#i had zacian in mind

[glitterspeckle]

LOVE drawing every character I’ve ever liked as an eeveelution anyways galacta deserves to be the sparkle dog magical girl one

[rougepancake]

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.

[sinnohsiblings]

◀️◀️ for Zephyr??? 👀

There was so much excitement in the air, the Zacian pup's tail wagged wildly as he scampered down the grand white halls of the creator's palace. His father had brought him along to meet Lady Ashani for the first time. This was an exciting moment for any pup in the pack to finally meet the great creator they'd one day pledge their life and loyalty to, well at least once they were old enough to understand the meaning of that pledge.

The pattering sound of Zephys tiny paws filled the halls as he giddily picked up his pace with his father walking father ahead him with an amused smirk. The Zamazenta halting to bow down as a rift tore through the air in front of him. Zephyr paying no mind slammed into his father's back legs and the Zacien pup let out a light "oof" Shaking his head and walking between his father's legs he hid himself under his father as he peered out from under his father's shield-like mane to see who he was bowing to. The warrior Wyrm his mother had told him stories about slithered through the rift, her snake-like form melting seamlessly into a 6-legged dragon, she was so much bigger than the stories made her seem, her cream body only seemed to make her nearly white silver and sapphire blue accents gleam against the contrast of the white halls.

His tail wagged again, making thumbing noises and it slammed against his father's hind legs, Lady Galaria was as inspiring as the stories made her seem. She seemed to pay them no mind as she continued down the adjacent hall, Zephyr almost didn't notice the small green and gold mass of the calf that had nested itself on her back. "It seems Lady Galaria finally birthed her calf." He heard his father say pleasedly, "One day Zephyr you will pledge to protect our newest Lord of the Void. " "Why were they green? Mama said the lords of the void with golden metal could only have red bands. Like Ladia Galaria is silver with blue bands." "Hmm...I don't know, Zypher. Perhaps our newest lord is just someone special even amongst their own kind. Now come, Lady Ashani is waiting for us. I'm certain she will be in excellent spirits given the new arrival."

Zephyr nodded and happily trotted after his father.

[lynsneakersart]

Since y'all are sleeping on my Tetovage masterpost, I'm going to post them all individually with extra tidbits of info and there's nothing you can do about it!!

Last, but not least, Eighteenth is Fairy!

More info under the cut.

Ah, Fairy! Another screaming about 'what pokemon do i choose' and constantly changing it. When I realized Fairy was going to be last, I decided to give her some Legendaries/Mythicals. Magearna had already been a contender from the jump, going back and forth between Fairy and Steel as a choice. Zacian I'd brought up once or twice, but I initially showed reluctance because, if I brought it in, I wanted to bring in Zamazenta, too.

I got over that eventually. Zacian was literally a last minute choice, in the end. I do not regret it. Once again, thank you MMD Pokemon riggers for my life I would not have been able to figure out the dog's damn shapes without you.

For the character designs, I knew what I wanted to start. I wanted a devil & angel motif. The devil/imp theme I had figured out immediately. I could envision it perfectly. The angel one... not so much.

I thought I had it figured out when I thought of Princess Peach and her in Sunshine. I could envision it clearly. Almost like a magical girl, but not quite. Big flowy ribbons in the back, tiny little angel wings, pastel colours, and this sparkly, translucent skirt & sleeves underneath the main dress

I hated it. It didn't turn out how I wanted at all. I didn't do the concepts in order, so I said I'd come back to it later and see if I changed my mind.

Later came, and I had not changed my mind. I still hated it. To google I went, looking up cute fashion ideas when I saw an outfit that hit me like a truck and gave me the immediate inspiration for the final design, which turned out perfectly. I still got to keep the Sunshine Peach inspiration under the jacket.

I would post the inspiration photo here but I can't find it anymore. It was mostly the jacket that inspired me lol. It had big ol pockets that made me think "you could fit a plushie in there--WAIT A MINUTE"

Now, Fairy was optionally going to be the final image. There was one I wanted to draw afterwards, but it was always a maybe, and that was to make something for the Stellar Type, introduced in Scarlet/Violet!

I got the concept art down, but by the time I'd finished lining and colouring all of the other pictures, I was extremely drained, burned out, sick, and absolutely dying of pain. Damn you chronic pain for making my hobby hurt.

Instead of making a new post, here's the concepts, and the sketch for the final illustration for the Stellar type!

[boyfrillish]

your works have me curious, what else do ya headcanon for our boy victor? :o (and other chars too! i'm just esp interested in how you filled out his blank slate)

Ohh this is a good one. Since I only played Sword for the first time starting in January, I'm still very much in my formative phase for headcanons and stuff. For most of the characters I can't even say I consciously headcanoned yet, even with all my thinking about everyone and saying "the whole of swsh is my blorbo" (admittedly with most of my focus on Victor and Hop because they're my number one favourites and OTP lol so there are definitely also ship headcanons in here, hope you don't mind! ^^"). I'll put it under a readmore since it kinda got a bit long ^^"

So here's my personal "fixed"/"core" headcanons for Victor when it comes to my own stuff:

he's transmasc and gay (this one was probably obvious since I've made on-text trans references in all but like, two fanfics haha)

he's the one who becomes Champion and is chosen by Zacian

Corviknight, Sylveon, Obstagoon and Toxtricity (evolved from the babby Toxel you get as a gift at the daycare) on the team

Fairy type association

He and Hop won the inaugural Galarian Star Tournament together and are the dream team everyone wants to battle but knows will be tough to beat (Hop calling them "Postwick dream team" is a canon thing, so!)

a short king

Now for personality and other random things? I'm open for so many things lol I did start out (even before I played) with the timid/soft-spoken/shy headcanon and I'm still so very fond of him being timid initially (and that's why Sobble as a starter + the Isle of Armor Kubfu are a perfect fit lol) — whether it's only when he's younger or still at the start of the game but growing confident once he gets his starter from Leon and finds he's pretty good at battling (the fact that he got it as a gift from Leon aka the Champion he admires + big bro of his best friend when Leon met him for the first time combined with Leon just being such a sweet and encouraging dude probably helped with that)

But yeah I'm open for many other headcanons/portrayals in that regard lol cool and confident? bless all the fanart. Easily flustered? sweet. On the oblivious side? heck yes. Sunshine boy? Absolutely, he is a whole sunshine boy 10000000000000%! Just give me all the positive Victor content and I'll probably soak it up happily and cry and have it fuel me lmao thank you for my life.

As for his starter, god I simply cannot decide. I picked Grookey in my game (I really wanted Sobble but joked I was obligated to pick Scorbunny because I like football and then GMax Rillaboom came and said "hi" lol) but as mentioned above I'm so fond of Victor with Sobble. But Scorbunny is also a perfect fit so I've just been rotating around for a bit between my fics (though I think I've yet to actually write him with Scorbunny???). Maybe one of these days I can make up my mind for both him and Hop which starter they choose ^^" in any case: I also live for the whole "they gift each other eggs of their starters and some of their 'mons are partners" thing so there's that (in fact it might've been easy to guess that in my world of things their Corviknight are a partners for sure)

Speaking of Hop, it's my headcanon that Victor has a crush on him pretty much since they're kids/since they first met, and is very much aware of it being a crush that just never leaves and his feelings grow stronger as they grow up. Meanwhile Hop also has a crush all along but is a bit oblivious about how to interpret his own feelings until along on the main story (Leon, meanwhile, guesses pretty easily that his little bro has a giant crush on that friend he keeps talking about all the time and lightly teases him for it, cue denial lol). So much potential for both fluff and a dash of angst... mmmm. By the post-credits story lines Hop definitely had that "Oh." moment and then is even more loud about his crush.

Based on me associating Victor with the fairy type, I have the silly little headcanon that at first he just thinks Bede is kinda funny, then it gets personal when Bede very largely contributes to Hop's mid-story crisis, and then Opal rejects him as a successor candidate only to later scout/adopt Bede in front of him. Cue him solo-ing battles against him with just his Corviknight (ok I admit this last part is also based on how it goes in my game lmao Bede is far too easy to beat... both as an opponent and if I team up with him)

Recently I've really been into the idea that Victor is asked to take over the Flying type Gym a couple of years after becoming Champion and then he's both Champion and also becomes strongest ranked Gym Leader (this is me guessing that since Gym Leaders can win the Championship, it's possible to be a parallel thing/Champions in general have a side thing they're doing rather than just being fulltime Champ, idk lol also, he totally beats Mustard's record for a reigning streak). His ace as a Gym Leader is Corviknight! (because what else would you expect from me, I adore Corviknight hahaha)

Now for "where's his family from" I am not sure if I have a "proper" headcanon yet. I've seen the headcanon that the protagonist's family is from Sinnoh and I like that hc, so I adopted that for the meet-cute drabble I wrote earlier this week but with a spin where I kinda combined it with some inspo from Elio|Selene (i.e. Dad's still working in Sinnoh/often away for work + combined with the headcanon I've seen for Elio|Selene's mom that she does have an Alolan background. unrelated sidenote, I'm really fond of the Alola protags' mom lol she's sweet). So basically like with all these other things I'm just having fun playing around with different possibilities at this point!

I'm also so very fond of flower boi Victor and it's one of my headcanons that he loves exploring and really loved the Crown Tundra adventures (and didn't mind that Sonia asked him to do all the work finding the Swords of Justice + was happy about the praise). He really enjoys tagging along with Hop and/or Sonia for fieldwork, and the two make it a habit to invite him along since they value his input and also want to make sure he gets breaks to destress from everything that comes along with being the reigning Champion, especially as the one who caught Eternatus + gained the title when he beat Leon. Especially Hop invites him along since that also doubles as more time together when they're both often busy with their career paths. Also on that note, Leon and Sonia being Victor and Hop's mentor figures just makes me so soft 🥺 the Leon being Victor's mentor doubly so with the headcanon that Leon is transmasc too (which unlike transmasc Victor I can't say is a "fixed" hc yet but I'm very fond of the idea)

(also, while I'm now all on the "Victor is a total career Champ/Gym Leader and thriving" train at this point, I still live for the type of angst where he gets a little bit of selfdoubt crisis — in the early years somewhat more subtle and like a case of stagefright like in my drabble "Believe", then a bit more into the future it's like "oh god what do I even do when I inevitably lose the Championship, can I even continue as a Gym Leader if I lose my title, this is kind of all I have going for me what do I do" but he gets through it since he has such a supportive network of loved ones and friends. Also another tangent here, I also love the idea of Victor as a (part-time) model so lol he definitely has a lot more than just a fulltime battle career)

He likes hanging out in Spikemuth with Marnie, Piers, and Team Yell, and especially Obstagoon and Toxtricity really have fun when they do. On a related note, I like the idea that Team Yell kind of become Victor stans too because Marnie thinks highly of him, so they cheer for him together with her (whenever she's not the one battling him in a match, obviously lol)

I've already rambled so much about various aspects I could think of ahaha so now since I've already talked about Hop + this is a trainshipping zone, I'll add some of my "core" headcanons for him!

is gay (or not clearly labeled but definitely likes boys. this is coming from someone who's very "???" about labels re: my own orientation but definitely is a boy-liker lol so please excuse the bit of vaguess here despite listing it in my core hcs hahaha)

chosen by Zamazenta (easy to guess when Vic is chosen by Zacian)

he's so supportive of Victor's transition, regardless of whether or not Leon is also trans, but it's a bonus when he already grew up with a trans big bro and then his best friend/crush is trans too and that's his two most favourite people in the world so of course he'll do anything to be supportive

fighting type association

he grows tall like Leon

He'd often ramble to Victor about what he's studying and Victor is always happy to listen and loves when he's so excited, so it basically turns into Victor helping him study. Also, they both make sure the other gets enough rest and destresses, already through their teens but especially when they're both grown up and Victor is still Champion (+ a Gym Leader) while Hop is now a fully fledged Professor. Even way into the future it remains a Thing that Hop excitedly rambles about his research or rants when he's stuck on something, and Victor is happy to listen and try to help him get unstuck (and Hop gives him a big smooch in thanks even if all Vic did was just listen and ask questions to hear more).

Most random thing but I so love the idea of either (or both) of them having freckles and same for glasses... bless all the fanarts with glasses for either of them. And while I also love fanart of Prof Hop wearing a more formal look, it's my wholehearted believe that he'll still wear the signature trackies look just with a labcoat now (and — you guessed it — Vic hogs his jackets. Nevermind that he has all the hoodies and fancy jackets and everything, the boyfriend jacket is so much comfier than anything else).

And I'm going to end this looooong ramble to mention that I've been developing fankids for them too! I already talked about them over on twitter and I'll probably talk about them here eventually too haha

Thank you so much for sending this ask, I was "!!!" when I saw it last night and couldn't help myself from rambling on forever lol. I kept the focus exclusively on Victor featuring Hop & them as a couple since they're my main focus so I have a lot more concrete thoughts about them than for any of the other characters (or ships bc I don't quite actively have side ships). But maybe I'll talk a little about others at another opportunity haha.

[gunpointpokereviews]

Sprigatito

Hyahhh, what horrors will you...! Huh? This thing is adorable! You guys really didn't have to hold me at gunpoint to make me review this guy/gal/vegetable. In fact, why don't you just untie me so that I can... no? Alright. Where do I start:

Sprigatito! Lovely name. I think its origins are pretty straightforward, it's a small cat with small leaves. Its facial markings even look like leaves, but knowing what I know about its later evolutions, I can see them for what they truly are: the beginnings of a marvelous sort of facialwear.

Its animations are about what you would expect from a relatively frill-less kitty cat like itself, characteristically sweet and inspiring many loud and obnoxious AWWs from myself as I watch them. I may not be a cat person, but I'm also not a callous beefcake who holds people hostage, and so I can appreciate them very well.

I'm enjoying this too much for my situation? Drat. It must have been Sprigatito's soothing scent--supposedly it smells rather nice. I'm thinking something like a cool mint, sharply fresh and distracting. Do they make Sprigatito leaf-flavored toothpaste? Sprigatito leaf-flavored... altoids? Chewing gum? There are so many possibilities, dear captors, if only you had a few with you now, you could demonstrate their efficacy for me personally! WOAH, not so close! *mutters* with your breath, I don't even care about the gun at this point...

Upon its reveal, a combination of its cheerful pink-colored eyes and its other features lead to many exciting and imaginative comparisons that surprised everyone. But in any case, a pink and green color scheme is essentially impossible to screw up, and Sprigatito is no exception, especially when all of its colors (well, all of its three colors) are so vibrant.

Floragato

I want to be a yoyo man, I cry, make me a yoyo man!

Floragato doesn't seem to hear me, but let's see. Hmm... nope, I am still a clumsy woman who can't do anything cool with a yoyo, such as unexpectedly fighting off nonspecific swarms of burly thugs who have me captured with what appeared to them to be merely a children's toy... Maybe next time. Floragato has no such limitations, however.

Sprigatito has evolved, and now walks alongside the trainer on its two hind legs! This might bother some people, but I don't mind it. Personally, I find walking on two legs to be a very beneficial undertaking in day to day life, as it frees up my hands to do important things, like practicing yoyo skills. That's just me, though; Zacian gets along fine with its mouth-wielding.

Again, Floragato's name is straightforward enough. It is still a leafy cat, but it's older now, and carries with it a little flower bud. Aww. Of course, in a classical cat fashion (Do you remember Torracat's "bell" and Incineroar's "belt buckle"? The mind games never end), the bud which appeared to be nothing but a charming decorative pin at first glance actually can extend out on a vine and functions as its favored mode of attack.

This is pretty original, isn't it? I freaked out when I first saw it. My god. Yoyos. Next thing you know, there'll be Pokémon with coins or surfboards, or even spoons. (Nah, that last one is too ridiculous.) Yo-ing requires a lot of skill and dexterity, making it a very flashy art form and perfect for an evolution line themed around showmanship. Also, on a cat Pokémon, it brings to mind the image of a cat playing with a ball of yarn or a cat wand. I'm not sure if that factored into the design, but I do like it.

Meowscarada

As pretty as Meganium, as cool as Decidueye, and as tricky as... hmm, Greninja? And also, as cool as Greninja? Is Greninja cool? Its tongue is... *Hank Meatloaf, one of my most terrifying captors, growls or possibly laughs* anyway, it's MEOWSCARADA!

Its shawl/scarf/poncho thing has grown out into a magnificent dual masquerade/magician's cape that refracts light around Meowscarada to aid it in its increasingly extravagant sleights of hand, and also looks a bit like a fleur-de-lis. Meanwhile now-hidden vine's flower bud has also apparently opened, but all that's normally visible is four sepals with nothing at all in between. This changes in battle, blooming into an explosive six-petaled flower that looks suspiciously like a young pomegranate.

In fact, I rather suspect that it actually is based on a pomegranate and its flower, particularly with the historical importance of pomegranate iconography in particular regions of Spain, such as the aptly-named province of Granada in Andalusia, and the fact that Meowscarada uses the flower as a bomb. Did you know the word for grenades in many languages comes from the word for pomegranate? I bet you did, huh. *I pat Bloody Kate's beefy arm knowingly and am rewarded with a riveting punch to my solar plexus*

Now why would a pomegranate grow on a vine? Well, here's my conspiracy theory about the vine. Meowscarada's paws look suspiciously like beans. I don't mean like, cat toe beans. But like, actual beans. Their claws, which I have never seen protract, look exactly like the germ of a bean. There's no way they didn't think about this, come on, you should just beanlieve me on this one.

Regardless of what flower it actually is, the same one blooms around Meowscarada's neck in the manner of a collar. Cats wear collars, of course, but I think this is more of a traditional ruff. Its mask is potentially a part of its fur; Floragato's dex entry mentions that its fur can stiffen up into a very hard and tough consistency, and so so far as evolution is concerned, this feels like a logical continuation. Who can say, though.

Between the diamonds printed on its mask, its diamond shaped flower (the idle version, I mean), and the many acute angles across the rest of its body, diamonds are important to its design in some capacity. I'm inclined to think its a reference to harlequin print, as Meowscarada itself seems to take a general influence from the harlequin character, but along with its refractive cape it could be something crystalline as well. Maybe if we get something like Terastrallized forms in the DLC, that could end up featuring a bit more prominently.

It's really very impressive how much they integrated all of its fancy faux "clothes" with its nature and gameplay, isn't it? Well, that's Pokémon for you. *starts thinking about Greninja's tongue again*

The official Pokémon website justifies its overall flashiness by saying that it, along with Floragato, is a very needy Pokémon that loves attention, and grows lonely and jealous easily. That's such a perfect explanation for why it would develop such a showy demeanor, though it is a little sad. But really, if you can give it the attention it wants, who doesn't love a velcro cat? All the more cuddles.

Wrapping up!

Unless my zooarchaeological knowledge of real-life Iberia is severely lacking (*pushes up glasses but then devolves into a coughing fit*), all members of this evolutionary line don't appear to be based on any sort of extinct fauna, which means that the rough-and-ready theory that grass starters are based off of extinct animals can at last be discard... no, adapted! The Iberian lynx, which Meowscarada seems to take a spiritual inspiration from, is endangered. Therefore, it is very nearly extinct (nevermind the ongoing and relatively successful conservation efforts for the species, this ain't about them). Dearest captors, you needn't throw out that dollhouse-scale child's boot just yet. If you managed to shove it on poor Grookey, Rowlet, Chespin, Snivy, and that Sinnoh twig turtle whose name escapes me, no doubt you shall continue to be able to do so for the rest of time. Huh? No, I'm not being a smartass! Aaaghh no I'll behave I swear just back off with the peashooter I'm [muffled] [indecipherable]

But all in all, the Sprigatito line is cute, complex and interesting, and visually quite stunning. The sundry themes and influences you might expect to be a little discordant come together just perfectly for my tastes. It purrforms its duty as the primeowry starter and face of the beautiful Paldenya region very nicely, and it's basically everything I could ask for from a cat made of salad. I'm looking forward to finally having one myself. Have you seen how Meowscarada run??

For my special personal rating, I give it a Mari-approval mark: GOLD EDITION. This is a real thing now, I'm totally sticking by it. Unless you threaten me some more about it.

[epicspheal]

To be fair, Kiraidon and Miraidon are very different from usual box legendary. They aren't gods or forces of nature. They're just pokemon brought from the distant past/future. They're the equivalent of a Flinstones dinosaur and Goddard from Jimmy Neutron.

Hi there l-egionaire! You're right, Koraidon and Miraidon are very different box legendaries. I'd argue while they're not gods they are still very potent forces of natures. Koraidon's Scarlet Pokedex Entry: This seems to be the Winged King mentioned in an old expedition journal. It was said to have split the land with its bare fists. Miraidon's Violet Pokedex Entry: This seems to be the Iron Serpent mentioned in an old book. The Iron Serpent is said to have turned the land to ash with its lightning. So they're on par with legendaries like Moltres/Zapdos/Articuno or Entei/Suicune/Raikou and to be fair Suicune was a box legendary so they aren't really the first box legendaries to be just mildly powerful. My mixed feelings about them aren't about power but more so their integration into the story. Something Gamefreak has been doing actually since gen 5 with the Victini event is making legendaries/mythicals a little more accessible plotwise during the main game with gen 7 bringing it to the box legendaries as well. I've been replaying a lot of these games as I've begun working on cactusverse plots, so the whole "how to best handle legendaries" has been on my mind a lot On the one hand, I appreciate them branching out from the "evil team controls X legendary and you must free it" trope to experimenting with you forming a bond with it prior to having the legendary under full control. It definitely adds for more interesting stories overall. The Way Home storyline wouldn't have worked if you were just meeting Koraidon/Miraidon then But on the other hand, there haven't been too many "bond with legendaries" plots that have really moved me to really care about the legendary. I think the closest was Calyrex's story which I appreciated continuing the whole "actually Galarians are crappy historians" bit we saw from Zacian/Zamazenta/Eternatus. Nebby's story would've been perfect if they had of NOT let us catch Nebby but given it to Lillie instead when she was the one who saved it and took care of it the whole story. Especially when it's revealed that you'd be getting your own Cosmog anyways. For Miraidon/Koraidon I think for me since they spend the majority of your story being your mounts it's easy to not get attached to them if you don't decide to make sandwiches outside of the Path of Legends story. And as someone who did make plenty of sandwiches while travelling, I still wasn't as drawn to them as I would've liked. I think some more scenes with them would've helped personally

[a-tale-of-legends]

@deerdeardarling interaction between Naomi and CZV Hop.

CZV! Hop: So your dad was a Chosen?

Naomi: Yep! I feel like he would have done amazing things if we was still with us.

CZV Hop, assuming Soul died when doing Chosen work: ....if. If you don't mind me asking...what...or who....lead to his....you know.

Naomi: ...well. If I had to point the blame, it would be those royal weirdos.

CZV Hop grimacing: Of course-

Naomi: I mean i wouldn't have lost him if they just gotten Cursed....though I guess I wouldn't wish that on them, no matter how I feel about them.

CZV Hop: ...what-

Naomi: But really, what did them in was Zacian Choosing him, but accidentally Cursing him as well.

CZV Hop: Uh-

Naomi: Being Chosen and Cursed clashed really badly together, so he got really sick and passed away.

CZV Hop: I-

Naomi: In fact, said Chosen-Curse was put on me! Mom was worried I would get sick and die too, but it all worked out :D

CZV Hop:

( realistically, I don't think Naomi would be this casual with her father's death and the fact that she could have gone out the same way as her father, but the idea of giving CVZ Hop whiplash was semi funny to me lol)

[harvey-from-galarvey]

If you would like: 5, 14? - @honeybushlab

Thank you very much, Professor!

5 - Thoughts on the legendaries of your home region? In a way, I’m a little bit jealous that some other regions get to have so many; but then again, Zacian and Zamazenta are so simultaneously cute and cool, and from what little I’ve seen of Calyrex, they seem so charming and graceful. Kind of a funny story-- when I first learned about Calyrex, I think I must have misinterpreted the diagram somehow, because I thought they had four legs, and their body as we know it was just the view from directly in front. Perhaps I was mixing them up with their mount..!

14 - Weirdest recent local news story? Well, I suppose I could mention that incident in Stow-on-Side where the now-Gym Leader of Ballonlea demolished an ancient mural, but that was a good couple of years ago, now, so... low-hanging fruit, and not even all that recent anymore..! The only other thing that comes to mind is the ongoing legislative battle about whether or not the Tinkatink line can be brought into the region, because of the tendency, among Tinkaton, to bully the Pokémon that just so happens to be the backbone of our public transport system..!

[souls-festival]

As you notice every one else in a rush.. You see Venus at the entrance of the festival, pacing around anxiously as she bites her lip..

"Oh, where are they... They should have been here by now.."

Miriam, who was only a couple of a feet away, noticed Venus strange behavior and went over to Venus, to see what was the matter.

"Hey Venus- Are you alright? You look kind of nervous.."

"NO! No, I'm not alright Miriam.. I don't know where Ozzie and Moth are... They should have been here by now! What if they changed their minds last minute?!"

"Hey hey calm down.. It'll be alright I-"

Suddenly a heavy mist appears low to the ground, near the entrance of the festival... Venus Gasps and races again to find a microphone.. She finds one and immediately begins to speak into it..

"Ladies and Gentlemen- Pokémon and people of all ages- May I introduce to you, the Lord and Lady of SOULS! Lord Osmodeous- And Lady Moth!"

As Venus said those final words.. A dark shadow void first appeared, and out slowly arose a strange looking fusion of the sort... It appeared to be a legendary crossbreed between sogaleo, xerneus, and zacian... Though, what appeared next was even more shocking.. Once the Lord of Souls had fully appeared, a tornado of total ddarkness had come out of thin air, and made contact with the ground.. Then the tornado spat out an odd Eevee Farigraf fusion of the sort of the top.

"Haply Halloween, all you ghouls and gremlins!" The Eevee hollars, as she lands on the ground. Her smile as sinister as she appears.

Venus then spoke into the microphone once again.

"And with the Lord and Lady of Souls to have appeared- The Souls Festival shall now officially commence!"

Ask Hints soon to come- And Osmodeous & Moth are available for asks!

[the-house-of-legends]

Carol: Honestly? I didn't really care for fairy types until very recently. For a multitude of reasons. I raised some of my own, for one. Sugar and Keychain! They pretty much made me warm up to the type more. Then I got dragged into Ms. Opal's fairy training - though I think she just had me there to make sure I was doing okay. Or not. No one knows the elusive mind of Ms. Opal~

Being around Bede and traveling around Glimwood Tangle a lot helps too. I didn't really realize how tricky fairy types are- something I very much appreciate ~. I don't have a lot of fairy types personally, just the two I mentioned before, but I love em lots! Nomi has several of her own, one being freaking Zacian, her legendary.

So....yeah! Fairy types are pretty cool.

[steel--fairy]

thinking about how many characters in my verse have legendary connections (not necessarily catching but if theyre important to the characters story. like. friendship ig haha) and who has the most

ironically, its only the girls in kanto who have the connections despite the boys technically being better battlers. 1 each with violet and mew and green/leaf and zapdos/articuno. i suppose there is red who tried to catch mewtwo but he did not succeed and also the girls were there too anyways.

daphne probably has the most at 3 with plots related to lugia, celebi and suicune lol. (actually, all the beasts really but suicine specifically) silver has one with ho oh, and kris and eusine both chase after suicune. sparrow is also tied to the ho oh-lugia plot.

ivy has 2, latias and rayquaza. brendan has latios. rayquaza is also shared by wallace and zinnia (both of whom... are maybe actually the people who top this list? lol the tldr is in my lore theyre both meant to keep watch over the places the hoenn legendaries regularly haunt as part of their duties. but they dont really interact with the legendaries proper so its a bit of a yes/no thing ig)

chryssa's at 1 with either cresselia/darkrai (havent decided yet). several other characters are also at 1 in sinnoh (palmer, buck, dahlia)(tho i might change the plot i had in mind for this)

ieva, n, and ghetsis are all at 1 with their parts of the original dragon and that might be it for both unova arcs? sorry i think unova has the worst set of legendaries none of them are memorable besides the box legendaries and victini

in kalos theres carmella with diancie and trevor with zygarde for 1, then olympia with 2 (xerneas and yveltal)(shes in a boat similar to wallace and zinnia above)

lillie, kiana, and hau basically all share custody of nebby while gladion has silvally and the other 2 type nulls. so 1 for the kiddos and 3 for gladion...? or would it be 1 since theyre all the same species?

lili and hop respectively get zacian and zamazenta and hop also catches eternatus but i have no idea what happens with eternatus after that. and mustard with urshifu. (on that note daphne also gets an urshifu when her stories done so i guess thats 4 for her lol) have not decided how the thing with calyrex goes, but both lili and bede are there in my mind so.

hisui is odd. id give 1 for adaman and irida each as they both have that connection to almighty sinnoh, 1 for volo with giratina, then 1 for cogita and enamorus. then idek with jess lmao she catches (or just interacts with) every legendary and mythical at least briefly but doesnt have a strong connection with them beyond arceus. so i guess she's also 1.

then unnamed paldea oc ofc has koraidon. for now.

so daphne is the winner! i am not surprised. she is my ProtagonistTM protag lol

[team-pokefriends]

(@askappos) Candy@Catherine "You save world, blrr?" the Lickitales asked, tilting their head. Then they waved their tail in excitement. "I want to hear about world saving!"

[Catherine feels a little worried about the explanation. She hesitates to answer at first.

Sophie nudges Catherine's arm with her elbow.]

[Catherine, nervous] "O-oh. I'm sorry."

[Catherine pauses to collect herself.]

[Catherine, nervous] "Okay. Um..."

[Catherine takes a deep breath and grabs her bow with her right hand.]

[Catherine, nervous] "It's a little long. I hope you don't mind."

[Catherine takes another deep breath.]

[Catherine] "So... There was this Pokémon called Eternatus... and... It had this power. There were these purple areas appearing all over the world, and we called them "Malice Zones"... and if you stepped in one, you would turn into a ravaging monster."

[Catherine pauses.]

[Catherine] "And... these bows... they made anyone who wore them immune to the effects, but they also had another effect. If we defeat anyone who was affected, we take the corrupted energy the zones put in them and store them in the bows as this pure energy."

[Catherine takes another breath after explaining for a bit.]

[Catherine] "The bows also could locate Eternatus's hiding spot, but it required a lot of energy... and the only way to get a lot of energy was by destroying the hearts the Malice Zones had... and that was really difficult to do by myself, because I had the only bow left remaining in the world at the time.

And after I had enough energy and located Eternatus, I was greeted by these two heroes that stopped Eternatus a few hundred years ago. Zacian and Zamazenta."

[Catherine pauses to take another breath.]

[Catherine] "But when Zacian and Zamazenta came, they weren't at their full strength. That's where the rest of the energy these bows stored up became of use. The two heroes absorbed the rest of the energy I had and powered up into their Crowned forms.

After that, we climbed the tower and fought Eternatus together..."

[Catherine takes her hand off her bow and grabs her arm.]

[Catherine, nervous] "It was... scary. Back then, the heroes had an entire team of Pokémon that helped them fight Eternatus, but I was by myself that fight... and not only that, just like back then, I had to fight Eternatus at his strongest, which we called 'Eternamalice'."

[Catherine pauses and takes a few more breaths.]

[Catherine, nervous] "After that, we went around the world to explain to everyone what happened, because no one knew anything about what happened all those years ago."

[Sophie points a hand in Catherine's direction.]

[Sophie] "Yeah. Cath's pretty much a hero."

[Catherine, nervous] "I... well... By definition, I am."

[Sophie puts her hand down and looks up at Catherine's face.]

[Sophie] "Are you still letting those skeptics get to you?"

[Catherine shakes her hands in an X shape.]

[Catherine. nervous] "N-no!"

[Catherine then puts her right hand back on her bow.]

[Catherine, nervous] "I-I mean, I'm doing my best not to... But I keep seeing and hearing more and more of them. I don't want anything bad to start because of it."

[Sophie puts an hand on Catherine's shoulder.]

[Sophie] "Ah, don't worry about them. Just think about everyone you helped, and don't forget about the kinds of Pokémon that we can now see walking the streets because of you."

[Catherine pauses to think about what Sophie said. After a few seconds, she looks at Sophie and gives her a small smile.]

[Catherine] "Thank you."

[@askappos]

[Ask Hints and Setting have been updated.]

[nayl0rdoesstuff]

Pokemon Sword Nuzlocke Part 1.

This is the beginning of my first (documented) Pokémon Sword Nuzlocke. I have nothing better to do and am extremely bored. So why not?

The rules are simple.

1. Pokémon faints = Dead forever, no longer able to use it.

2. Battles are on 'Switch' mod to help make it easier.

3. Only catch the first Pokémon per route/area. If you fail to catch it, i.e. no Pokéballs, or accidental kill, you are not allowed to get another encounter.

4. Dupes. I am playing with dupes clause, so no Pokémon from the same evolutionary line. Different Pokémon from split evolutions don't count.

5. Items are allowed in battle.

And with that, let the games begin!

_________________________________

I start up the game and go through the usual motions to get my starter. Naming myself, selecting what I'll look like beforehand I change it, putting the text to fast mode, the general stuff.

After a very long opening cutscene, I'm off to meet Leon and finally get my starter.

I choose Scorbunny, name him Flint after the Sinnoh Elite Four, and the next day bash in Hop's Wooloo and Grookey.

After that whole thing, we have to run into some spooky woods to rescue a different Wooloo.

Anyway, nothing really exciting happens until we get to the end where *SPOILERS, YES I HAVE TO PUT THIS HERE-* an illusion of Zacian is.

I think we pass out from the shock cause we wake up to Leon lecturing us about going here.

So we leave the creepy place, and cam finally set off on our journey after telling my mom we're leaving. On to the first encounter!

I find and catch a Skwovet I name Barry, after one of my favorite rivals (you can judge me if you want-).

A quick style change and berry spending trip later, I catch my next encounter, a Blipbug named Einstein

There's a lot of trainers after this so I'll just skip that and move on to the second Hop fight.

Flint and Barry proceed to obliterate his team.

Lot of story happens but the gist of it is me and Hop get Wishing Stars and Prof Magnolia makes them into Dynamax bands.

We set off to the train station the next morning, Hop gives me a Swift TM, we get stopped by our moms who give us camping equipment and we finally get to go.

More story happens but don't ask for details, I really wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, I caught a Manny the Swinub (Rolling Hills), Sora the Vulpix (West Lake Axewell), Orville the Wingull (East Lake Axewell), Belladonna the Stunky (North Lake Axewell) and Glacier the Snorunt (Dappled Grove).

Also Einstein evolved, which is cool.

Finally, I got to Motostoke where I finally completed my look, wandered around a bit looking for items and got my number for my challenger outfit, I always pick 11 because it's my lucky number.

Some stuff happens and I beat some Team Skull grunts in a few battles.

Now it's actually time for the opening ceremony and man is that a long cutscene. I don't mind though cause that means I can just sit back and listen to my Reddit scary stories video.

I also got the Corviknight taxi service thingy with is cool.

I end up battling Hop for the third time, cause Kilnk named Klanker on Route 3 and made my way past the trainers all the way to Galar mine No. 1.

The only interesting thing that happened there was the Bede fight, besides catching the newest Pokémon in there, a Rolycoly I named Fossil Fuel.

The trainers on Route 4 were pretty easy and I got a pretty cool encounter of a Cutiefly.

The first gym was pretty easy, as expected and that opened the opportunity to acquire up to 2 new encounters before the next one.

Everything was going well, until I came to the realization that I don't have a Pokémon that can super-effectively hit any of Nessa's Pokémon as of recently.

I also realized I had two Pokémon that were weaks to Nessa's water types, so for now I have to box Flint and Manny. That leaves two spots open.

I did some research and apparently her Drednaw doesn't actually have any rock moves, so I'll possibly be able to keep Einstein in the equation.

The main threat is not knowing with water move she's going to go for, so I'll have to put something out that completely resists water attacks.

Good thing I have Orville.

I'm nervous, but in Flint and Manny's place I put Glacier the Snorunt and Sora the Vulpix to take their places for now.

If push comes to shove, I can sack them while healing the others.

Here goes nothing.

My plan is to lead with Einstein, the who is the best at taking special attacks, even better than Barry is. The reasoning is that her Goldeen has a really good water type attack in Water Pulse. By getting a Pokémon good at taking special attacks, I lessen the chances of any other Pokémon dying.

My next move is to use Barry for her Arrokuda, since that only has physical moves and physical defense is Barry's forte.

Lastly, I'll put out Orville, where the bird should be able to handle Nessa's Drednaw. Hopefully.

Well, things did go well at first. Einstein and Barry were abe to handle her first two Pokémon with ease.

And then came the Drednaw. I sent to Orvas planned and immediately realized my mistake. I didn't have a single move that could do very effective damage on this monster.

So guess what I do?? I use max geyser on it. Fine right? Neutral effectiveness and all that. Wrong.

I accidentally boosted it's water moves.

It nearly one-shots Orville and I hav to do some quick thinking took keep him alive. A max guard + super potion are able to stall the monster out of it's Dynamax. I quickly swap into Sora, making her take the incoming water attack before switching to Belladonna.

I thought I couldn't at least get a Screech off to lower its defense before needing to switch out.

But... the Drednaw out sped her and one-shot Belladonna. First (actual) death, to some stupid circumstances I forgot to account for.

I have to keep going though, the fight's not over yet. Luckily, there was a silver lining.

Aftermath, Belladonna's ability.

I struggled against the Drednaw who, despite it not being Dynamaxed nor rain boosted anymore, was still a scary enemy. My first decision was bringing Einstein out to set up light screen to lessee damage output and whittle it down and pray to not get Bite crit.

After awhile pf back and forth I finally get it where I want it, switch to Barry and Body Slam that dumb turtle, securing me the second badge.

It was hard, and definitely not without consequences, but I'm glad that's over.

Part 1/?

[faesandfaunas]

“It’s very rare that you reach out to me first,” Xerneas spoke as he walked into Zacian’s room. “But I wondered if you might, you looked like you had more to say before.”

Zacian grumbles as he shifts uncomfortably, avoiding Xerneas’ questioning gaze. “I do, but I’m not getting into all of it today. Just one thing.”

“Oh?” He tilts his head curiously. “What is it?”

“I... need to know how to imbue things with fae aura.”

Xerneas seemed surprised, but before he could say anything, Zacian continued. “I’ve only ever used fairy aura for the sake of travel or combat, it makes sense that it can be put into objects but I-- I’ve never had to do that before. Zamazenta never visited the realm with me so much beforehand.”

Xerneas nods in understanding, but still doesn’t say anything yet, leading to Zacian continuing further. 

“If he’s going to be a part of this now then I need to be able to do this,” he adds while sounding vaguely panicked. “I can’t just-- I can’t allow someone else to use their own for this. I wouldn’t be able to get over that, so it has to be me. So for this one thing, I want your help, and don’t try to make it about anything else other than that. Are we clear?”

“We are.” He answers without hesitation, no judgement on his face. Zacian hesitated for a moment as though he expected this to go over much worse, but the outcome he expected never arrives, Xerneas was instead just waiting patiently while Zacian reframed the situation in his mind.

“Right-- good.” He coughs, before bringing out his gift to Zama from his pocket. “This is... for his birthday so, I need to be able to do this fast. Can you help me then?”

“Of course. This won’t be that bad I promise,” Xerneas replied with a smile. “You’ll be able to do this and it’ll be no big deal for you after.”

“Don’t-- promise something like that. You don’t know that, so just... let’s get this over with, alright?”

“Alright, alright...”

[darling-bleu]

__________________________________

This is one of my starting pieces and I need to express this. I played Pokémon Shield and sped ran it in a couple of days. Hop is one of the best characters ever, I kid you not! To clarify, you are the champion and Hop is still a learning Professor! This takes place to an appropriate amount of years, and I've been going through trying to find proper ages, but there is none, so I kept it vague. Let's say they are 19-20 ish.

Warnings:

None. Maybe terrible formatting.

Word count:

1,151

______________________________

How could you express this peace? Zamazenta rested his head upon your lap, the spots of light falling quietly onto you as you sat on stone. The red pokémon was content in of itself, your hand running along it's rich fur. But you weren't occupied with the legendary beast that protected the world, but rather, the male who stood before you and the ruin, Zacian beside him.

He glimmered in the shade somehow, he and the wolf practicing a battle and receiving treats and affection. His indigo hair had grown longer, but you knew he preferred to keep it short, his amber eyes dedicated to his companion and vice versa. The corners of your lip twinged, and Zamazenta huffed, sneaking a glance at you through sleepy eyes. The Slumbering Weald was calm, and as you gazed up in a trance, you hadn't noticed that he had called out to you. Rather, you reflected on the moments that took years to be here now, the adventure to find a deathly curious Wooloo, finding the shield and the sword, and finally, taming the legendary creatures and having a final battle.

"Mate, are you alright? Got wool in your ears?" He asked, and you seemed to point your focus to him. Hop. His tanned skin shining in the light that slipped through the leaves, and more importantly, a hand waving out in front of you. You paused, if only a second, and smiled at him, rousing to stand much to the misfortune of your red canine companion.

"I'm fine, yeah. What's happened?" You inquired, dusting your clothing off and watching as Hop gently took you by the hand. This simple act sent Butterfrees in your stomach and you complied as he began to pull you along, following the path home and not bothering to let go. He smiled cheerily, his other hand rubbing the back of his head and shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, it's getting to be about afternoon. Usually, it would be you to remind us to head in for dinner, but I've gotten into the habit, I suppose." He stated, and seemed to drop his gaze. His face was dusted in the lightest tint of red, something you hadn't seen often. To be fair, you didn't see him much at all, with him working under Sonia. You chuckled, turning your head to look at him with the soft light. Behind you, Zacian and Zamazenta padded along quietly, seemingly guarding the two of you.

"Just like old times, huh, rival ?"

"Definitely, champion. I'd ask for a battle but I left my team at home, and Zacian is about knackered. It'll go to pot real fast."

"Oh gracious Hop, do we ever change?"

He laughed as well and you two bumped closer, his hands warm and seemed to fit yours perfectly. It was comfortably silent for a while and began to think once more. Could you say it? Could you tell him that you adored his presence everyday and that you wanted to spend your life with him? It seemed so simple but in reality, was so complex and difficult. Your legendary Pokémon bumped the back of your leg, practically reading your mind and ushering you closer to your goal. This was the right time. It had to be. You gazed at him once more and within a second, he looked back at you with a small beam. But as you were about to speak, his lips moved first and you slowed your feet to a stop.

".....Y'know, this may seem like the weirdest time right now and I'm sure Dubwool and Mudsdale are waiting but..... ah...." He seemed to struggle and flushed under your gaze. His mouth closed and gaped as he tried to find the words, the poor male unable to let the simple 3 words leave his throat. How could he just not spit them out already? You were looking at him so expectantly, your eyes bright and a mixture of concern, worry, and what almost looked like awe. This gave the young adult confidence, and Hop took a deep breath.

He reached his hand slowly to your face, brushing the stray strands of hair to it's original place. His eyes relaxed and the contagious flush spread from the skin of his fingers to the flesh of your face. He hummed and gave a gentle smile, and roused a breath from his chest.

"I.... I love you, _____. I remember sitting in that stadium, watching you and your team beat Leon that day and becoming the champion I bloody knew you could be. I remember when we had a battle with Zacian and Zamazenta. You were posed and focused, the same expression you make when you battle, and I realized.... Goodness, you're lush. Charming. Sweet. Someone I could see a future with....." He spoke clearly, calmly, watching you for any sign of discomfort. But you had none.

You were struck silent. Your heart beat, and the first thing that came from you was a smile. Your eyes seemed to burn and you blinked, feeling the air cool the warm tears dripping down your cheeks. You giggled, something that relieved Hop immensely. He wiped the tears trickling down your jaw and then he heard something electrifying. Your mouth moved to form those words, but he was lost to it's meaning.

"I love you too, Hop...... To think I was going to say it firs-"

Your sentence was cut short, because the lad had wrapped an arm around your waist, the other finding it's place lightly along the base of your skull, and pressed you to him to secure your lips to his own. So many surprises today, but this one was pleasing. Your senses were tingling, and you eased into his hold, your arms wrapping around his neck. Your lips were so soft and gentle, and you admired his hold. Meanwhile, Zacian watched uninterestedly and Zamazenta groaned lowly, pushing his nose into your hip. Safe to say, the poor pup wasn't exactly chuffed about having to wait for you two, or losing your attention.

When your lungs about came apart, you slowly broke your lips from his. You both panted quietly, opening your eyes to gaze into each other. Being the cheeky bugger, Hop pressed tender kisses to your face, raising a hearty chortle from you. Eventually, you both slowed and resolved to rest your foreheads to each other's.

Zacian had about enough. He turned to face you two, and barked loudly, startling Hop and making you jump. Hop turned his head to the dog, then the sky, which was dark and gray.

"Oh poppycock, we've got to scram! Sonia is going to chew me a new one. Let's go!" He yelped, and pulled you along quickly, rushing along without a thought just as he had years ago. You gaped and stuttered, trying to process what just happened, as you were yanked over your feet and down the path through the misty woods. Zacian and Zamazenta ran ahead, chasing each other wildly.

"H-Hop, wait! Slow down!"