions like Sinnoh and Kalos where he fails terribly, but Chloe is to stiff and awkward talking to anyone. she’s not used to being away from home and even though this is an amazing opportunity her dad gave her-based on her grades and knowledge and not the fact that she is his daughter-it still scares her shitless.
Ash understands the feeling, truly he does. Pallet Town is a very heavily populated with Unovian families and it changed everything about the town so when he and Pikachu left it felt like their own region was a whole knew world. even if Delia tried her best to keep to Kanto traditions alive in their household. so he’s gentle with her while sarcastic with Goh. unknowingly giving what each kid needs to grow and prosper.
this also naturally leads to Ash stumbling into Hop and Marnie or the other way around, really. I’m not joking. Those two stumbled across Ash as he was about to descend upon a building of Team Rocket members trying to set up in Galar, he had to shove the bloodthirst deep into himself since he recognizes Hop as Leons little brother and that would cause such a mess if those two saw him kill a bunch of grown men. Hop doesn’t trust him at first but Marnie immediately latches herself to the big scary emo fucker and tried to “kidnap” Ash or try and bribe him to come with her on her journey. it obviously doesn’t work but he keeps running into them over and over again whenever he’s in the region.
which it’s a lot since the INL is slowly starting to crack down on Rose, after years of intel missions and figuring out why the Chairmen needs a something-billion vault built under the Hammerlocke gym. this also leads to Ash interacting with Bede. he doesn’t know how to interact with the blonde besides really sarcastic and targeted insults after Bede tried to call him useless or something along the lines. he reminds Ash a lot of Trip and it’s like a hair-trigger for him but somehow Ash doesn’t end up with Bede’s spine in his hands by the end of every interaction. it does change after Bede is misled by Oleana and Rose in destroying the mural and Ash feels some kind of morbid sense of guilt and understanding with the blonde so he takes him in. until Opal claims him though he’s now Ash’s little brother like how Dawn is his little sister.
yes, it does mean that Ash takes Bede back with him to Sinnoh and Rowan can do nothing but just groan and sigh heavily into his cup. telling Ash that the kid sleeps in his room if he’s staying then takes Ingo and Gary to go get a whole new set of bedroom shit after cleaning out a room across the hall from the other three kids rooms while Ash and Dawn walks the kid through the Sandgem town. just filling the space with sibling banter as Bede stays silent and just watches how they interact.
Bede does come back with Ash to Galar after Rose is taken into custody. mostly for statements and recounts-the destroyed mural is easily swept under the rug-and where Opal kind of kidnaps the kid. Ash doesn’t mind but does warn the woman that he’s apart of the Rowan family and needs contact with his new parents or so help Ash her umbrella will clash with his bat-
even later on in the timeline Cavell reaches out to Ash about three particular students that could use his help-Kukui had absolutely bragged about Ash when he was the Professor’s TA to his colleagues across the world-and Ash is soon swept up. now more of a teacher then a teacher assistant to Arven, Nemona and Penny.
#ta!au#ash ketchum#Professor Cerise#Goh#chloe cerise#bede#marnie#hop#professor oak#professor kukui#chairmen rose#pokemon oleana#champion leon#arven#nemona#penny#cavell#dawn rowan#pokemon dawn#warden ingo#professor rowan#master gunnery sergeant caderyn Laurence rowan#rowan/ingo#rowan is just collecting ALL the fucked up kids
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piers
Why I like them: Yeah he's hot, extremely entertaining and has great fashion sense but at the end of the day what I adore the most is that he's so stubbornly and unapologetically himself despite The Horrors.
Why I don’t: They took my man's vocal chords 😔 Also I wish we got to see more of Spikemuth than just his alleyway and stage
Favorite episode (scene if movie): He was in like one episode of any of the animes so that one I guess? Good ole Mournful Piers...
Favorite season/movie: See above.
Favorite line: Is "all of them" too much of a copout...? Guy's one snarky beautiful bastard through and through. Even when his dialogue's not particularly notable it's still an excuse to stare at him
Favorite outfit: As cringe as Gacha games and the way they exploit FOMO to get all your dollars are you REALLY can't go wrong with Sygna Piers. His painted nails....
OTP: Piers/Raihan and Piers/Raihan/Leon all the way, sorry for being basic 😔 Something about thier whole dynamic is just, incredibly and profoundly pleasing, especially after the Star Tournament got added. Piers and Rai TOTALLY NOT FLIRTING when facing each other, Piers kind of taking Leons little bro under his wing...even in the base game Raihan shoots his shot *in the middle of a Kaiju rampage* and Piers sure does have somewhere to be quickly once all that nonsense is resolved...
Brotp: Several. Leon in the timelines Leon's not part of the polycule. Prehaps more controversially, a poster exists that implies he and Opal get along better than thier Galarian Star Tournament dialogue makes it seem so I think it might be fun if Bede wasn't the only feisty queer moron she's mentored. And also an..."interesting" fic I read once had he and Nessa be besties and as much as that fic was An Experience they were kinda cute together in it
Head Canon: Many, but my main one is that his season was the same one as Leon and Raihan's and they hung out several times much like Marnie does with Gloria and Hop. Little 11 year old Raihan in particular had a fairly restrictive and shitty home life where he was subjected to immense and stifling pressure so of course he thought this scrawny little punk kid from Spikemuth was THE COOLEST and was kind of starstruck whenever thier paths crossed. No I don't have an ulterior motive for headcanoning this why do you ask /j
Unpopular opinion: "Greasy chaos demon that would knife anyone for 5 quid" memes are fun but aren't really reflective of what we get in canon. Guy's soul is a latte /ref
A wish: He shows up in a future game (and we finally get to hear him sing). Hopefully he's happier if it's a timeskip, guy deserves to rest and do things for himself for once.
An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: He shows up in a future Legends game.
5 words to best describe them: Uh, "tired as fuck special guy?"
My nickname for them: oies, the rodent
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3) First Day of School Gone Wrong
 Tag list: @naompspsps @bagofburntcreampuffs @lemon-koii @bluerosegardens @lost-woods-rabbit @friskybee
Want to be added to the tag list?
~~~~~~~
Chapter 3) Why Can't Grim Stay Out of Trouble?
PREVIOUSLY
After supper was ate, yuu left to the bedroom they and their Pokemon cleaned up, opening the closet they were greeted by their usual attire they wore while traveling. They smiled taking off the robe they had been wearing and hung it inside before releasing their pokemon once more. "Sorry it's not much guys, but it's what we have for now." They said picking up Grumpy and hugging him close. "Let's get some sleep."
NOW. . .
Yuu groaned as a ghost cackled floating above them. "Hehehe aren't the two of you supposed to be off cleaning the school today?" He asked with a grin making Grim groan. "Mmmm, five more minutes Ma. . ." Yuu sat up rubbing one of their eyes, "mmm, Mimi, Rem. Wake Grim up please." They said getting out of the bed and setting the Mimikyu and Hattrem where they had slept. "Myah?! Yuu why would you have them wake me?!" Grim yelled at the trainer as they went through the closet and getting their travel clothes.
(Basically imagine Bede's outfit but a bit more feminine)
"So I hear you'll be living here from now on?" The ghost asked, "Hope you like pranks as much as we do! Hya ha ha!" It laughed making Yuu roll their eyes. "I'm used to Ghost types pranks." Grim grumbled, "we gotta get rid of those things for good!" He yelled as Crowley walked into the room. Yuu's eyes widen and Agent fired a Snipe Shot at his face. "Ever hear of knocking?! What if I was changing?" They asked with a glare, Crowley ignored them as he spoke. "Good morning, Yuu. Did you sleep well?"
"No! When I sprawled out on the bed, the mattress fell right through the frame! Exactly how old is Ramshackle? And worse yet, I got woken up by Yuu's pokemon!" Yuu shook their head, "it's better than sleeping on the ground outside. But this place does suck." They said crossing their arms. Crowley put his hands on his hips, "moving on let's discuss your assignment for today. You will be cleaning the area from the front gates to the library. Yuu, I expect you to keep Grim and your creatures" "Pokemon" they corrected. "Ahem, your Pokemon in line, I do not want another incident like yesterday."
You simply nodded, "do not fail me. You may take your lunch in the cafeteria." Crowley said with a smile, "I eagerly await the fruits of your labor." And with that the male left, Grim grumbled crossing his arms "I ain't cleaning anything! I'm here to study magic so I can be blasting off spells left and right!" Yuu shook their head, "I'm going to change, we can study after cleaning." Grim left the room going down to the living room.
After Yuu finished getting ready they met Grim downstairs, “alright, we’re cleaning so Agent and Rem will be coming with. Everyone else return for now, I promise I’ll figure out some way to get you all a nice open space to be in.” They said as they returned the other five Pokemon to their pokeballs. “Right then, Grim lets go.” Grim grumbled still not wanting to clean but followed the trainer regardless. They came to a stopping point when their dirt path turned to stone.
‘Statues,’ Yuu thought looking at the seven statues around them. “Wow, so this is Main Street huh? This is incredible!” Grim said looking all around them with interest shining in his eyes, “I didn’t get to see much of it yesterday. What’s the deal with these seven statues? All their faces look pretty scary.” “They remind me of powerful ancient trainers, they could each have their own signature pokemon as well.” Yuu said as they walked up to the closest statue of a male that looked to have fire for hair. “He could have a shiny Umbreon or a Houndoom.”
Grim went over to one of the two royal looking statues, “what pokemon would this lady here have? She looks like she’s got some reeeal anger management issues.” He said crossing his arms, Yuu looked over but before they could answer a male spoke up as he joined the two of them. “You don’t know the Queen of Hearts?” He asked, “Queen of Hearts? Is she some kinda big deal?” Grim asked, “Hatt.” Rem said as she looked up at the Royal elegant statue across from the one they were currently at.
The boy nodded to grim, “she was a queen who lived in a maze-like garden of roses long, long ago. “She was a strict woman who prized order above all. She wouldn’t tolerate a rose being off-color, or her playing-card soldiers being out of step. She basically ruled o we a kingdom of madness, but not one of her subjects dared to defy her. You wanna know why? Because the punishment for breaking a rule was off with your head! Immediate decapitation!” He said with a grin making Grim hide behind Yuu, “s-scary!”
“It’s pretty cool, right? I’m a big fan. I mean, who would bother to obey a queen who was kind all the time? I certainly wouldn’t.” Yuu crossed her arms and glanced over to Agent who stood next to her, “just who are you?” They asked, the boy smiles, “oh my bad. Name’s Ace. I’m a first year student here as of today! Pleased to meetcha!” He said extending a hand, Yuu shook it as Grim spoke. “I’m Grim! I’m a prodigy who’s planning to be the greatest mage who ever lived. This is my far lest interesting henchman Yuu and their henchmen Agent and Rem.”
“Not my henchmen,” they corrected before Ace crossed his arms after letting go of their hand. “Yuu? Odd name, got a weird ring to it.” He said, “well, I’m not from this world. Regardless, it’s nice to meet you, Ace.” They said picking Rem up off the the statue labeled as ‘The Beautiful Queen’, Ace continued to explain each statue to Grim as Yuu listened with suspicion noticing his tone change slightly after explaining the last statue. “Pretty cool, huh? Not like some piddling weasel.”
“Knew it,” Yuu mumbled turning back to Ace with a glare. “Myah?!” Grim asked before Ace burst out laughing, “pffft. . . Ha ha ha! I can’t hold it back anymore! Come on, you’re the ones who turned orientation into such a fiasco, right? The one summoned by the Dark Mirror, who can’t even use magic. And the monster that no one summoned at all. It took everything I had not to burst into laughter right in the middle of the ceremony!” He said with a smug grin on his face.
Grim growled, “h-hey! You don’t gotta be a jerk about it!” “So in the end, neither of you got admitted, and now you’re janitors? Ha ha ha that’s so lame!” Ace kept going, making not only Grim, but Rem and Agent angry too. “What did you just call me?!” Grim yelled, “and you’re both so clueless you don’t even know who the Great Seven are. Not a one of them! Maybe before you try getting into the academy again you ought to take a second crack at kindergarten?”
“Ace, I suggest you stop,” Yuu warned, yet Ace ignored them. “Anyway, just thought I’d tease you a bit. And man am I glad I did. It’s been a blast!unlike you, I actually have classes to get to, so I’ll let you get back to picking up trash. Bye!” And to add more insult to injury he dropped a plastic bottle cap on the ground before attempting to leave. Only for Grim to shoot his fire magic at the ginger. “Woah! Watch where you’re aiming! You wanna throw down with me shorty? You’ve got some guts. I’ll shave you like a toy poodle!”
As the two continued to throw insults at eachother they added spells along with them causing students around to notice the fight picking up. “Grim, Ace, that’s enough.” Yuu tried to intervene getting fed up with being ignored. Grim shot his fire at Ace once more only for the boy to deflect it with his wind. Seeing where the flames were now directed to Yuu’s eyes widened, “Agen use Snipe Shot quick!” They yelled pointing at the fire, only for them to be a few seconds too late.
“Shit! Now the Queen of Heart’s statue has been charred!” Ace yelled, “that’s your fault for trying to divert it! You shoulda just let it burn you to a crisp!” “Who in their right mind would ever do that?!” And that’s when the shit hit the fan, Crowley was here. “What is going on here? Cease this at once!” He demanded making the males flinch. “Headmage. . .” Grim quickly tried to run away, “no more lashings! We gotta get outta here!”
It was no use, the boys cried out in pain as they both got tied up in Crowley’s whip. “As if the likes of you could even flee from me! Haaah. . . Did I not just warn you Yuu, “no more incidents”? And now you’ve charred one of my statues?! It’s almost as though you want to be expelled!” He yelled at the boys and Yuu, they put their hands up in fake surrender. “I didn’t think that there would be a Mudbray that would get Grim into a fight.”
“As punishment for today’s infractions, Yuu, Ace, and Grim are all hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!” Crowley declared with a glare, “you will all meet in the cafeteria after your classes. Are we clear?” “Yes sir.”
——————
Dang, that actually was really easy to write! I’m gonna try and get my two Pokemon crossover fics (this one and my new one) caught up to my demon slayer one.
Word count: 1612
Published: April 28th, 2024
Edited: n/a
#twisted wonderland#twst#frootloopscoswrites#disney twisted wonderland#disney twst#dire crowley#twisted wonderland x reader#ace trappola#grim (twst)#pokemon twisted wonderland crossover#twisted wonderland pokemon crossover#grim twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland ace#twst ace
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Public Display of Affection? More Like Personalized Dragon Affection
Yes, tis my attempt to make a pun out of PDA. But a funny punny. Truerivalshipping is still helping me out of a writing slump. This time with Sonia, Ash, and Goh popping in to say hi, Hop being sick, and Leon worrying.
“Sorry I missed the rest of your match.” Leon apologized. “Mom called me.”
Sighing, Leon leaned against Raihan. He hugged the dragon master, melancholic and deflated. It was a match Leon didn’t want to miss. It was to see who would qualify for a tag team tournament at the end of the month. The winner, got to team up with Leon. Which Raihan did, but Leon wished he could have seen the battle all the way through.
“It’s okay.” Raihan assured with a smile as he pat Leon’s head. “We both knew I was going to win anyways. I couldn’t let some pink haired punk with a Wobbuffet steal my partner.”
“Still… I should have been there to cheer you on.”
“Pfft, you can pay for dinner this time and we’ll be even.” Raihan chuckled, before shifting his focus elsewhere. “Besides, it’s your ma, so I completely understand. Is she okay?”
Leon sighed, tilting his head. “Mom’s fine. Hop… not so much.”
“Oh? What’s wrong with our little champ?”
“Pneumonia. Mom says he got it real bad.”
That made Raihan wince. Returning the hug, Raihan exerted sympathy and concern. “Will he be okay?”
“He hasn’t been hospitalized… yet, but the doctor said he would have if they waited another day or two. They prescribed bedrest, fluids, and some antibiotics. And if he gets worse, bring him to the hospital.” Leon sighed, hiding his face in Raihan’s coat. “I’m worried.”
He couldn’t blame Leon for that. Being a champion kept him away from his family on a regular basis, so worrying was natural. Besides, Leon always made an effort to be there for Hop despite the hectic schedule of championship.
“What caused it?”
“Mom says he got caught up in a storm while training in the wild area.” Leon relayed. “Which probably did, but I think depression and stress worsened it. That Bede fellow did a number on him after a battle. Said some pretty nasty things.”
“I see.”
Raihan vaguely remembered Bede. The kid was Rose’s recent choice for a sponsorship. Though it would seem that it didn’t really last as long as Bede hoped. The kid certainly had an air of arrogance and pride to him. One that the kid could hopefully change as he got older.
Not that it made how he treated Hop right, just what Raihan had observed and inferred. Hop’s enthusiasm and determination was a lot like Leon’s. An acquired taste for some, but ultimately harmless and admirable.
“Why don’t we go visit him?” Raihan offered, stroking Leon’s hair. “I have one last challenger today and my last before the tournament is in two days. We can grab dinner on the way.”
Leon nodded. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
~
Emerging from the gym, the duo were holding hands. Leon was grinning widely and proudly. Raihan had beaten the challenger without much issue. Saving for a Machamp and Froslass that gave his Sandaconda and Gigolath a run for their money.
Waiting at the train station, Leon rested his head against Raihan’s shoulder. Sitting on a bench, they took a moment to breathe. They decided to hit the diner in Motostoke before catching the next train to Postwick.
From there, they’d check up on Hop and stay the night. Leon’s mother knew they were on the way. Which she promised to keep a secret in order for them to surprise him.
Amber eyes flashed, as he watched for the next train to come in, realizing something. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Leon kissed Raihan’s cheek. “That’s for you win in the exhibition match.”
“You sneaky little Vulpix.” Raihan chuckled, shifting slightly. “The least you can do is give me two. Double battles and all.”
Grabbing Leon, Raihan set the champion on his lap, stealing his hat in the process. Cupping the side of Leon’s face, using the other to hold him in place, Raihan went in deep. Legs bent as Leon welcomed the kiss. Amber eyes closed, ignoring the world around him, including the train coming into the station.
A small gasp escaped Leon as Raihan freed him, kissing him again. This time on the forehead. Giggling, Leon stretched out, legs resting on the bench as he leaned back, using Raihan’s arm as a cushion. His face was now an adorable shade of red as he stared at Raihan fondly.
“I love you, you know that?” Raihan asked.
Leon nodded. “The feeling’s mutual.”
The sound of a throat clearing distracted them as they realized they were being watched. Sonia, wearing a soft smile, stood beside Ash and Goh, who were curiously confused. Scooting off of Raihan’s lap, Leon sat next to his partner with a playful smile.
Ash and Goh had never seen them acting this way before. They had such a competitive dynamic that seeing them so domestic was odd. Not that Leon nor Raihan were looking to hide their relationship. It was just a first for the young duo.
“So you see, dragons don’t normally like knights.” Sonia playfully narrated. “But every now and then, they fall in love with the most charming and pure of knightly princes.”
“And I’m stealing this knightly prince for a nightly adventure.” Raihan stated, playing along. “Catching a train?”
“Yeah. Showed the boys the mural in Stow on Side and they offered to join me in my journey to Hulbury. I am dropping off a little gift to Nessa.”
Nodding, then stretching, Raihan stood up. He helped Leon up, wrapping an arm around Leon’s shoulders. Sensing Ash and Goh’s confusion, Leon stepped in.
“We’ve been together for a while now.” Leon stated, wrapping his arm around Raihan’s waist. “We haven’t gone public with it yet, and only close family and friends know. But we will when we’re ready. I hope you understand.”
“Of course.” Ash confirmed. “I’m surprised, but it makes sense. I’m happy for you.”
“Me too.” Raihan agreed, side hugging Leon tighter. “Since we’re all going the same way, why don’t you join us?”
~
“It took you long enough.” Leon’s mother stated, welcoming the pair in. “I almost thought you got lost… again.”
“Sorry.” Raihan apologized as he took his shoes off. “Ran into Sonia, and we ended up grabbing dinner in Hulbury.”
“How’s Hop?” Leon asked, eyeing the stairs.
“He’s okay.” His mom confirmed. “He should be awake if you want to peak in.”
Leon nodded, walking upstairs. They watched him, not saying anything until he was upstairs. His mother sighed, looking at Raihan with a tired smile.
“Thank you.” Leon’s mother said. “Hop needs it.”
“You’re welcome.” Raihan sighed. “Leon did too. He’s… Leon. Worrying like the lovable airhead he is.”
She chuckled. “I got Leon’s bedroom set up for you guys. Do excuse any mess. It’s been a while since Leon last visited.”
“We’ll manage.” Raihan assured. “Thank you for the accommodations on such short notice.”
Excusing himself, the dragon tamer followed after Leon. When he got to the top of the stairs, he spotted Leon in Hop’s room, both beaming with smiles. Standing in the doorframe, Raihan smirked.
Regardless of cause, they needed to see each other. Hop needed to see his brother. Leon needed the break and relief. Both needed the quality time.
And as any dragon would, Raihan was going to take care of his treasure. His knight. His prince.
#au#fanfic#fanfiction#ship fic#kibana#leon#raileon#pokemon#pokémon#truerivalshipping#Fluff#dande#ash ketchum#goh#sonia#kbdn#dnkb#leon x raihan
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I was listening to a brief debate between a Protestant and a Catholic about Mary & whether or not she was sinless. I'm not Catholic myself, but I felt that the Catholic didn't represent his position well. The Protestant said that scripture had evidence of Mary sinning. He cited the passage of the Wedding at Cana in John 2, saying that Mary was wrong to ask Jesus to do a miracle when He did not intend to start his ministry yet. Then he cited Luke 1, talking about how Zachariah was punished for doubting the angel Gabriel when he told him he would have a sin. He argued that Mary sinned in the same way by doubting the angel when he told her she would conceive because she was a virgin. Again, I'm not a Catholic so my church doesn't try to argue scripture teaches Mary was sinless. But I didn't see the Protestant's citations as proof that Mary's sins were recorded in scripture. I think those verses show that Mary is human and not omniscient. What's your take.
Another thing mentioned in the debate was whether or not Mary needed to be conceived without sin in order to have Jesus. The Catholic said Mary could not carry Jesus in sin. The Protestant said that if Mary had to be sinless to conceive the sinless Jesus, then Mary's parents would have to be sinless in order to conceive her. When the Catholic said this didn't apply to Mary, the Protestant replied by saying that in that case, Mary was a greater "god" than Jesus because she could be born sinless from sinful parents. Have you come across this sort of argument in the past?
Hello! Going to answer this kind of quickly, because I would like to go to sleep soon.
I think using John 2 as an example of Mary sinning is an objectively stupid argument, especially in light of Jesus using the Parables of the Persistent Widow and Friend at Midnight in Luke 18 and Luke 11, respectively, in order to say something about the nature of justification and prayer, respectively. Mary continues to plead with her Son, and then tells the servants to "do whatever [God] tells you." If Mary is sinning in this verse, so is every Christian who ever persists in praying for an intention that isn't answered right away.
I think that using Luke 1 is a better potential argument, at least at first glance, because (at first glance) it does in fact seem that Mary is doing just what Zachariah did and was punished for. But, if they are qualitatively similar responses.... why is Zachariah punished, but Mary not? The Church Fathers make their opinion clear; in the words of Maximus of Turin, Zachariah is "unbelieving," and Mary "believing." Zachariah does not believe that it is possible for his wife to get pregnant, while Mary wonders how she will get pregnant when she has not touched a man. It's a difference of scoffing at the miracle vs. wondering how the miracle will be accomplished. This is a view also held by Saints Ambrose, Augustine, Bede, and Justin Martyr.
I think the Catholic commentator made a blunder by trying to defend the (indefensible) claim that Mary needed to be sinless to carry Christ in her womb; I really don't think that you can make an argument for necessity for the Immaculate Conception, but rather an argument for its fittingness. I have seen people argue for its necessity (something not even the Blessed Duns Scotus, champion of the Immaculate Conception belief, did), but I think that it is mostly an attempt to double-down on the doctrine and emphasize its importance rather than a well thought out argument for its truthfulness.
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just a seventeen year old forced to save the world, again, you know how it is.
he/him only, don't let the tits fool you ✨
Lee's my real dad lol. If I ever say "dad" I mean Lee.
Owner of Motostoke's one and only Hop Walten Labs. Ireland's Pokémon researcher, rescuer, rehabilitator, and releaser. Giving every Pokémon a chance is my job and passion. I am a Pokémon rights activist and I believe in league abolition. You would know if you read my book. Nobody in Galar really has. Legally classified as a "shiny hunter," but it's just conservation efforts
Callaghan Psychics know all of the known universe. Not other universes, I guess. That's kind of why I'm here? The multiverse kinda needs us atm
DID system. There are ten of us here if that matters to you. If you want to ask questions about it take this guide. Not being specific on ages because like none of us are normal humans lol
🌨️ - Tori, she/her, adult | 🌌 - Janus, thon/thonself (they/them if that's difficult), adult | 🐐 - Tobey, he/they, teen | ⚾ - Marcello, he/him, teen(adult) | 🪙 - Auryn, he/him, adult | 🍀 - Ryan, he/him, adult | 🔥 - Rin, he/she/they, adult | 🐉 - Zabi(maru), she/he, teen(adult) | 👻 - Aoife, she/her, child
And me of course -(🐏)
The fate rests in the balance of a bunch of mentally unstable children. It always has, huh? My work is important to me, and so is understanding the multiverse, so you can always give asks about either. Cool 👍
[ooc under the cut :3]
pfp is a gift from bunnyhasaknife on instagram
disclaimer banner art is commissioned from littlebumblebe9
account banner is just dubwool from the anime
EDIT FOR CLARITY: The start of PULT takes place 3 and 1/2 years after the events of Pokémon Sword and Shield. Everything about the games is history. Leon isn't the champion, Hop is a professor, etc etc. Keep it in mind
EDIT 2: this will generally be lighthearted but the lore for hop in PULT is quite serious to certain topics like drugs miiiight end up being brought up. I'll tag each post with (tw __" so you can block it if you need to
HI, I'M HOP! Yes, my actual name is Hop too. He/him for admin as well. I've been wanting to make one of these for ages but only just now got the balls lolz. A little rotomblr/rotumblr based on my characterization of Hop for my Pokémon AU I've been working really hard to write, Pokémon Unown Legends Tale!! Read about it on my main @irlkisukeurahara I have a tag for it. I don't want to post it officially until the Unova book is done so I can provide weekly updates, so for now I wanted to make a little RP thing for it to kinda get people interested I guess
This blog 100% will spoil some aspects of it but I mean whaddya gonna do. I won't spoil major plot beats.
This is mostly just shitposting and talking about my character lore because I'm really attached to it. Having roleplays with stakes is fine but for the most part this is just silly behavior
Since the multiverse is canon in PULT I love the idea of other Hops/professor Hops/literally anyone interacting here and whatnot!! Who gives a shit about doubles I'm here to be silly
No explicit NSFW, sexual or self sexualizing jokes r fine but propositions or shit like that are obviously not
Hop has a bunch of ships in this universe (polyamory not a gay harem anime) - two OCs + two canons + one of his alters. Feel free to ask about em lol
The ships: Bede, Arven, Miles, Nico, Marcello
Feel free to ask DID questions here in or out of character, I just make Hop like this because I have DID too lol
I might say "fag" once or twice but otherwise no slurs plzplzplz but swearing is obviously fine because I will do it A LOTTT
If this gets any traction I'll make Leon and Arven accounts too
Pokémon teams: (some characters share Pokémon)
✨ = shiny
Hop
Doesn't have a full team because he isn't a trainer but his 3 main Pokémon are
Dubwool ♂️, elderly Pokémon he got from Leon as a birthday gift at 3, can use Electro Ball like a god
Azumarill ♀️, a chipper girl who saved his life
[✨] Saakash/Spoons (Alakazam) ♂️, reincarnated dead 7 year old boy with a major attitude problem, Hop's half brother (yeah.)
Tori
[✨] Kurama (Alolan Ninetales) ♂️
[✨] Toshiro (Glaceon) ♀️
[✨] Ryu (Kommo-o) ♂️
[✨] Ravenmore (Umbreon) ♀️
[✨] Saakash (Spoons) ♂️
[✨] Yukina (Froslass) ♀️
Janus
Cruinne (Cosmalenia) [Fakemon] ♀️
Supernova (Metagross) ♂️
[✨] Saakash (Alakazam) ♂️
[✨] Ravenmore (Umbreon) ♀️
[✨] Cosmo (Espeon) ♀️
Rukia (Clefable) ♀️
Marcello
Bucky (Crobat) ♂️
Doomshell (Cloyster) ♂️
Thunderstrike (Electrode) ♂️
Furyblade (Scizor) ♂️
Kickzilla (Hitmonlee) ♂️
Velvet Vogue (Lopunny) ♂️
Auryn
[✨] Goldbricker (Steelix) ♂️
Crypto (Gholdengo)
Ponzi (Corviknight) ♂️
[nickname incoming] (Alolan Raticate) ♂️
[nickname incoming] (Scrafty) ♂️
[nickname incoming] (Honchcrow) ♂️
Ryan
[✨] Kagome (Clefable) ♀️
Hawkeye (Decidueye) ♂️
Luffy (Infernape) ♂️
Aizen (Malamar) ♂️
[nickname incoming] (Weavile) ♂️
[✨] Kisuke (Mimikyu) ♂️
Rin
Sesshomaru (Houndoom) ♂️
[✨] Shippo (Ninetales) ♂️
Hashira (Blaziken) ♂️
[✨] Val (Delphox) ♀️
[half shiny] Usagi (Cinderace) ♀️
Helios (Volcarona) ♂️
Zabimaru
Hihiou (Vaporeon) ♀️
Nozarashi (Haxorus) ♀️
[✨] Hiei (Hydriegon) ♂️
Kommo-o ♂️
Harley (Garchomp) ♀️
[✨]Shenron (Dragonite) ♂️
Aoife
[✨] Kisuke (Mimikyu) ♂️
[✨] Seanchaí (Spiritomb) ♂️
Fomorian (Golurk)
Shadow (Hisuian Typhlosion) ♂️
Morrigan (Gengar) ♀️
Caelum (Cursola) ♀️
#pinned post#professor hop#rotomblr#rotumblr#pokeblr#pkmn irl#pkmn rp#pokemon irl#pokemon roleplay#pokeblogging#pokeblog rp#Pokemon Unown Legends Tale
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Friend Groups
The three trainers would obviously have their own friend groups (yes even Bede despite his prickly attitude). They get to know certain NRC students and form a close friendship with some of them.
Phoebe - Ace, Deuce, Cater, Azul, Kalim, Malleus
Ace - Their first meeting was off at the start, Ace thought it was funny that three magicless people were here in a school of magic. But of course he shut up after being taught a lesson.
Bede almost sent his Hatterene after him if it weren't for Phoebe being the mediator. He was stunned to see the fairy that could shred him to ribbons back off when the pie dragon blocked her way.
He owes her a lot after getting him and Deuce out of trouble with the chandelier incident too.
Ace admits that taming dragons are kinda cool though. But during the first meeting he only saw Appletun and not the rest so that's why he was teasing them at first.
He learned another lesson after getting his but whooped by a walking pie during sparring lessons.
Deuce - Total fanboy because he thinks Phoebe is someone straight out of an anime. A protagonist with super OP comrades that goes on an adventure for glory.
And he can't help but feel bashful because she tends to reason with him if he ever goes into delinquent mode. He should be the responsible one since he was older but... Phoebe is the mature one here.
Phoebe understands his desire to change from the past and will give him advice she thinks is good for the situation.
His mother probably sends letters if "big sister" Phoebe is doing well. He didn't realize from writing to his mom about Phoebe, she thought the girl was older.
Would she be surprised if Phoebe came to visit one day...
Cater - He reminds her so much of Raihan with his habit of taking selfies and his overly cheerful personality. But Phoebe suspects that Cater is hiding issues behind his easygoing grin.
Spending a lot of time around Raihan, Phoebe tends to slowly notice if something was off...
On the other hand, Cater thinks that Phoebe should be his little sister instead. She's much more understanding and not as pushy as his two sisters back home.
She always asks for his opinion when they hang out.
They're getting food? She asks if he wanted something specific. Going to watch a movie, asks what he prefers the most.
If he doesn't feel like talking, Phoebe just lets him know if he was called for something and doesn't try to pry.
So, he labels her as his NRC little sister. He would soon develop the same overprotectiveness over her much like Raihan.
Azul - Its surprising that those two would get along given how he scammed them out of the dorm.
Phoebe was pretty upset at what he did but after seeing he was actually doing this to cope with his trauma, she was willing to forgive him.
Though she had to stop Bede and Klara from turning him into calamari.
Their friendship is mainly her making business ventures with Azul regarding the madols needed for Ramshackle and their pokemon. Azul was willing to buy berries off their garden for a fair price.
Gradually, he starts to feel like a big brother to her. He worries if she has enough madol to last the week. Even checks up on her health under the guise of making sure his business partner didn't overwork themselves.
Always keeping punks away from her and his plans to make sure Crowley is doing his job.
Though the twins tease him about it while Azul denies such claims. he was simply looking out for his investments. Yeah right, you tell yourself that, Azul.
Kalim - It's no surprise that Phoebe would be friends with Kalim. Bede doesn't like him that much because he's like Hop while Klara thinks he's much to cheerful for her to tolerate for more than an hour.
Phoebe liked Kalim though, he was a nice change from the rather... egocentric students in this academy. Though she wondered how he got accepted here when he's such a nice guy.
And how has he never gotten picked on? His reputation I guess was a shield.
Kalim loves to hear more about Pokemon from Phoebe. He finds them fascinating and the fact that a magicless human can get near such fearsome beasts was something out of a hero's tale.
Phoebe would sometimes invite Kalim over to hang out and she'd grin when Kalim was on the floor trying to coax Appletun to eat some fruit slices.
A part of Kalim slightly envies Phoebe and the other trainers. They get to travel around and go on adventures, learn all they can about the world on their own merit.
He was always pampered and never knew about the rough life of the outside world. Maybe someday he'd be just like them.
Malleus - Out of all the trainers in the trio, he likes Phoebe the most. Sure the boy with fairies was rather intriguing and the lady who walks among creatures with potent poison was quite a surprise, Phoebe was the child with the dragons.
He expected her to be someone who had a powerful image but he sees this sweet little girl who is pampering powerful creatures. It's not a bad thing though... especially when Dratini and Appletun was so affectionate towards him.
Malleus has emotionally adopted Phoebe as his child of dragon. Somewhere in the universe, Raihan feels a chill down his spine.
Bede - Trey, Epel, Vil, Riddle, Leona
Trey - He was the mediator between Riddle and Bede during the first few meetings. Trey was almost stunned because it felt like he was looking over two Riddles.
The image of a white rose and red rose bickering was sureal indeed.
But it turns out that the two of them also enjoyed tea time, though Riddle preferred cakes while Bede preferred sandwiches and scones.
As a big brother, Trey can see how Bede feels down but doesn't want to show others he is weak. He is just like Riddle.
Honestly, Bede probably never had older siblings to look up to. Chairman Rose barely paid him any attention while Opal was the first one to give him proper guidance.
But somewhere in him he also wants to mingle with those close to his age. He couldn't do all that before due to him being a bit of a brat.
Trey may be plain to some but Bede thinks he's a reliable figure that can show him how to better himself.
Epel - Epel admires Bede because despite looking like a doll, he has such a strong personality and his familiars are deceptively strong.
He thought Bede was a dainty boy at first with his ribbon cat and the elegant unicorn, the only one that even looks dangerous was the small one with a large venus flytrap mouth.
But boy was he proven wrong when he saw the cute familiars deck someone for insulting Bede.
Needless to say, Epel wants to be like Bede, someone strong despite his image. He is slightly consious that his muscles haven't shown up and his puberty hasn't hit him yet.
Bede thinks Epel puts him on a pedestal too much.
Was this how he acted before he was abadoned by Chairman Rose?
Vil - Bede was probably scouted by Vil because of his beautiful familiars and the way he carries himself like a noble prince. Thank Opal for those lessons.
Vil is intrigued by the familiars he has, especially the unicorn. Twisted Wonderland deems them too cautious to approach humans but here's one in front of him.
And one with such a glorious mane too!
He sees Bede is confident in his image and isn't afraid of breaking gender stereotypes. Someone said pink isn't a boy color? Bede says otherwise as he sends Hatterene towards whoever said that.
Bede sees Vil like a younger version of Opal, they were rather strict. He shudders after he remembered the training she gave him at first.
And though he was more used to Vil's sterness due to Opal, there are times he has gotten the two mixed up from how similar they act.
Riddle - The two of them didn't get along at first. Bede thought that Riddle's strictness was stupid and unecessary. He saw his past self in Riddle, he was selfish and prideful which made him left with no friends.
Riddle on the other hand thought Bede was a pompous brat who doesn't know about keeping to the rules.
These two butt heads a lot and other students thought they mirror each other with how similar they are to an extent. The two who hear such comment deny so with every fiber of their being.
After the overblot, Riddle could probably understand now why Bede thought his attitude was terrible. He was in a similar situation as him, thinking he was better than the rest.
Putting the wrong person on a pedestal and believing them to be right no matter what.
Now these two have tea time together and chat about certain people they agree send shivers down their spine. AKA the Leech twins.
Leona - Surprising that Leona was tolerating Bede. Much like Riddle, Bede didn't like how Leona held himself back simply because others told him he can't.
He didn't appreciate his "woe is me" attitude. After the overblot, Bede was the one who gave Leona an earful because for one, one of the trainers got injured from the fight (it was Phoebe), and he dared to take victory through criminal means.
Seriously, there could have been kids and elders in the stampeding crowd! He verbally rips into Leona so hard that everyone was stunned.
They didn't know Bede could get this angry.
After that, Leona was irritated that he was being lectured by a fairy brat. He couldn't let go of his prider at first.
Bede shut him up after he played against Savanaclaw in the opening match and demolished Leona.
Right after that Bede told him that the only one who can give him respect is himself, he would only be second best if he let himself be like that. That probably sparked a shred of respect from Leona.
Klara - Rook, Jamil, Ruggie, Jack, Idia
Rook - Klara would be smitten with Rook cause he was a gentleman but over time she realized he's like that with everyone and she just labels him as "Bestie".
Rook knows the irritation Klara has with Vil and it is gorgeous. He loves how both of them are worthy of the title, "Poison King/Queen" he even ships them in his head.
He probably has fanfiction about enemies to lovers about those two but that's his little secret.
Rook is very supportive of Klara, he's her hypeman. Though she gave him a slap when he casually mentioned her hips got an inch wider.
Jamil - These two know what its like to try and sabotage someone to try and be in the spotlight. Jamil tried to usrup Kalim and Klara put Toxic Spikes in the field before battling another trainer-
Phoebe: You did what-?!
Klara: I was desperate shush!
These two would trash talk like the mean girls they are, I know it. Talking to each other how a certain someone would get on their nerves at times.
Though Jamil tends to tease Klara because unlike his flawless acting, Klara makes it obvious she's holding herself back but her expression gives it away.
These two snakes is what others call them.
Though Jamil always reminds Klara to NOT bring her Scolipede over! He nearly had a heart attack from seeing a centipede as big as a horse.
Ruggie - Klara thought he was cute... until during the Savanaclaw arc he stole their pokeballs. She put him in a headlock, never has Bede or Phoebe seen her run after Ruggie so agile and fast.
Ruggie was shocked when he was suddenly on the ground and barely able to breathe because of Klara's strong buff arms around his neck. Did you see her league card? She lifts!
Though she was still salty and held a grudge over Ruggie stealing her precious Pokemon. Ruggie being from the Afterglow Savanah, felt guilty and promised to make it up to her.
He had to let Klara pet his ears whenever she wants. Ruggie relents because respect women and all that.
Ruggie was embarassed at first but Klara brings him snacks from time to time so it won't be all bad.
Klara really does think Ruggie is like a cute Rockruff when he's not being cheeky. Now Ruggie would pretend to cry to Klara when he doesn't feel like doing Leona's chores. Klara gives the lion an earful and he can't even argue.
Jack - You'd think he won't get along with Klara just because she seems kind of sly and would resort to petty tactics.
Well it seemed that way at first but Jack soon discovered that Klara would give it her all and was confident. He didn't like how she would get petty over some little thing but he does admire her dedication.
Those two become training buddies, and Klara would eat up any praise Jack tells her. Her pride inflates with every compliment.
Jack is the one who stops Klara do anything reckless. He basically does the scolding when Phoebe isn't around.
By the way, Klara was shocked to find out Jack was only 16, like boy who feeding you?!
She's not going to simp over a kid but then she thought that if Jack was this muscular... Could there be guys in 20s with the same figure?!
She'd be asking Jack if there was any single hunks out there among beastmen in his hometown.
Idia - Another thing you'd never expect. Idia? He's the shut in Otaku who is allergic to sunlight and socializing. How could he possibly be friends with Klara?
It's simple, like Jamil they like trash talk and gossip.
It all happened one afternoon, Idia was just mumbling behind a tree about certain students being so pushy and noisy. Klara replies to his ramblings from behind the other side of the tree.
Idia was startled but as Klara agrees with his trash talk he just started to go with the flow in their conversation.
Klara likes Idia, another sassy bestie to gossip with. And she digs his entire look. The fire hair? Boi what conditioner you use?
Idia: That's just my natural hair...
Klara: No way!? That look is bespoke!
Also whenever Klara needs blackmail material she goes to Idia. He got cameras everywhere but she would NEVER snitch on him. She keeps her bestie promise!
Idia may or may not have fulfilled his dream of having a waifu even if it was merely a planotic friendship.
#headcanons#twst x pokemon#pokemon x twisted wonderland#galarain triad au#bede#klara#phoebe#ace trappola#deuce spade#cater diamond#azul ashengrotto#kalim al asim#trey clover#epel felmier#vil schoenheit#leona kingscholar#riddle rosehearts#rook hunt#ruggie bucchi#jamil viper#jack howl#idia shroud#malleus draconia
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Side by Side Ch 4
Gloria/Bede (dressedinpinkshipping)
Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Fluff, Not Actually Unrequited Love
CW: Stalking, choking, physical assault (in THIS chapter)
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Gloria returned Zacian, her vision blurring. The air in her lungs felt cold. Leon’s Charizard gave a triumphant roar, a spurt of fire billowing from its mouth, before Leon returned it. The world tilted beneath her feet. She blinked but nothing looked right. Nothing felt right. She barely registered the weight of the Ultra Ball in her hand.
The elevator doors opened behind her. She knew it was Hop before he spoke.
“Gloria!” He ran up to her, grabbing her shoulder to turn her to face him. “What happened? Tell me you didn’t battle Leon!”
She clenched her jaw tight as a lump wedged in her throat. Heat poured behind her eyes and she looked away from Hop, knowing he could see her tears form.
Hop’s hand fell from her shoulder. “No… you didn’t…?” He took a breath. “You lost?”
Gloria turned from him, busying herself with putting Zacian’s Ultra Ball into her bag, refusing to let anyone see her cry. “That obvious, huh?” she said, her voice cracking.
“Glo-”
“Don’t.” She pushed Hop’s hand away when he reached for her again. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine!” Hop huffed. He cut a fiery look towards Leon. “Why did you do that?”
“She… She wanted to battle.” The regret in Leon’s voice twisted Gloria’s heart.
“You didn’t have to beat her!” Sonia scoffed.
“Just stop it!” Gloria snapped. She palmed away her tears and glared at them. At Hop, at Sonia, at Leon. “I wanted to battle, alright? I made my choice. And-” she took a sharp breath, “-And if Leon hadn’t battled me properly, that would have been worse, okay? At least- at least Leon respected my wishes.”
Gloria turned from the three of them as burning tears spilled from her eyes again.
“Gloria-”
“I’m fine,” she said, cutting Hop off. “I just- I need to be alone.” She made for the elevator, before whirling on her feet and jabbing a finger at Hop as he made to follow her. “Don’t follow me.” She let him see her tears. The anger on her face. Her defiance. “I mean it.”
And with that, she stepped into the elevator and left the Battle Tower, fighting her tears the entire journey home in a Sky Taxi.
Gloria’s eyes were raw and aching by the time she trudged up to her front door, her street silent save for the beating of the Corviknight’s wings as the Sky Taxi took off. All the lights were off, and when she tried the handle, she found the door was unlocked. Gloria scoffed. She’d told her mother hundreds of times not to leave the door unlocked, even if she was coming home late. She pushed the door open and stepped into the wedge of darkness.
“Typical,” Gloria muttered to herself as she kicked off her shoes and shrugged her bag off her shoulders, tossing it to the floor. She fumbled her hand across the wall by the door until she found the lightswitch and clicked it on, finding herself face to face with a man.
A scream leapt up her throat, caught by Elliot as he grabbed her face with his hand. His fingers dug into her cheeks.
Elliot. She hadn’t seen him since the Gala. Since he’d plied her with alcoholic drinks with the sole intention of getting her drunk for his own sick entertainment.
And he stood in front of her. In her house. Her eyes flicked to the side at the sight of movement, and she spotted a Machamp standing by the door to her mother’s bedroom, both pairs of its arms folded.
“Ah, good. You’ve noticed,” Elliot said, tilting his head. His blue eyes bore into her. Despite the crystalline colour, his eyes were dark. “If you want your dear mother to come out of this unscathed, I’d suggest you keep quiet. No screaming. Do you understand?”
Despite the hold Elliot had on her jaw, her jaw trembled as she nodded. He yanked back his hand, wrinkling his brow in disgust, and brought out a pristine handkerchief to wipe his palm on.
For that split second, his attention moved from her, and Gloria thought of the Pokeballs in her bag. All her Pokemon but a metre away. She could lunge for her bag. Rip open the zip. Grab and throw as many of the Balls as she could get her hands on. Any one of her Pokemon would suffice. Even her Gyarados, which would fill up the entire living room, was better than nothing.
Gloria couldn’t move. She screamed internally at herself, at her frozen muscles. Do it. Now. While he’s wiping his hand. Go for your Pokemon…!
But she could barely breathe. Her body felt numb. Heavy. Like it wasn’t her own. Like she wasn’t here, like she was watching the scene from afar.
Elliot made a sound of disgust as he shoved his handkerchief back into his pocket, his eyes fixing on Gloria’s again.
“Now, where were we?” he asked, his voice a soft whisper that sent an icy chill down Gloria’s spine. “Do you know how much of a nuisance you’ve been to me?” He stepped towards her.
Somehow, she jutted a step backwards. Further away from her bag, her Pokemon.
Her mother had always told her not to dump her bag on the floor the second she got home. Why didn’t she listen? Tears pricked her already raw eyes. Why, why didn’t she listen?
“You took everything from me,” Elliot said. He drew another step closer. “So I’m going to take everything from you. Piece by fucking piece. That’s what you get for ruining my life.”
Fear trickled out of Gloria’s throat as she said, “you ruined your own life.”
Elliot’s eyes flashed. “What did you just say?”
“You can’t blame me for the consequences of your own actions,” Gloria managed to say. Her heart thundered in her chest, in her throat, she couldn’t hear herself think. She didn’t know what she was saying, how she managed to speak through her fear, feeling her voice crack and waver with every word. “It was your fault you got sent to Kalos-”
“You bitch!” Elliot lunged at her, his hand slamming against her throat. His fingers dug into her flesh, cutting off her air.
Gloria staggered backwards a step. She grabbed his wrist, his arm, panic searing through her veins. She blinked, gasped, gaped like a magikarp on land. Elliot pushed her backwards, driving her against a bookshelf. Her head slammed against it. Her lungs burned. She kicked her feet, hoping her weight would make him release her throat, but he only tightened his grip.
“I’m going to make you suffer for what you did,” he hissed, drawing his face close to hers. She could see the blood vessels in his eyes. The heat of his breath seared across her cheeks. “And then I’m going to do the same- no, worse, to that Fairy Gym bastard.”
Bede.
Gloria’s heart thumped harder, faster, in her chest as her vision began to blur and speckle with patches of darkness. Her nails dug into his skin, tore at the flesh of his wrist, the back of his hand, but he didn’t flinch. The veins on his neck bulged with effort as he crushed her windpipe. Gloria squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her jaw. She didn’t want his face to be the last thing she saw.
And then she remembered. She remembered where she was. In a final, desperate gamble, Gloria stamped her left foot to the side, saying a silent apology in her mind, and stomped on Munchlax.
The baby Pokemon immediately let out an ear piercing wail. Elliot startled, stepping back and dragging Gloria with him as he recoiled from the Pokemon who’d been sleeping in his bed behind the couch. Gloria took her chance the instant his grip loosened and tore herself free.
“Fuck!” Elliot spat as Munchlax kept wailing. Gloria fell to the floor, no strength in her legs, as her assailant returned his Machamp and fled through the front door. She coughed and hacked, tears welling in her eyes, air filling her aching lungs. She heaved on the floor as a thud sounded from her mother’s room, the door flinging open a second later.
“What’s going on-” Her mother’s voice caught. “Gloria!”
She barely heard her mother ask rapid fire questions beneath the crying of Munchlax, the hammering of her heart in her ears, and her own coughing. Somehow, she managed to speak. She managed a single word. A name.
“Elliot.”
-
The hours that followed were a blur. An ambulance arrived and ferried her to hospital, where she was surrounded by doctors and nurses in the emergency room as they monitored the bruising and swelling around her throat. She had a cannula inserted into the back of her left hand in case the swelling around her throat obstructed her breathing and she needed to be intubated. They didn’t bother giving her painkillers to swallow and used the line to give her pain relief instead. Gloria was thankful for that, at least.
She tried to block out the police presence the entire time, not wanting to be reminded of what had occurred, but it was impossible. Images flashed in her mind. Elliot’s chilling blue eyes. The hiss of his voice. The pressure around her throat. Pain like she’d never felt before blooming in her lungs as her oxygen ran out. A blond-haired nurse walked past the gap in the curtain shielding her cubicle from view and sent Gloria into a panic attack.
After that, they gave her something to calm her down, and she fell asleep.
-
When Gloria awoke, she was in a private room, her mother dozing in a chair by the window. There were ice packs delicately balanced on either side of her neck. Pain crushed her throat and she gasped when it hurt to breathe. It hurt to swallow. Her mother jolted awake in the chair and called for the nurse, and another round of questions and medications followed. They managed to get her to sip water, and she winced when she swallowed what couldn’t be more than a teaspoon. It felt like the lining of her throat had been cleaved away. When she tried to speak, her words came out in a dry croak. The sound of her own voice made her cry, despite being reassured that it was a good sign that she could speak. Apparently, she looked and felt worse than she actually was. When the nurses asked if she wanted to see her neck, Gloria declined, even when they expressed sympathy and told her, again and again, that “it’s not that bad.”��
Whatever that meant.
When the nurses left, Gloria turned to her mother, and croaked, “they let you stay?”
“I’m surprised too,” her mother said, shuffling her chair closer to the bed. She ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, making Gloria’s eyes droop shut. “I guess being the Champion has its benefits.”
Gloria snorted, then grimaced at the pain laughter caused. Now that she was awake, the police came into the room to ask questions. She answered as best she could, through the pain, through the memories that returned. When she told them that she’d scratched his wrist, they brought in another officer to clip her nails and secure the evidence. Gloria looked down at her short nails and silently wept.
It felt strange, pathetic even, to cry over her nails. She’d finally managed to grow them, to shape them nicely, something she’d never been able to do before because she’d always anxiously bite or pick at them.
And now they were short again.
-
Bede followed Hop mechanically, one foot in front of the other, barely registering where they were going. His heart thumped in time with his steps. His thoughts jumbled. Adrenaline combined with a lack of sleep made it feel like time was stretching out to infinity. They turned a corner in the hospital and Hop pushed a button for the elevator. Bede swallowed. His throat was dry. His hands clammy, mind dizzy.
It didn’t feel real.
The elevator arrived and Bede followed Hop inside, trying to snap himself out of his stupor. He needed to get it together - if not for himself, then for Gloria.
Fuck.
Gloria.
His throat tightened. He didn’t know what floor they were going to, what room. He’d hardly taken in any information at all after that phone call, after rushing to the hospital in the dead hours of the morning with his heart in his throat. Hop had looked as distraught as Bede felt, spilling what little he’d heard from Gloria’s mother in frantic sentences.
She’d been attacked. Strangled. By someone Bede never thought he’d hear from again.
Other than the fact that Gloria was alive, they knew little else, and the tortuous hours of waiting before visitors were allowed in felt like a nightmare within a nightmare. He kept repeating in his mind that she was alive. That she’d be okay.
That she wasn’t going anywhere. He hadn’t lost her.
He hadn’t lost her.
“You alright, man?” Hop’s voice broke the silence of the elevator, broke Bede out of the darkness creeping into his mind.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Bede had never felt more inadequate in his life. This was Gloria’s best friend, her childhood friend, her “practically family” friend. Shouldn’t he be the one comforting Hop? He’d known Gloria for what, two years? That was nothing compared to the lifetime that Hop and Gloria had spent together already.
“You’re the one who looks like he’s about to faint,” Hop said.
Bede inhaled shakily and tried to slow his breathing. Tried to focus on where he was, what he was doing. Where he was going. The elevator chimed, doors opening, and Hop gave him one final look of concern before stepping out.
“I’ll be fine,” Bede said, more to himself than to Hop, and fell in step beside him.
“Just… try not to react, okay?” Hop glanced at him.
Bede almost shuddered to a halt. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Look, I don’t know the details, but… from what Gloria’s mum told me, there’s a lot of bruising.” They turned a corner. “Like, a lot.”
Bede clenched his hands into fists, feeling them shake at his sides as he walked. “That- That bastard…!”
Hop stopped and grabbed Bede’s arm, his voice lowered to a whisper. “And none of that, either, okay? I get that you’re angry. We all are. But this is about Gloria, not-” Hop’s mouth twisted, refusing to give the fiend a name.
Bede shifted on his feet as Hop released his arm, and nodded. “I understand.”
This pain, this anger swelling inside him, now wasn’t the time to let it billow forth.
After what felt like a eon wandering endless halls of white, Hop finally drew up in front of a room and nodded to Bede. They’d arrived. He steeled himself as Hop knocked on the door. Gloria’s mother opened it and let them in with a tired, but grateful, smile.
“Thanks for coming, you two,” she said, but any response Bede could have said died on his tongue when his gaze landed on Gloria.
She looked small. Weary. As if she’d aged impossibly in the hours since he’d seen her, shadows at home beneath her eyes. She tried to smile, her lips wobbling with the effort.
But it was her voice - barely louder than a whisper - that broke something deep in Bede’s heart. “You didn’t have to come so-” she coughed, voice faltering, “-so early.” Gloria took the plastic cup of water offered by her mother and sipped slowly, grimacing when she swallowed. “They’re going to discharge me in a few hours anyway.”
She kept her tone light, despite the cracking of her voice, but Bede knew the look on her face. How close she was to crumbling. To shattering. It kept his feet rooted to the floor. His eyes on her face, not the blooming colours enveloping her neck. It was impossible not to notice. It was the first thing he saw. The first thing everyone saw. If it looked anymore like a handprint, Bede would have torn from the hospital and unleashed hell until he found the one responsible.
“You serious?” Hop asked, shooting a pointed look at Bede, and rounded the side of the bed so he was close to Gloria. “They’re throwing you out of here already?”
Bede finally uprooted his feet and stepped further into the room, stopping by the end of the bed. His gaze dropped to the plaster on the back of Gloria’s hand. To the window and the sleepy world outside. He didn’t know where to look.
Gloria snorted at Hop, her short laugh overtaken by a hiss of pain. “You make it sound like they’re just gonna turf me out on the street. The doctors only wanted to keep me in overnight as a precaution, and since it looks like my airways aren’t going to collapse on themselves anytime soon, I’m free to go.”
“As soon as the doctors sign your discharge form,” Gloria’s mother added.
“I know, I know.” She took another slow sip of water. “It’s not like I’m all that eager to go back there, anyway…” Gloria’s expression faltered, the carefully crafted mask slipping for an instant, and Bede gripped the end of the bed to steady himself. Her home, her safe place, was no longer that.
“He-” Gloria swallowed, turning her attention to Bede. “He mentioned you.”
Bede’s gaze snapped to her. His blood ran cold. “He what?”
She nodded stiffly, a tiny dip of her chin, the fear in her eyes palpable. “He said- that after he was done with me, he’d…” her voice broke. Tears welled in her eyes. “He’d…” She pressed her lips together firmly to stop them trembling. Blinked up at the ceiling to stop her tears. The sight splintered Bede’s heart.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Hop said, rubbing Gloria’s arm as she swiped at her tears. “Nothing happened to Bede.”
“But he’s not going to stop!” Gloria cried. “Not until he- not until he’s taken everything from me…”
“We’re not going to let him do that,” Hop said. He met Bede’s eyes. “Are we?”
Bede mustered confidence, a look of defiance, from somewhere deep inside. “Of course not.”
Gloria sniffled, looking between the two of them. “But how? We- the police don’t even know where he is.”
“We might be able to help with that,” a voice came from the doorway. Gloria gasped and Bede turned, and he stilled in quiet surprise as members of the League stepped into the room.
-
Gloria’s heart fluttered as she took in, one by one, all the Gym Leaders as they entered. Milo, Nessa, Kabu, Bea, Gordie, Marnie, Raihan, as well as Leon, Sonia, Piers and Miss Opal, filed into the room. Bede came round the side of the bed in order to make room, looking as surprised as she felt.
“What- What are you all doing here?” Gloria asked. She tried to clear her throat as subtly as possible, reaching again for her cup of water.
“I went and got ‘em all,” Marnie said. She stepped up beside Hop and took Gloria’s hand.
“Sorry for eavesdropping,” Nessa said, her smile carrying a hint of sheepishness. “We were going to come in when the opportunity presented itself, but-” She shot a look at Raihan. “Some of us can’t help themselves.”
Raihan grinned, leaning against the windowsill as if he owned the place. “What, I’m supposed to just keep to myself the fact that we might be able to help our dear Champion in her time of need?”
Sonia rolled her eyes. “It’s called tact.”
“Marnie reached out to us,” Leon said, stepping forward before Raihan could retort. “Because when someone hurts one of us, they hurt all of us.” He looked at the crowd gathered in the room. “You’re part of the League, Gloria. That makes you family.”
Gloria’s heart flopped. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Marnie squeezed her hand, a warm, gentle smile on her face, and nodded. It snapped the final thread holding Gloria’s composure together. Tears came without abandon. She crumbled into her hands, palming her eyes, and wailed despite the pain roaring in her throat. Arms surrounded her, cradled her, as she cried. She didn’t know whose they were. She didn’t care. Even with the turmoil roiling inside her, the pain and grief and fear, she felt grounded. She felt safe. Safe to cry, safe to bear her bruises and fear, safe to let it all out.
And so she did.
-
Gloria was the first one to break the silence, after calming down enough that she could soothe her throat with another desperate sip of water, and asked, “what did you mean when you said you might be able to help us?” She looked to Raihan.
“Marnie told us the jist of what happened,” Raihan said, “including everything about this scum who’s name is dead to us.”
Gloria gave him a thankful smile. Talking about him, about what happened, was hard enough without hearing his name.
“He should have been in Kalos,” Miss Opal said. She tapped the tip of her umbrella on the floor in frustration. Her eyes glinted dangerously in a way Gloria had never seen before. “And he was, according to his uncle, until last week, when he apparently ‘vanished.’” She gestured, unconvinced, in the air with that word.
“When you’re that rich, you’re bound to have friends in high places,” Gordie said. “Probably called on a mate to fly him to Galar. Private, almost certainly untraceable.”
“And that,” Raihan said, flashing a smile at Gloria, “is how we’ll get him.”
“How is that going to help?” Bede asked. Gloria jolted, not realising he was at her side. Nor did she realise, until then, that one of the hands on her back was his. “You just said it was ‘almost certainly untraceable.’”
“We’re not talking about the plane, or his friend,” Raihan said. “But the fact that this is a rich brat who’s used to every convenience under the sun.”
Kabu nodded. “The staff.”
“Exactly!” Raihan’s grin was one of self satisfaction. “Wherever he’s staying, whoever he’s staying with, they’re bound to have staff. Chefs, cleaners, security. Someone would have seen him.”
“I’ve got a friend who’s a private chef for that section of society, and Bea’s trained with lots of high-end security guards,” Nessa said. Bea nodded in agreement. “And I’m sure they’ll be on board once we tell them what’s happened.” She met Gloria’s eyes. “If that’s alright, of course. We’ll have them swear to secrecy.”
Gloria absently picked at the edge of the plaster on the back of her hand. “Are you sure?”
“Cross my heart,” Nessa said.
“But aren’t people like that known to keep their client’s secrets?” Hop asked. “Otherwise they’d lose their jobs.”
Nessa threw him a look. “They’re not heartless. And I know my friend - she’s not going to keep silent about someone harbouring a fugitive who assaulted a friend of mine.”
“Neither will my friends,” Bea said confidently.
Nessa continued, “once we find out where he’s hiding, we’ll contact the police and-”
“And then what?” Gloria spoke up before she knew what she was doing. “He’s not naive. He’ll… He’ll probably have it all worked out. An alibi, an excuse for the scratches on his hand, for the-” she choked on her words “-for the DNA under my fingernails.” Gloria shook her head. “He’ll have the best lawyers. The best defence. And I… I know what happens in court. How they twist everything against you, turn your words against you…”
She felt small. Impossibly small under the weight of what she was facing.
“Then… what do you want to do?” Nessa asked.
Gloria lifted her head. She took a breath, then another. All eyes in the room were on her. “I want to make him regret taking on the League. I want to face him. To stand on my own feet and make it so he can never touch me, or any of us, again.”
Raihan grinned. “Well, I’m in.”
Sonia gave him a blank stare. “Of course you are.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Milo chimed in, “how do you plan on doing that? It sounds… well, almost impossible.”
“She’s got guts.” Piers said, looking at Gloria with a gentle, protective smile. “I’ll give her that.”
Gloria managed a smile in return. “I think I have a plan,” she said, glancing between the friends and family gathered around her. “But I’ll need help. From all of you.”
The reply was unanimous. They had her back, no matter what.
-
Gloria wasn’t sure what it would be like to return home, to come face to face with the memories clawing at the forefront of her mind. She didn’t know whether seeing the place where it happened would bring it all back. Whether her house would be forever tainted by the horrors that took place the night before.
But in the daytime, in the light of the morning sun, there were no shadows to be found in her heart. Her bag was there on the floor where she’d tossed it. In the living room, books were scattered on the ground, having fallen from the bookshelf when Elliot had shoved her into it. Gloria walked over to the books and picked them up, one by one. Held them in her hands. Waiting for the impact of last night to hit her, as if the books carried her silent screams, inanimate witnesses to the assault.
“Let me do that,” Gloria’s mother said, hurrying over to her daughter. She went to take the books, but Gloria shook her head.
“It’s okay. I want to do it.” She placed them back into the bookshelf methodically, fingertips lingering on their spines. These were her dad’s books, she realised. Untouched for years, the dust disturbed on the shelf as they’d fallen. Silently, in her heart, she whispered, I’m okay. To herself, to the memories of her father, as if by coming home, by whispering those words, whatever remained of him would hear her.
After stacking the books, Gloria knelt down and gave Munchlax’s belly a gentle rub.
“I’m sorry, Munchie,” she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the well earned rest of the sleeping Pokemon. “Guess you’ll never know that you saved my life last night, huh?” She stood and gave her mum a sheepish smile. “Think he’ll ever forgive me?”
“Oh, hun, of course he will.” Gloria’s mother embraced her in a soft hug. “For all he knows, it was an accident.”
“He deserves a treat and a half, anyway,” Gloria said. “The best berries, Combee honey, anything he wants. It’s on me.” She checked her phone, heart thumping in anticipation, only to drop when she saw there were no messages. Not yet.
“Give it some time,” Gloria’s mother said. “I’m sure they’ll find him soon.”
Gloria nodded. “I know.” But her nerves weren’t going to calm until this was over. In order to pass the time, and to scrub off the scent of the hospital that lingered on her skin, Gloria decided to have a bath.
It should have been so simple. Undress, have a bath, dry herself off, get dressed. But the second she stepped into the bathroom, the second she caught sight of the bruises wrapped around her neck, everything stopped. Her legs buckled. Air sucked from her lungs. She fell into the bathroom counter, knocking her toothbrush to the floor. A broken wail filled her ears. The pain in her throat told her the sound was her own. She slid to the floor, curling in on herself, as the bathroom door was thrown open behind her. Her mother held her tight as her cries filled the room. What remained of her nails dug into her palms. Into her hair. The pain that burned in her throat was nothing compared to the anguish tearing through her body.
“I’m here, Gloria, I’m here,” her mother’s words grounded her. Like pinpricks of light filtering through the clouds. “You’re safe. You’re safe.”
And together, they rode out the storm within her heart.
-
By the time Nessa’s message arrived, Gloria had collected herself, managed a bath, and was so put together that other than the bruises on her neck, she didn’t look any different to normal.
“Is it time?” Gloria’s mother asked, seeing the look of cold determination on her daughter’s face.
Gloria nodded. “It’s time.”
After a not-so-brief hug, where Gloria felt seconds from crying all over again, she departed on her Corviknight, heading for the address she’d input into her Rotom Phone’s GPS.
With her arms wrapped around the neck of her Corviknight, she went over the plan again and again in her head. What she would say, what she would do. How she would face Elliot after everything he’d done to her. She touched her forehead to her Corviknight’s dark feathers and took a deep breath. It was up to her now.
When the mansion came into view, Gloria’s heart tripped and stuttered in her chest. It was a glorious, modern three-storey house that looked like something out of a movie. Huge pillars flanked the entrance. An intricate fence spanned the perimeter, dual fountains working a dazzling display in the garden on either side of the driveway. Gloria instructed her Corviknight to land right by the front door. She slid off her Pokemon, adjusted her jacket to make sure it was sitting right, and had just pocketed her Pokeball when a security guard opened the front door.
“This is private property, Ma’am. I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said, stepping through and closing the door behind him. He towered over Gloria on the front steps, arms folded.
“I’m here to see Elliot,” she said. “Elliot Murdoch.”
The security guard’s face didn’t change. No hint of recognition in his steely eyes. “You need to leave.”
Gloria swallowed and stood her ground. “Tell him the Champion is here to see him. I’m sure he’ll let me in. I know he’s here.”
The guard opened his mouth to speak before he stopped. His eyes shifted from Gloria for a split second, before he nodded. “I’m bringing her through,” he said, touching the tiny earpiece in his ear that Gloria wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. He opened the front door, the hard expression on his face unchanged, and said, “Follow me.”
Gloria followed the guard as quickly as she could without appearing nervous. She let out the tight breath she’d held in her lungs and swallowed the urge to look behind her. She had her part to play. Now wasn’t the time to doubt her plan.
The guard led her through the house to a lounge room with a sprawling white leather lounge suite, huge glass doors that overlooked the immaculate garden, and a TV the size of a Snorlax on the wall displaying the CCTV captured from around the house. The figure reclining on the couch stood and turned off the TV, tossing the remote aside.
“Now, this wasn’t very smart of you, was it?” Elliot said, cocking his head at her. His blue eyes, icy as ever, bit into Gloria’s skin. “Do you have a death wish, or are you just a masochist?”
“I’m here to end this, Elliot,” she said, stepping into the room. She walked around the couch, facing Elliot and the gardens behind him.
Elliot breathed a laugh. “You really are an idiot. What makes you think I’d listen to you?” He gestured to the guards standing outside without turning around. The one that had led Gloria into the room remained in the doorway. “You’re outnumbered. And before you think that your Pokemon count, each of my guards has six of their own.” He stared down his nose at her. “And so do I.”
“I’m not here to battle you,” Gloria said. She kept her eyes on him, despite the urge to look away. To run away.
“I don’t care why you’re here,” Elliot said. “You’ve just made everything so much easier for me, you know that?” He took a step closer. Then another. “I didn’t get to finish the job last night.” His icy gaze dropped to her neck. “I have to admire my handiwork, though. You really do bruise nicely.”
Gloria didn’t move an inch. “You wouldn’t dare. Not with witnesses.”
Elliot stopped a few feet from her and laughed. “These men wouldn’t bat an eye if I choked the life out of you like I did last night,” he said, baring his teeth as he grinned. “Although, I have something more planned for you now, after what you did.” He flexed his wrist, dark scabs showing where Gloria’s nails had torn through his skin. “What do you say to that? Oh wait, hold on, I don’t care.”
Elliot reached for Gloria’s throat.
“I’d have to say, ‘you’re a natural,’” a voice came from behind Elliot as the doors to the garden were thrust open. Elliot whirled as a flash of movement came from the entrance to the lounge, and Gloria cut a few quick steps away as Bea pinned the guard to the floor. Nessa and Raihan stepped through the glass doors, Leon on their heels, as Kabu, Milo and Piers made quick work of the guards outside.
At their entrance, the two Rotom Phones hidden in Gloria’s jacket flew across the room to their respective owners. Nessa and Raihan kept them trained on Elliot.
“Say hello to your audience!” Raihan said, flashing a grin. “Instagram is really lapping this up. I’ve already got 1.5 mil and counting!”
“That’s nothing,” Nessa said. She swept a lock of dark hair off her shoulders. “I’ve got 2.2.”
“You- what?!” Elliot turned, his eyes flashing, and lunged at Gloria. He didn’t get far. Bea crossed the distance from the doorway to Elliot in record time, and had him on the ground before anyone could blink. He roared, struggling aimlessly beneath Bea’s grip.
“That’s what you get for targeting my friend,” she hissed, pressing her knee firmer into Elliot’s back.
“And that’s that!” Raihan said, talking to the livestream casting from his Rotom Phone. “Thanks for joining us!” With a final wave, he and Nessa cut their streams, and Gloria sagged to the ground. It was only then that she spotted Bede and Hop in the doorway by the guard who’d surrendered his Pokemon after being upended by Bea.
“Fuck!” Elliot roared. “Get the fuck off me, you demon!”
“I’d stay silent if I were you,” Leon said. “The police will be here soon.”
“You’ve got nothing on me!” Elliot continued his rant. “Those videos mean nothing! I did nothing! Get- Get off me!”
Gloria felt dizzy. Her vision swam as someone took her arm and helped her from the room to the front of the house. The adrenaline that had kept her upright, kept her focused, suddenly flooded from her body. Her mind reeled. She felt sick. Someone ordered her to sit and she all but collapsed on the front steps. She registered Hop beside her when he put his arm around her back. She glanced up from her knees and caught Bede’s eyes before he quickly looked away.
“You alright?” Hop asked. Her hands were trembling in her lap.
“I-I think so,” she said. Her throat ached. Her body felt heavy. It didn’t feel real. “Did it work?”
“Not sure it constitutes evidence that’d be allowed in court,” Hop said, “but I doubt any judge would grant him bail after seeing that.”
“You won’t have to worry about him for a long time,” Bede said. Gloria looked up at him, wondering what look he had on his face, but seeing his back, seeing him stand tall and confident, was enough for her.
Gloria nodded slowly before resting her head on Hop’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” Hop said, giving her a sideways hug.
Gloria held onto those words, held onto what everyone had done for her, until long after they’d left the mansion, Hop taking her home on the first Sky Taxi they could get. She collapsed into bed, putting off sleep long enough to take some painkillers, forcing them down through the pain in her throat, before succumbing to the weight of exhaustion.
-
It was late afternoon when Bede stepped out of a Sky Taxi outside Gloria’s house in time to see two teenage girls chase a group of reporters down the street.
“Get outta here!” one of them cried, her Drednaw shooting a powerful spray of water towards them.
“And don’t even think of coming back!” the other shouted. Her Peliper dive-bombed the reporters, making them scramble away even faster.
The two girls glanced towards Gloria’s house, shrinking when they saw Bede. It took a few moments before he recognised them as the two girls Gloria had denounced as bullies, the ones she’d said had harassed her throughout their childhood, only to act like it’d been nothing but a childish mistake when she’d become Champion.
“Is… is she okay?” the girl with the Drednaw asked.
“Don’t!” the other hissed, grabbing her friend’s arm and dragging her away.
Bede didn’t answer. He waited until they were further down the street before he turned and headed for Gloria’s front door. It wasn’t his second chance to give.
He went to knock when the door opened, Gloria’s mother glancing down the street where the two girls had gone. “They’ve been keeping reporters away for the last few hours,” she said. “It doesn’t make up for what they did, but…”
Bede nodded, stepping inside as Gloria’s mother let him in, understanding what she meant even if she didn’t voice it.
“How is she?” he asked. He glanced towards the closed door of Gloria’s bedroom.
“Tired. Well, ‘exhausted,’ is how she put it,” Gloria’s mother said. “I think it’s all catching up to her now. What happened to her, what you guys did… it was a lot.”
“And… Elliot?” Bede lowered his voice as he said the name, angling himself away from Gloria’s room. “Have you heard anything?”
“Arrested, awaiting charge, is what I’ve been told.”
Bede let out a quiet breath. “Good.”
“Did you want to see her?”
He shifted on his feet. “I don’t want to be a bother.” The ache in his heart said otherwise.
“You’d never be a bother,” Gloria’s mother said, gently touching his arm. “She’s awake. Go and say hi.”
There were so many more things other than “hi,” that he needed to say to her. With a silent nod towards Gloria’s mother, Bede headed for Gloria’s room. He knocked gently, heart thundering in his chest.
“Come in,” Gloria called, and so he did.
She sat upright in her bed, leaning against a mound of pillows and cushions, looking remarkably better than she did hours earlier in hospital. The light, however faint with exhaustion, was back in her eyes.
“Hey,” she said, before clearing her throat. “Sorry, my voice is still a bit croaky.”
Bede shut the door behind him before stepping as casually as he could up to her bed. “How’s the pain?”
“It’s… manageable,” she said with a shrug. “I had some honey and lemon tea earlier, that seemed to help. Along with a steady dose of painkillers.” Gloria laughed, but it was quiet, barely an echo of the laughter he’d known to come from her.
Bede swallowed the lump in his throat and sat down on the edge of Gloria’s bed, close but still a respectable distance from her. He dropped his hands into his lap, looking away from her.
“I heard from Hop that you challenged Leon,” he said slowly. Saw Gloria stiffen in the corner of his eyes.
She folded her arms, drawing her knees to her chest. “Not you, too. Hop and Sonia already tried to lecture me. I don’t need another.”
Bede glanced at her. She was looking out the window, through the sheer curtains and to the fields of Wooloo and Dubwool in the distance. There was a defiance in her eyes that Bede had seen before. One that he, too, had felt before. A burning defiance to prove oneself, no matter what.
“I’m not here to lecture you,” Bede said. “I only want to know why. Why after all this time?”
Gloria sighed. “I guess… I wanted to know for myself.”
“Know what?”
“Whether or not me beating Leon was a fluke. Whether or not, if we’d been battling on even ground, I’d have won.” She turned further away from him. “And… I lost.”
“And what does that prove?”
“It proves that I’m not meant to be Champion!” Gloria huffed at him, turning back to him with a start. “The only reason I beat Leon was because he was injured. Last night proved that.”
“Does it?” Bede kept his eyes on hers. Challenged her with his gaze.
“Of course it does!”
“And when you challenged him, were you thinking straight?”
“What- of course I was!”
He raised an eyebrow. Kept his demeanour as calm as he could, despite the rising urge in his chest to plead with her that she was wrong. Arguing wouldn’t help. He needed her to see it for herself, with her own words, not his.
“Well…” Gloria shrank a little under his gaze. Her knees plopped back onto her bed. “I hadn’t really thought my team through,” she admitted. “I just… rushed over there and challenged him.”
There. That was where he’d start to unravel the tangled mess she’d gotten herself into.
“And if you’d thought it through?”
Gloria unfolded her arms, tracing the embroidered flowers on her quilt cover with a finger. “I wouldn’t have chosen so many physical attackers,” she said. “My team was unbalanced. Leon always sends out Aegislash first, yet I… it threw me. I kept trying to power through Aegislash’s King Shields… It was a mess from the start. And once I’d made that mistake, I couldn’t recover. I ended up with Zacian facing Leon’s Charizard, and there was only one way that would go…”
“How come you weren’t thinking straight?” Bede asked. It wasn’t like her. Gloria thrived on adrenaline. It focused her, like an arrow pulled taught by an expert marksman. It seems, this time, that the string had snapped.
Gloria pursed her lips, picking at a loose thread on her quilt cover. “There was this kid,” she said with a huff, “after the Star Tournament. He stayed behind after everyone else left, and I thought maybe he was just shy or something, but… then he made all these accusations…”
The letter Bede had received right before the Star Tournament flashed in his mind.
“About Rose?” he asked.
“Yeah!” she looked at him in surprise. “He said that I was in cahoots with Rose, that we’d staged the whole thing with Eternatus so that Leon would be injured and I’d become Champion. How did you know it had to do with Rose?”
Bede reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter. He’d taken it with him, kept it with him, as it held too many burning questions for him to discard so flippantly. He handed it to her and said, “I think we’ve been set up.”
Gloria read the letter in silence, her eyes widening, before she reached the part that mentioned a photo, and Bede handed that to her as well.
“But this- this isn’t Rose!” she gasped.
Bede shrugged. “It fooled me.”
Her expression dropped. “You mean…?”
“A League Staff member handed that letter to me right before the Star Tournament began,” he said. He glanced away at the sudden realisation that filled her eyes.
“Is that why…?” she let her unfinished question linger in the silence between them. “Oh, Bede…”
“It’s my fault for being taken in by it,” he said. Irritation laced his words. Shame. Regret. “I shouldn’t have…”
“It’s okay,” Gloria said, touching his arm, barely gracing him with her fingertips, but it was enough to burn through to his skin. “I understand.”
Did she?
“I wanted to prove myself,” he admitted. “But I also… I also wanted you to look at me. To see me.”
The barely-there touch of Gloria’s fingers solidified as she gave his arm a gentle squeeze, making him look at her. Unable to hide the heat behind his eyes.
“But I do see you,” she said.
And it was too late.
“Not in the way I want you to,” Bede said.
-
The words died in Gloria’s mouth. Her heart, already thundering loud enough to deafen her thoughts, sped to a crescendo. She was caught. Trapped in Bede’s gaze, by his words. By the depth in his eyes.
“What-” she couldn’t think. “What do you…?” Her hand, lightly resting on Bede’s arm, felt aflame.
She couldn’t breathe.
“I know it’s not what you want to hear,” Bede continued. “But after… after everything, after almost losing you again, I…”
Don’t, her mind cried. Don’t say it.
Don’t stop- Her heart echoed in response.
“I know how you feel about love,” Bede said. His gaze dropped. He looked away from her, across her room, but in that split second before he’d turned, she saw the hurt in his eyes. “But I don’t want to hide how I feel anymore, even if it means you despise what I say, even if it changes things between us. I want you to see me. All of me. And that includes my heart.”
With that, Bede stood, and Gloria’s hand fell silently onto her bed.
“That’s… all I wanted to say.” He turned to leave.
“Wait-” Her voice made him stop. He glanced at her over his shoulder, something fragile in his eyes.
“If it’s all the same to you,” he said quietly, “I’d rather not… hear your answer, as I’m sure I know what it is.”
Again, he made to leave. Took a step towards the door.
“Bede, wait, please!” she cried, heart leaping into her throat. The sudden outburst made her cough, and she croaked his name. “Bede…!”
He turned back to her, eyes wide. Mouth agape.
Gloria blinked back tears. Tears of pain, tears of heartache, of realising he thought she was going to reject him. That his feelings were unreciprocated.
She tried to breathe, tried to form the words, anything to convey what she needed to say to him. “Please, I need…” she swallowed a gasp, a sob. “I’m scared,” she finally managed to say.
Bede remained where he stood, watching her, emotions she couldn’t read building and falling on his face.
“I can’t… I can’t just…” She held back another sob. “I need time. And I know it’s not fair, it’s not fair of me to ask you this, to ask you to wait, but…” Gloria balled her hands into her quilt, blinking through her tears, and met Bede’s eyes. “Will you wait for me?”
He watched her, studied her, took in her words. Tension slowly ebbed from his body. “I’ll wait,” he said quietly. “For as long as you need.”
Gloria nodded, mouthing a broken “thank you,” as tears slipped from her eyes.
#bederia#btyu#Bede#Gloria#dressedinpinkshipping#my writing#yes hello im alive#there are probably tons of mistakes BUT YKNOW WHAT HAVE THE FIC ANYWAY
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