#me: *sees any pokemon boy with attitude problems* son? son boy? he my son boy? ;_;

[relicsongmel]

Was doing some thinking today and realized that one of the reasons I'm really drawn to Kieran is because he's a rare example of a character that's shy (and usually good-hearted) but still has some rougher edges to him.

I feel like all too often shy characters are shoved into being portrayed as either "smol bean who would never hurt anyone and just wants friends uwu" or "brooding loner who snaps at people to cover up the fact they don't actually know how to socialize" with not a lot of wiggle room in between. While I can and do enjoy characters that (arguably) fall into those respective categories, they're a bit reductive in the sense that things are very rarely that black and white in reality. Even the kindest people have a limit to what they can tolerate. They have bad days or respond poorly to events around them that cause them stress. And the same can be said in reverse as well—point being, people are multifaceted and don't always behave as predictably as we'd like to think.

And I think Kieran reflects that dichotomy perfectly. When we first meet him, he's meek, timid, and relies heavily on his more brash and forceful older sister to help him navigate social situations where he would otherwise lose out on something valuable because he's too afraid to come forward and ask for what he wants (like how she has to ask the player to battle him on his behalf). He's often quick to cower whenever she starts to get heated, but he's also not afraid to point out when he thinks she's wrong and sometimes even gets sassy with her himself. He's undeniably sweet and gentle and shows eagerness to make friends with the player, but he becomes much more curt when he notices we're lying to him about Ogerpon. The rest of the Teal Mask storyline shows him fluctuating even further—yelling at Carmine and the player for keeping secrets from him, punching things in fits of anger...then backpedaling and apologizing for the trouble he caused a few scenes later. Spreading the truth about Ogerpon to everyone in the village to help make her happy...then selfishly demanding a battle to see who's worthy of being her Trainer when she has already clearly chosen the player.

After being lied to and suffering repeated losses at our hands (including the Pokemon he's idolized all his life choosing us over him), he leans even more heavily into his bitter side during the Indigo Disk—being cold and ruthless to pretty much everyone around him, but at the end of the day it's primarily overcompensation for what he perceives as his own personal weakness (because he's still just a kid trying to be taken seriously). He's shown to drop the act on multiple occasions—most notably when he's caught off guard by our appearance at Blueberry Academy and at a few points during the Area Zero expedition. He antagonizes the player up until the moment of his defeat and tries to catch and use Terapagos in a last-ditch moment of desperation that ends up going horribly wrong, but after everything resolves he's quick to admit his mistakes and asks the player for forgiveness and if they can still be friends. After the epilogue he's mostly back to his old self, but still seems to get worked up when provoked (e.g. when he yells at Drayton for refusing to stop calling him "ex-Champ" in one of their League Club Room interactions).

And I think this varied and sometimes contradictory behavior is precisely why Kieran is such a cohesive and believable character—because it shows how even kind, well-meaning people may have a hidden darker side that can show itself under the right circumstances. How they might let their insecurities get the better of them. How a shy, timid kid might not have the experience to know how to deal with sudden feelings of frustration and/or jealousy that are far too strong to keep to himself, so he lashes out as a result. How despite all this he remains kind, sensitive and loving at his core and shows willingness to learn from his mistakes. And that is what makes him so compelling to me.

[nevermore-the-kitsune]

Pokemon Teams for Fictional Characters pt. 2

Damian Wayne

(Also, I'm not including move sets because in my headcannon Pokemon do remember all their old moves. But humans choose to only use four)

For this AU I'm having the Wayne's own the Gotham City Gym, which specializes in Dark types. Most of the cannon events still happened. Just with a few tweaks here and there. (Dick's 20, Jason's 16, Cass is 15 Tim's 15 but younger than Cass and Damian's 13 because I love AUs where there closer in age).

Anyway here we go!

First things first in the Pokemon Universe his alias wouldn't be Robin since they don't exist. Instead I think it would be Rookidee, since thats the closest Pokemon to a Robin.

His Partner Pokemon and ace would be a Gligar

Name: Goliath

Gender: Male

Why: Gligar screams Goliath (his Batdragon) plus the coloring of his evolutions matches with Dami's Robin and Batman outfits

Story: He found Goliath while climbing a mountain for his training. At the time he was four and Goliath was a hatching. Damian ended up giving him some food, seeing that the hatching was hungry.

Grateful, the Gligar followed him hoping to return the favor.

When Damian's hand got broken on that same trip, Goliath was the one to help him finish his mission and get home safely.

Talia was impressed that Damian could tame a wild Pokemon without catching it, so she allowed him to keep him as his first Pokemon.

-----

Next he would have a Meowth

Name: Alfred

Gender: Female

Why: This one has to do with its evolution. Persian are said to only be loyal to trainers it likes and that it takes a lot to get them to like you. Their also said to be prissy and uptight. This reminded me of Damian. How it took forever for him to trust his brothers and his own snobby attitude. Thus I think it fits.

Story: After coming to live with his father Damian didn't know how to act. He saw his "brothers" and father treating their Pokemon so different than how the League did. They all trained hard. But, there was something eles: warm praise for a job well done, asking for insight on a case (they had taught their bipedal pokemon sighn language) and comfort on a bad day. His father and brothers treated their Pokemon like... people

In the League Pokemon where the lowest soldier, lower than the slaves or concubines. They trained, ate then they had to and got in their ball.

He had been a little more lenient in his training with Goliath. When asked he said that he was still a baby and he had to take things slow in this stage or he might develop too much muscle mass and be unable to fly.

He had kept him out of his ball with the excuse of developing muscle mass at a proper pace.

He liked Goliath's company. The Gligar was a good companion. But on the same level as another person?

He had expressed these thoughts to Pennyworth, the only person in the house to give him a straight answer when he needed it.

Pennyworth had explained to him that some people love to hold power over others and that Pokemon where an easy target, since they couldn't communicate their emotions as clearly as people could.

"Think of Mistress Cain. She sometimes cannot communicate with words, but we know that she's intelligent. But some people see her as less than intelligent and treat her as such because of the power it gives them."

Two weeks later Damian would come across a group of teenagers attempting to shave a Meowth. The Pokemon was little more than skin and bone and crying out on pain. So, Damian broke their fingers and shaved part of their heads for good measure.

He kept the Meowth and named her after the man who taught him about the abuse of power.

---

Next, a Poochyena

Name: Titus

Gender: Male

Why: These Pokemon and their evolution are ruthless with their pray, and only obey trainers with external skill.

Story: Raven gave Damian Titus as a gift. She said that she rescued him from an underground fighting ring (where the battles are to the death). He was still to young to battle so he didn't need much rehabilitation. The other Pokemon there though...

---

Now we have a Type Null

Name: Heretic

Gender: ???

Why: This Pokemon was created in lab, and artificial designed for the purpose of fighting, just like Damian. True I could have given him Mewtwo, but that cat seems to fit Kon more.

Story: Damian's mother had spent years creating Type: Null with the purpose of being able to kill any target. As a last test she wanted to see which of her creations was suppirrior. So she sent the Type Null out to (try and) kill her son.

Damian, with the rest of his team, beat the Pokemon but couldn't kill it. He had long since vowed to wash the blood from his hands. Instead he offered his hand to it and asked it to join him.

---

Here we have the hardest to explain... Mimikyu

Name: Habibi (I hope I spelled that right)

Gender: Female

Why: Damian is complex, he wants to be accepted and loved just like Mimikyu but dosent know how. Both try to mimic others in order to get that love, Damian his father and Mimikyu Pikachu. So I see this as Damian's spirit Pokemon in a way.

Story: He didn't know why it was so hard to fit in. Gods know he tried. But... little things confused him. Like how eveyone could understand each other without words or singhing. He had no problems with that on a battlefield, but in day to day life; it felt like he was on a separate server.

Like how Todd knew at breakfast with just a look that Drake was in a bad mood and how to help. Or how Grayson could audomadicly tell what kind of day at school the rest of them had withen a few minutes. Hell even Drake could tell what grunts ment what from father! Which ment good job, Which ment I'm glade your okay, or frustration either at them or at a case (Cass didn't surprise him, she had to learn how to communicate without words and watch body language and micro expressions).

School was no better; sometimes it was to load or bright othertimes, when everyone was doing a test, it felt to quiet. But, to much or to little, Damian was always aware of every movement, every sound. It was like the very instincts that saved his life every night where turned against him.

He turned to his nearly forgotten childhood habits to distract himself from everything around him. That only led to more whisper shouting and what even he could tell where displeased glares with a grunt of "fucking tapping" or a snap of "stop!" He knew it was disrupting but it was all be could do to drown out the noise or silence.

On one particularly bad day at school; apparently during one of their tests one of his classmates had had enough of Damian's tapping and decided to make a scene.

There was some yelling from the kid. A few cries in agreement. Before the teacher had gotten hem to settle down. He had demanded that Damian look him in the eye and when he finally did told him to stop with the tapping or else he would be sent to the office, Gym Leaders son or not.

He was the last to finish that test where he normally finished first. The silence had been to load!!

After that clusterfuck Damian finally headed home. He had texted Grayson saying that he was meeting a friend somewhere to work on a project and to not pick him up. In truth he didn't want his brother reading what kind of day he had had. He needed some time to himself.

That was how he found himself in a nearby park. It was filled with plenty of sounds that didn't suffocate him and the fall leaves where soothing to his eyes. Damian had Titus out of his ball as company, knowing that the pup loved park walks.

They had been walking for an hour when they came across a box set off just on the edge of the trail. "Free to Good Homes" was written on the side in black sharpie.

No sound was coming from inside, so he assumed that the had all been taken. Until Titus went closer sniffing at the seemingly empty box.

"Pooch Pooch"

"Hmmm... what is is it boy?" He asked as he walked closer to his Pokemon and the Box. Damian hoped he was wrong. It was cruel to leave a baby Pokemon all alone, especially since the weather was getting colder by the day.

Inside the box was in fact a lone Pokemon. At first glance it looked like a Pikachu. But something was off. It looked more like a doll than a living creature. If it wasn't for the small chirps it let out and slight way that it was shivering from the cold Damian would have written it off as a toy. No wonder it got left behind...

Damian reached down and picked up the mystery Pokemon as gently as he could.

"Come on beloved, lets go home."

He tucked the Pokemon in his jacket to warm it up before reaching for his phone to call Grayson for a ride home.

That night Damian locked himself away, even skipped patrol, and spent a sleepless night learning everything he could about his newest Pokemon.

---

That was inspired by this comic

---

Finaly, for his last spot Eevee!!

Name: Omni

Gender: Female

Why: I'm going to have all the Batfam members have an Eeveelution. This branch and the Batfam are both growing consistently. We all have our favorites but we love them all the same. So I think it fits.

Story: Everyone in the family had an Eevee or one of its evolutions. Damian's Father said that Eevee was the Wayne family symbol, it was potential, the ability to become whatever you wanted.

Though it surprised Damian that the Wayne symbol wasn't a Noibat or Noivern (Batman's ace) at first he eventually understood the logic in choosing such a Pokemon to represent the family name. That only made things harder for him being the only one not having one. Did they not truly see him as family?

On the one year anniversary of Damian arriving at The Mannor, his family through a small party. Pennyworth made his favorite foods, The Mannor was decorated in tacky streamers (Graysons' idea) and they watched some of Damian's favorite fims, their Pokemon curled up with them. His father had offered to take the day off from the gym. Until Todd suggested that Damian take on the challengers.

The Gotham gym was part of his heritage. Damian had been training for the day that he could finally help weed out the weak challengers just like his siblings sometimes did (think the battles you do before challenging a gym leader in the games).

On that day, if the challengers agreed to it, their final battle wasn't with Bruce Wayne the Dark Knight but instead his son. Most accepted thinking that it would be an easy win, that they had lucked out in not having to battle one of the stongest Gym Leaders in the League and could still get the Shadow Badge.

Those poor fools.

Damian was only allowed to use Alfred, Titus and Habibi since he used Goliath and Heretic primarily as Rookidee.

Damian fought seven trainers that day in 3v3 fights. Only two of them got the badge.

With the day overwith and the night rising, so did Gothams' protecters.

The night ended with exhausted body's and adrenaline crashes. Damian was ready to slip into a mini coma from the day he had but before he could head upstairs to The Mannor...

"Not so fast baby bat." Graysons' voice called out to him. "We got one more surprise for you."

Damian raised his eyebrow at that. What else could they do? His father came back from the locker rooms where he had been desuiting, it always took him the longest because of his "old man bones" as Todd said.

"Son," his father said "its Wayne tradition to get your first Pokemon when you turn ten years old. I missed that with you." He paused, eyes briefly shifting to the floor before they snapped back on Damian's face. "Luckily there's one tradition we didn't miss. When you've lived at The Mannor for a year or the adoption papers get finalized, I give my children this..."

He pulled a Poke'ball out of his poket and handed to Damian. "Go on son, let them out."

He did

Staring at him was his own Eevee.

---

AN: All of Damian's Pokemon (sans maybe Omni, I'm thinking of leaving her as an Eevee) will eventually evolve. Eventually.

[linneac]

pokespe?

Oh man, it's been a hot minute since I've read the manga. I stopped some time in the middle of BW. So if there's anything incorrect here, I apologize. I still love the series, though. I should pick it back up again.

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Silver! He's always been my fav. He's at that sweet spot in between "a sorta chill dude who just kinda wants to live his life", "someone please get this poor guy some therapy", and "he could probably murder me in an instant and only his own moral code prevents this." He was a little angsty and cringey when he was 12, but weren't we all?

Does he even have a place to live, or is he just crashing with Gold? Wouldn't he be an adult by now? Does he have to pay taxes? Does he have a job? Or is he still, like, living in abandoned shacks and sleeping on piles of leaves? I worry about him sometimes.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Red's pikachu. This is what peak pikachu looks like.

Silver's weavile because I love how cute he is. So much personality!

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

The pokemon. A ton of focus is put on the trainers, for good reason, but the pokemon are often unsung characters. I'm super guilty of it lol

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

It's kinda hard with pokespe, and I can't say that I'm particularly obsessed with him, but I've always wondered about that one swimmer dude Red met who was a foreigner. Where was he from? What language did he speak? Was he from a now established region? Somewhere else? He is a man of many mysteries and I want the lore.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

I only put Gold here because he has high likelihood of being pathetic but only because of his own actions. I'm just saying that he strikes me as the type of person who would get himself trapped in a chimney, and while he probably had a super valid reason, he's still trapped there and the chimney has to go down to get him out. Or, like, he gets some milk. But he keeps traveling and it's been weeks and it's gone bad. Like, I feel for him, but he's the cause of his own problems. His chaotic energy brought this upon himself and honestly I relate.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

Green. I dunno. I don't have any valid reason. He just has that sorta face and attitude, you know? Like, rationally, I would never want to watch someone trip and fall. I'm not about to secretly hope it happens. But I just want to see Green land on his face. He almost reminds me of those dudes in high school who just discovered hair gel and smelled like it. I'm so sorry for this disrespect, Green. You don't deserve it. You're a good person.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Giovanni. Look, I know the series is all "love your family" and "he's a father who did everything to find his son" but also him being a career criminal is sorta kinda ruining Silver's life. My boy got kidnapped, TWICE, blinded, turned to stone, nearly died after almost drowning, had to face god, only for his own father to be like "I love you, son. Also, btw, I'm still going to be a criminal even though you've devoted yourself to stopping me lol."

It's been a while since I've read HGSS though, so hopefully I'm wrong. But if not, into superhell he goes.

[ingridgovaninsights]

Dear Diary, It’s Alfred- A Short Story

Dear Diary,

Today is a Monday… I hate Mondays. Why I hate Mondays is because I hate Mondays. I usually have difficulty explaining myself because, well, I guess I just do.

As it usually is, today was terrible. I went to school alone, endured the day alone, and walked home alone. Why am I so lonely? Maybe it’s because I’m Alfred Governor. The students at my school seem to enjoy poking fun at me, for any reason they can spot- my “gay” mannerisms; the way in which I scream too much; and even my name.

People constantly call me gay. My voice is slightly higher pitched than other boys; I delicately sweep my hair to one side; and I look good in tight clothing. They taunt me with names and threats, which is quite disturbing when I really think about it- what if I actually were gay?

If I were gay, I would be beaten. I might even be killed. That is, if what those people said is true. If they decided to stick with what they said. See, I’m not angered at being called gay. What bothers me is people’s attitudes towards homosexuality. I wonder, who raised them to act this way? I fear for other students that are gay or bisexual.

My mother, being the overprotective woman she is, has called the principal and vice principal countless times to express her concern- why isn’t the school teaching good morals? Where is the supervision in the building? Blah blah blah.

After school, I listened to my mom for about five minutes, then got tired. My attention span is terrible; her words turned into a mush that I simply drowned out. She had been nagging about the same old things, anyways. The same complaints every single phone call.

I didn’t listen much, but I thought a lot. I had gone to my room, closed the door and lay down in my bed, stressing about the whole situation. Words the kids had used struck me in the head with their brutality, despite the truth that I very well knew. Perhaps people were just bored, and had nothing better to do than ruin other people's’ lives.

Now, I sit up in my bed, writing away. As much as I want some of this to be spoken out loud, it would ruin everything. Well, never mind that, because everything is ruined already.

Tomorrow being a Tuesday, I’ll have another chance at hopefully making a friend. Then, maybe, I’ll have something grand to tell my mom at 3:30P.M. Here’s to that… I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Someone ought to approach me by now; can’t they see me waiting?

Alfred

Dear Diary,

At school today, something really unexpected happened. You know how I was telling you about all my waiting? Wanting somebody to approach me at lunch time? As doubtful as I was yesterday, it actually did happen.

The cafeteria was boisterous, each student speaking in their outdoor voices. The funny thing is, I could speak louder. Secretly, I’m a really loud person in conversation. Often, I interrupt, leaving people angry- it’s a problem I’ve always had and likely need to work on.

One trait I do have on my side is my smile- constantly, while strutting past the tables, I’d smile widely, causing a chaos of laughter from other kids. I was confused by their laughter- was my smile crooked? Did I have a big pimple on my nose? Awkwardly, I continued to glance back at the tables behind me as I took my seat by the window.

I don’t even understand why I bother sitting in the cafeteria, because the cafeteria is clearly for people with a stable social life. Not me, Alfred, slouched all alone with my tuna and cheese sandwich and a Nintendo DS.

“Nintendo is so gay,” one guy, a broad shouldered redhead, sneered. “What are you playing, Mario?”

“No,” I said matter-of-factly, “Pokemon.”

That was when the redhead’s expression changed from mocking to pure intrigue. “Wait… which one? I used to collect all the cards when I was younger.”

He sat down beside me and I showed him the game. For the rest of the lunch period we were talking, laughing, teasing each other. Dare I say we acted like friends? I found out his name is Barry, and he is the same age as me. It’s funny how we aren’t taking any of the same classes, though.

So anyways, going by my routine, I’m in my room again and I’m feeling pretty accomplished. I held in my screams while socializing (I have a bad habit of screaming too much); I didn’t interrupt as much as I would’ve thought I would; and I made sure to smile! Sometimes I feel like a social worker for myself- giving myself advice on what to do and what not to do. But hey, if it works…

I made a new friend today. Barry. Well, maybe this friendship will last- who knows? I sure hope it does, because I don’t like being lonely.

Alfred

Dear Diary,

I should have known this would happen. A week went by without any problem at all, and suddenly Barry stops hanging out with me. We had so much fun together; I had no clue what was wrong.

It’s not like he wasn’t at school- I saw him joking around with some popular kids in the foyer. Embarrassed and a bit shy, I avoided eye contact each time, never bothering to ask him what happened. As my mother would say, “You never know unless you ask”, but I wasn’t going to… no way. I must have been mistaken- it was no friendship.

For a few days I sat at the same table, hoping he would come back and say, “Kidding!” or “I was just busy, you know?”. It never happened. Like an abandoned animal awaiting its mother’s return, I kept stubbornly sitting there at lunch.

I guess it’s like the situation with my father and I. I’ve never met him, but I’ve always wanted him to be there. Maybe if he was with me, he would back me up and fight off the bullies, or spend time with me on weekends. But I have no clue where he is, and this is just like my friendships- nonexistent, hopefully someday arriving at my feet, but not likely.

I felt depressed every day, taking the Barry situation far too personally. I must have done something wrong to offend him; I replayed all of our interactions in my head. My mom told me to stop worrying so much, because “The people that matter will, and the people that don’t won’t”. I felt pressured to be inspired by that anonymous quote.

Someday, I want a friend that will hear my screams. I get that I don’t listen much, but maybe if someone listened to me I would listen back. I just want that feeling of being wanted, like a father holding his baby son. I want to be loved so much, I want to not be bullied, or at least have somebody standing beside me through it.

Has anyone ever taken my screams as a cry for help? A strange way to express it, but I couldn’t speak up any other way. I felt words far more awkward than a scream. Screams aren’t necessarily embarrassing; words can, however, humiliate you entirely.

That’s why I write in this diary. I don’t care if it “sounds gay”- that’s what they’re called. I don’t want to be someone I’m not, which is normal. Normal is boring. So I’ll keep on screaming; Barry can go be with those popular people. That’s the circle of life.

Maybe someday, when I scream, I’ll feel relief when someone screams back.

Alfred

[kirbyxdesu]

Sorry, I just realized I should probably clarify my last ask, I meant like a hxh pokemon AU! Where Gon and Killua are Pokemon trainers!

(So I apologize in advance. This took me WAY longer than expected and, again, I live in the Stone Ages of Pokemon and have literally not been into Pokemon since Pokemon 2000 was in theaters..when I was five…..so if that tells you anything about how old I am and how long it’s been, there ya go. I apologize the for shortness and how anti-climactic it is…maybe it’s cute at least? I swear I’ll do better with basically any other AU you give me!)

For some less sucky stuff,click hereeeee or hereeeeee

Gotta x Catch x Em x All

“Killua, come on! Itwent this way!” Gon whined, jogging in place impatiently as he waited for hisbest friend to catch up.

Said friend cursed under his breath as he pulled himselfover the steep ridge, covered in dirt and grime. When the twelve-year-old lefthis mansion to become a Pokémon trainer, he’d expected intense battles (withhim winning, of course), a steady climb to fame, having money for all of thechocolate and junk food he could ever want- at the very least he expectedhaving dozens, if not hundreds, of cool looking Pokémon at his fingertips.

No, he most certainly did not sign up for this. He had twelve pokeballs- twelve! You want to know how manyPokemon he currently possessed? Fiveincluding his starter. After all his hard work, that’s all he had to bring tothe table.

He felt like it hadbeen months since he and Gon left the Professor’s lab. And he felt like he’daccomplished absolutely nothing. Nothing but capture four Pokémon- And he’dstruggled even with that. Gon, on the other hand, was proving to be a natural.His current inventory? Thirteen. The thought that that idiot was actuallybetter than him was enough to cause the contents of Killua’s stomach to lurch.Blue eyes looked up at his friend in annoyance as he tried to rid his shorts ofexcess dirt.

“How do you even knowthat?”

“I just do! I sense it!” Killua looked at the boyexasperated, his jaw dropped. He’s sofull of it.

“You sense it?” Herecovered from his shock and crossed his arms, “What? Are you a Pidgeywhisperer now? Are you sure your dad’s a Pokémon Master and not Pokémon? I mean since you just know themso well…” The shorter boy’s lefteyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“I could hearthem, you dummy!”

“You can hear them?” Killua gave an incredulous laugh, “Gon,there’s literally nothing to hear! I haven’t heard a thing since you dragged meall the way out here! It’s just trees and animals and bugs!”

“It’s not my fault you suck at listening….and catchingPokémon.” Blue eyes narrowed at the smug boy in front of him.

“Take that back, you idiot! I’m a better trainer than you’llever be!”

“Uh huh. That’s why I have thirteen and you have… six, wasit?”

“Five…” Killua muttered, his cheeks turning a healthy shadeof red, much to Gon’s pleasure. “But mine are stronger than yours, so-sothere!”

“They are not!”

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“Are- wait! Listen!” The two boys, who had been yelling ineach other’s faces, froze- Gon looking off into the distance listening, Killuastaring at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“What now? You listening to your friends again? Are theyinviting you over for some- Mph!” Killua’s cheeks reddened as Gon clasped acalloused hand over his mouth, a finger to his own lips.

“Shh!”

The forest grew quiet then. There was a light breeze andKillua tried to focus, hearing leaves rustling. Beyond that, he couldn’t hearmuch of anything- and that frustrated him. Whatis Gon hearing? What is that kid even made of? What-

Then Killua heard it. He heardit. The cry of a Pidgey. He turned to face Gon, a bright grin stretched acrosshis face. Gon already had a pokeball in hand, smirking at him.

“Race ya!”

“You’re on!”

………………………………………….

“Did you see howamazing that was?”

“Yes, Killua. I saw.” Gon sat on the ground, biting back ascoff as he tossed berries in the air for his Eevee to catch.

“I mean Pikachu just shockedit! I mean your Eevee didn’t even touchthat Pidgey!” Killua grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He paced backand forth with his Pikachu on his heels.

“Uh huh. That’s nice.”

“I’m starting to think I’mthe Master here!” He laughed, squatting down to his starter, “I bet you andI could win a gym battle, huh?” He scowled, hearing his green-haired cackling.

“You’ve got to bekidding me! You’d lose in a heartbeat!” Gon wheezed, falling over on theground. “You-You suck at this!”

“Say one more thing-“

“And-And you think you’d actually win!”

“That’s it!”Killua tackled the boy onto the ground, their Pokémon jumping out of the way,watching them fight.

“Quit it, Killua! I was only joking around!”

“You quit it! You’re such an idiot if you think you’re anybetter than I am!”

“I’m just saying that Ihave more!”

“Well that doesn’t-“

“Pika-“

The two boys looked at each other in horror.

“No, no, no!”

“-chu!!!”

“Shit!”

……………………………

The two young Pokémon trainers limped through the slidingdoors of the Pokémon Center, the younger of the two cursing under his breathwhile the older was somehow beaming despite his sorry condition. The blond teensitting in the waiting room raised an eyebrow at them, giving them a slightlyconcerned look.

“Are you guys okay? Looks like you had a heck of a battle.”The boys looked up at him.

“Yep! We’re fine! Thanks for asking!” Gon grinned at him.Killua scowled at the boy next to him and jabbed his obviously broken arm withhis elbow. “A-Ah! Killua, that hurt!”

“Don’t say you’re fine, idiot!” Killua snapped at him,earning a whine. The white-haired boy turned to the blond. “We had a run inwith some trainer named Hisoka. He really packed a punch.”

“You battled Hisoka?” The blond’s eyes widened, “That guy’snothing but trouble. He kills trainers left and right and snatch their Pokémon.”

“Kills them and steals their Pokémon?” Killua tensed beforesending a menacing glare toward his friend, “Dammit, Gon! I told you he was toostrong! He could have killed us!”

“But he didn’t!” Gon gave him a cheeky smile before his armwas jabbed again, howling in pain.

“Serves you right.” He turned back to the blond, “Anyway, I’mKillua Zoldyck and this idiot’s Gon Freecss. We need to have our Pokémon lookedat.”

“My name’s Kurapika Kurta. I don’t work here, I’m justwaiting for a friend to get off work. But he’s a nurse so I’m sure he won’tmind taking a look at them for you.”

“Thanks, Kurapika! Come on, Killua! Let’s sit and wait for hisfriend!” The boy sat down in one of the chairs with so much energy that hewinced. Killua rolled his eyes but sat down next to his friend nonetheless.

“You have way too much energy for someone who just got hisass kicked.”

“Because Hisoka was really strong! And we have a new friend!” He grinned and waved at Kurapika withhis uninjured hand. Kurapika awkwardly waved back, amused by the two of them.

“You’ve gotta be-“ Killua sighed, putting his head in hishands before looking back at him, “Okay, so two problems: One, how is Hisokabeing strong a good thing? Two, we literally just met Kurapika- you can’t force him to be friends with us!”

“Awh, but Killua! Kurapika’s our friend! Right, Kurapika?”

“Um, sure, Gon. We can be-“ A taller teen walked from theback, “Leorio! Hey, these are my friends,Killua and Gon. They got roughed up in a battle and need their Pokémon lookedat.”

“Sure! Of course I can!” He walked over to the two boys. “Let’ssee what we can do.”

…………………………………………………

“Thanks so much, Leorio! We owe you one!”

“Idiot, it’s his job.”He rolled his eyes, putting his pokeballs back into his bag. “But thanks, oldman.”

“You’re welcome, kids. And I’m not that much older than youguys!”

“Uh huh, sure. You keep telling yourself that.” Killuagrinned mischievously seeing the scowl on the older teen’s face.

“Killua! Don’t be mean!” Gon whined, though any guilt thatthe white-haired boy would have feltwas trampled when he saw Kurapika laughing.

“I’m nineteen, youlittle brat.” Killua immediately stopped his cackling and he and Gon looked atLeorio in disbelief.

“Seriously?!”

“Haha very funny, you guys.” Leorio crossed his arms,scowling. “You know, I just fixed your Pokémon so you should give me somerespect.”

“Thanks-“ Gon narrowed his eyes when Killua covered hismouth quickly.

“Again, it’s your job.You can’t use that as leverage.” The doctor clenched his teeth, using everyounce of willpower to keep from punching the kid.

“Well, you’re welcomeanyway.” Before Killua had the chance to make another sarcastic comment,Kurapika cut in.

“So…um…Gon, you look familiar. Do I know you from somewherebefore?” Gon pursed his lips, tilting his head.

“I don’t think so…” Killua elbowed him- this time, the armthat wasn’t broken.

“Your dad, dummy.”

“Oh! My dad’s the Pokemon Master, Ging Freecss! Some peoplesay I look like him.” Kurapika and Leorio’s eyes widened.

“You’re GingFreess’s son? That’s so cool!” Leorio grinned, looking at the boy in amazement.

“That must be incredible having a dad like him.”

“Gon wouldn’t know. The loser ditched him.” Killua soured,as if mentioning the name Ging Freecssmade him want to vomit. Gon, however, seemed unfazed and simply shrugged.

“Being a Pokémon Master’s important! He’s just really busy!That means I’ll just have to work twice as hard to become one just like him!”Killua sighed, shaking his head. He never understood the kid’s positiveattitude towards that dead-beat. Of course, seeing the disapproving glances ofthe other two teens, he wasn’t alone.

“That’s really low. I mean the nerve of that ass-“ Kurapikacut Leorio off, earning a glare from him.

“Have you guys thought about entering a League Conference?” Gonand Killua immediately perked up, eyes lighting up with interest.

“League Conference?” Gon looked as if he was bursting at theseams.

“What’s that?” Killua was slightly more gifted with hiding hisexcitement- though not much.

“It’s a tournament between the top trainers in a region. Ifyou want a challenge, that’s where you need to be.”

“I heard a rumor that winning League Conferences willguarantee you a spot as a Pokémon Master.” Leorio pointed out, ignoring theKurta rolling his eyes.

“That’s preposterous, Leorio. No one knows how to becomeone, but it definitely isn’t as easyas winning a League Tournament. Do you know how many people have already donethat?”

“I’m just saying what I heard.” Leorio shrugged, “Maybe winall of the tournaments? That’s hard to do, right?”

“Well, yeah. It’s hard.But that doesn’t mean-”

“Forget that! How do we compete?” Killua butted in, blueeyes narrowed in impatience, hands on his hips.

“Yeah! How do we do that?” Gon jumped up and down.

“Well, you compete in gym battles and earn badges. You needeight to compete. It’s a tournament so they weed out the weaker trainers firstbefore they get to the big matches. It’s intense, though, so you need to-“

“Let’s do it, Killua!”

“Yeah! We’ll need to get some badges as quick as possible!”

“Guys, you need to be careful! You just lost to Hisoka!”Kurapika groaned, worry flashing in his eyes.

“He’s right, you need to give your Pokémon a rest!” Leoriochided. Killua waved both of them off.

“It’s fine! We’ll be fine! Come on, Gon!”

“Osu!”

…………………………………………………

“And now for the final match of the day! Gon Freecss and KilluaZoldyck!”

The crowd cheered as they had with the first twelve matches.The late afternoon, early evening air was brisk and breezy. The boys in thering weren’t bothered by the cool weather and they hardly noticed the crowed-their eyes locked with fiery determination, a smirk on Killua’s face and a grinon Gon’s.

“You’re going down, Gon.”

“Nu uh, Killua. You’re going to eat my dust!”

“Yeah, we’ll just see about that.”

………………………………………………

“Dammit!” Killualaunched his 3DS across the room, narrowly missing Gon’s head. Gon stuck histongue out.

“Sore loser much?” Gon giggled, watching his best friendfuming across from him. “Is it true that I finallyfound a video game that Killua isn’t good at?”

“It’s not my fault! This game makes no sense! There’s nostrategy!”

“Yes there is. Water types aren’t effective against-“

“Oh, water types this, normal types that. Who cares! Thestrongest Pokémon should win no matter whattype it is!”

“You used an electric type against a ground type! That’s what makes no sense! Why wouldyou do something so stupid?” Killua’s eye twitched in annoyance, launchinghimself at Gon. All the poor boy could do was struggle to escape his grasp. “Killua! Let go!”

“No! Let’s just see if an electric type is effective againstGon!”