#can you believe i was blasting disney's pocahontas ost while doing this

[rakuraiwielder]

black hole eclipse: my orbit is the sun in the sky

White light, and a star reborn. V-route(ish).  

A Mystic Messenger Pokémon AU. Loosely based on Sun and Moon.

Also on AO3

Foreword:

i love pokemon ᕙ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ᕗ

*this is part from a massive Mysme’s Pokemon au I planned out prior to V-route concerning a purely platonic V/MC path. I’ll probably never release it fully, especially since the release of the SUMO sequels. But there are several close-loop scenes that I really love. I might write them all out one day, or come up with a completely different pokemon au idea and do that instead heh 

the MC has a nickname for plot reasons btw, but her real name is a mystery #spoilers: shes you aHA

character relationships are purposefully unspecified 

She thinks she sees him first, a sliver of white peering out of the alleyway as the procession passes. Even from this distance, he stood out from the ochre colours and bright splashes of everyone else, the glossy black of his jacket catching the fire’s light. Traditional music blasts through the streets, mixed with the constant shuttering of V’s handheld camera. The latter was humming under his breath, echoing the triumphant melody of the festivities that overtook all of Akala Island.

Someone had been crowned champion tonight.

A breeze blows, smelling of spice and heat. A man had started a chant in the crowd, singing a song that relates to their beloved Tapu. A chorus of roars follow; Tauros stamp their feet, Marowak slam their clubs into the earth, sharp bones catching green swirls of fire, and the people began the uproar anew. The edges of his hood shift, and suddenly Deneb sees his eyes. Two glints of swirling green, and this time it was impossible to hide the white shock that blankets his head.

The boy blinks at her, and she thinks she sees him say something. But the alleyway was too far away, her memory still fuzzy, and V-

V.

She turns back to look at him. The photographer was picking at the lens, blue eyes unusually bright and focused. Below them the dancers had started to circle, flower leis weaving gracefully through their hair. An Oricolo spins through them, standing poise in centre. Another series of clicks, and V pulls back, thumbs the buttons and changes the setting. He was all gentle precision and swift fingers now, stuck in the zone she sees mirrors hers whenever her partner growls in sync to the heartbeat pulsing in her veins.

So when the drums continue to its climax she slips away, sneakers skittering on uneven pebbles as she brushes past the surging crowd. It wouldn’t take very long. With any luck she would return before he notices she was gone. The smell of sweets fills her lungs as she nudges her way through a snaking queue. Children run pass her, the crunch of Malasadas sweet and hot in their mouths, all sugar, sugar, sugar and the memory of a cool day and Casteliacones and a flustered demeanour as the boy finishes his third cone and oh, oh she remembers now.

The ice cream boy.

Deneb stops, cranes her head to find him amidst the countless alleyways. She almost recoils when green eyes meet her gaze immediately, the boy staring blatantly as he watches her. Another blink fixated on her; this time she was close enough to see the upturn quirk of his lip before he pushes off the bricked wall and walks into the shadow.

“Hey!” The sound that leaves her mouth was lost to the tumultuous applause of a thousand hands and bells. Something smooth brushes her cheek; a Chimecho twitters heartily as it floats by. It tickled, and she resists the urge to rub the shivering skin as she stumbles into the gaping hole that led into the city’s backdoor maze.

The air was cooler here, untouched by the heat of tribal fires and warmth of the populace. Deneb pants, presses a hand to her heart as she slows down. Footsteps thud softly in the distance, a lone speck of clarity. A head turned back; green eyes illuminated from the dim light of the cloudless sky. The boy watches her follow before continuing down the path.

“Wait, I forgot to thank you!” Gold eyes furrowing in confusion, Deneb jogs after him. “I still owe you an ice cream, remember…?” He could hear her, she knows he must have. Shadows lengthen as the walls of the alleyway slopes downwards. Little squeaks sound from the edges; feet pattering, grass rustling. Even in the darkest parts of Heahea there was still a sprout of nature. She turns at the corner and finally sees him; standing in the centre of the path, back to her as he stares unseeingly at the winding road ahead.

Here the noises of the festival were muffled, trapped in a bubble that could not reach. Deneb presses forward, stopping just shy of a few feet; comfortable, comfortable, this was how they stood before-

“It’s you, isn’t it?” A beat of uncertain silence. Why wasn’t he talking?

Slowly the boy turns around, the soft green of his irises glowing in the dark. He was wearing a smile. Something else fuzzes at the edge of her mind; did he ever give a name?

“Um, hi?” Her hands clamber to do the regional greeting, clumsy fingers sticking together as her palms fall awkwardly to the side. The boy blinks again, the edges of his lip curling before he repeats the action, hands still in midst of forming an incomplete arc before he stops, arms hovering as he pauses, seemingly staring past her. A crooked positioning triggers a memory; and then she was reaching for his hand before she could even think it through. Ray, he said his name was R-

Their fingers touch. His smile curves, wobbling, and the illusion breaks, white shock turning blood red.

Fear stabs at Deneb when she stares at sharp fangs and feels sharp claws grazing her fingers. With widened eyes she stumbles away from the Zoroark; swallows the lump in her throat as her senses screamed in heightened suspicion. A soft grin follows her, clawed paws scraping cold stone. Someone breathes on the back of her ear, and Deneb freezes stiff.

Another hush exhale, and with a choked noise she spins around, breath hitching at the reflection of white hair and green slits. Her eyes dart back and forth, narrowing when she sees the edges of an amused smirk fade. Ray blinks, a crease in his brow as he pulls his hood down, and watches her with a curious tilt of his head.

“I wonder, what is it that he sees in you?” His eyes gazed over her, soft green looking faraway. They held none of the lightness she remembers, all vanilla sweet and kindness only that of a stranger could bestow. Deneb swallows, and does not answer.

It had been a mistake; -V was rubbing off on her, she knows it- she never should have followed.

“Why do you stay with him?”

The silence stretches further when she remains silent. Finally Ray looks at her, frowning minutely. She watches him watch her, sees his knowing glance meet hers once.

“You are afraid.” He smiles pityingly. “You don’t have to be.”

“I don’t understand.” She says, apprehensive. No, she truly does not, and yet her shoulders remain stiff. Behind her the Zoroark stands quiet, blue eyes watchful.

“Aren’t you just the least bit curious, Deneb?”

“I don’t know.” Something small darts through the shadows, causing them to turn their heads to it. Zoroark growls, eyes glinting, and the skittering doubles, the panicked steps of a frightened Pokémon fading into the night. “Should I be, Ray?” She tests it out again; a question, runs over the syllables of his name and sees the slight inclination of his head and his pleased expression as she remembers right.

There was something superficial about it; a name of warmth belonging to a boy only half-illuminated by wane moonlight. It was almost too quite; and something within Deneb lurches at the thought of it mirroring hers.

“I know a place where all your worries will just disappear. Wouldn’t you want that?” There was that knowing glint again; one she narrows her eyes at. Ray takes one step forward, the seams of his jacket swaying as it catches a draft, and holds a hand out.

“Wouldn’t you rather come to Paradise with me?”

Shadows dance by his feet, hiding part of his frame as he smiles. The green in his eyes glow; mint colour betraying earnestness. There was something bitterly ironic about it; that that flash of emotion was the sincerest thing she had seen from him since they first met. Slowly he advances, and Deneb flinches at the panic rising in her gut.

More scraping behind her; both trainer and Pokémon moving to cage her in. The faint light in the alleyway was barely enough to hide the curl of a palm from view. Ray blinks, shoulders easing as he nears- and Deneb moves.

A swipe of her hand in a sliver of a second causes a bright flash to blind the alleyway. She hears their surprised shouts in momentary confusion, but a moment was all she needed. A canine body breaks free from the Pokéball and slashes at the rippling forcefield, causing the shadows to dissipate. Mightyena snarls once, hurling forward, and then they were gone, lost to the alleyway and running towards the heat and noise.

When Ray opens his eyes he is alone, moonlight considerably brighter in the damp alleyway. Zoroark growls, baring teeth and ruffling its mane as it stares down the winding path. Only when he shakes his head did it relax, sniffing pointedly and turning back to the sky.

Green eyes stare back into the shadows contemplatively, a frown curling the edges of his mouth. She hadn’t accepted. There was a faint throbbing building in his head now, mixing with the unpleasant aftertaste on his tongue. He thinks it might be discontent, though he is not sure why.

The night feels like a loss to him, but the plan was still young, still early in motion. He will have plenty of chances, many more in the long scheme of things. His trusted ally will make sure of that. Still the tingling feeling persists as he turns and walks away from the echoes of singing cheers and steady drumbeats. His partner follows, but he barely notices. It was an odd thing; the very land itself coming alive under the blood of its children and a cacophony of noise. Not yet soiled by those who wanted to ruin it. A land still relatively untouched, still beautiful and at peace. He understands why Rika would want to protect it.

By the time he steps out of the city’s maze and onto soft grass the itching feeling was gone, the remnant of a memory from a time he was not yet called a beacon of light for others to follow. Claws nudge his shoulder gently beside him. Zoroark grunts, and Ray reaches out to pet its head until it purrs. One more thoughtful look back, green eyes catching the ochre glows in the distance, and then he moves, relentlessly forward.

He thinks of the lone star who had gotten away, and wonders what kind of ice cream he might get tomorrow.

x

A/N

Just like Ray isn’t Saeran’s real name, Deneb is not her real name. tfw all mentioned charas are not using their real names lmao. The title black hole eclipse comes from the dark type Z-move in Pokemon Sun and Moon (because mightyena and zoroark) im not that edgy in real life I promi s e-

There is a reason I choose Deneb as the nickname/mask for our nameless chara and its entirely because of a motif that is purposefully interpretable. ᕕ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ᕗ Feel free to tell me your thoughts and interpretations of it heheh-

Oddly enough this has a V-route vibe to it, but apart from switching “Unknown” to “Ray” (wao Saeran how many names are ya gonna have oy), this scene remains completely unchanged in the original ver. This was also the very first scene concept I came up with (a confrontation with Unknown), and still remains one of the most powerful transition close-looped scenes I really liked in the original au drafts.

(if anyone’s curious I start drafting early Jan17. you clearly saw where all my motivations went LOL)

anyways i love pokemon so much gimme a good story where you clearly see pokemon and people co-existing and co-sharing the spotlight that is more than just within a battle or a matching making force in crossover au fics and you have my heart