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keluturtle · 2 years

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Don't Bet on It - Emmet/Grimsley (Ch 2)

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Chapter 2: Sharpedo II

“This Pokémon is known as the Bully of the Sea. Any ship entering the waters Sharpedo calls home will be attacked– no exceptions.”

-Pokédex Entry #319 Pkmn Shield

Emmet stretched out over the restaurant table, utterly content after his and Ingo’s lunch date with Elesa.

Ingo nudged him with his leg for his poor manners, but Emmet paid him little mind. Yesterday was far too stressful, but having good food and company had settled his mood swimmingly.

The best part of vacations, yup!

Elesa chuckled, pulling out her credit card to quickly settle the bill. Ingo balked and raised a hand to call back the waiter, but thought better of it once Elesa shot him a withering stare (a look that told him she knew exactly how many lunch dates he sneakily footed the bill for and don’t make me make a scene in public because I will— ) and put his hand back down, resignedly.

“Well,” Ingo cleared his throat with a subtle cough, still avoiding the daggers sent to him across the table, “I can say for certain that I’ll need to add Alolan cuisine to the rotation once we arrive back at our home station.”

Emmet nodded enthusiastically against the table, Elesa breaking her glare to smile fondly at his antics.

“You two can think about being back in Unova later. This is only day two of your vacation. You have a few weeks yet before you’re even allowed to think about that,” Elesa nodded matter-of-factly.

Emmet raised his eyes to peer at her, “How would you know? Are you an ESPer now Elesa? Will you run a psychic gym instead?”

Elesa sighed and shook her head, “Took you all of two minutes to start being difficult again, didn’t it? I was hoping for at least a half hour.”

Emmet stuck his tongue out at her, “It is why you love me. You like the challenge.”

“As much as I like a thorn in my si—”

“Enough bickering. We are in public, tourists or not. Behave,” Ingo admonished.

“Yes, yes fiiiiiiine,” Emmet groused before perking up, “It is time we head to the Battle Royal Dome anyway!”

“Oh yes! Bravo!”

-----

After arriving and registering at the Dome, Ingo and Emmet took their places to wait in the lobby, Elesa scrolling through her Xtransiever’s messages.

“Are you sure you did not wish to participate as well, Elesa?” Ingo tilted his head curiously.

“Nah, you two enjoy it,” Elesa shrugged, “Unlike you boys, I have some work to get done. My manager has been sending me details about the next shoot I have to look over.”

“A model’s work is never done,” Emmet nodded sagely.

“Something like that,” Elesa chuckled, “And I’m looking forward to Wela Volcano Park more anyway. Gotta get this homework done so we can have a blast together there instead.”

At that moment, Emmet and Ingo were called to compete, both saluting a farewell to Elesa as she waved them goodbye and good luck.

Surprisingly, it was Emmet who suggested they take on the challenge separately. They were called back at the same time but eventually moved to different arenas in the Dome to face their new competition.

Emmet’s reasoning was that he wanted to compare results with his brother… though the real underlying reasoning remained unsaid.

Emmet was still uneasy from yesterday’s events; his separation from his twin just felt odd. Uncomfortable. An itching under his skin that irked him. But, since they were in the same place, doing the same thing, maybe it would be easier? A track running parallel to their work at the Battle Subway.

With that in mind, the matches came and went by quickly for Emmet, easily making his way to challenge the famed Masked Royal. It ended with a fun battle and rewarding victory for the Subway Boss.

It turned out, that Ingo faced the same Masked Royal challenge right after him. As they reconvened in the lobby with Elesa, the masked fighter came out to congratulate them, panting slightly from his exhaustion of back-to-back intense fights with the Subway Bosses.

“It was verrrry interesting seeing all of the combinations and moves together! Lots of fun, yup!” Emmet had enthused, to which a boisterous conversation followed.

Elesa casually coughed as Ingo’s volume filter was lost to his excitement. It was cute to see them all be enthusiastic together, but not at the cost of her ears ringing.

He flustered somewhat at the reminder, clearing his throat and softening his voice to a more reasonable volume.

“It was a pleasure to battle against you! We should do it again sometime.”

The Masked Royal grinned, “Absolutely! It’s been fun to be challenged by so many strong Unovan trainers lately! I eagerly await your next challenge and the moves you will use in battle!”

After a strong handshake each goodbye he waved them farewell, returning to the ring with confident (though still exhausted) strides.

Emmet and Ingo saluted him in return before Ingo’s frown deepened somewhat.

“I was not aware there were other trainers from Unova here. Though I suppose Alola is a popular vacation spot,” Ingo hummed thoughtfully.

“Well, I certainly haven’t seen anyone I’ve recognized here. I would have remembered them from their gym challenge,” Elesa added, crossing her arms.

Emmet shrugged sharply, “Maybe he is mistaken. Maybe they were not that tough. How would he know if they were from Unova anyway?”

He glanced towards the exit to the facility as casually as he could, making stiff strides toward it, “We should get going to Wela Park if we want to make the climb before it gets too dark.”

A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

“Emmet.”

“Ingo.”

Ingo turned Emmet around in his grasp to look at him properly, “You are acting curiously, Emmet…”

“—more than usual—” Elesa chipped in playfully, Emmet sending her a quick glare.

“Is there something you are not telling us?” Ingo’s brow creased in worry over not only what Emmet might have been hiding, but that he chose to hide it from him in the first place. Had he done something to make him untrustworthy to his brother as a confidant?

Emmet regretfully made eye contact with Ingo, knowing he could not lie to his twin.

“I did… run into someone. Someone from Unova,” Emmet eventually acquiesced, “But! I did not think he was worth mentioning. He is retired and verrrry rude. Best left to himself.”

Elesa gasped a little, a hand moving to cover her mouth before murmuring, “Ghetsis…” seemingly subconsciously.

“No,” Emmet was quick to shut down that line of thinking, “It was not him.”

Ingo gazed steadily at Emmet. He believed him that it wasn’t Ghetsis. But he naturally noticed his twin’s subtle reactions— his mouth tightened minutely, his hands tensing at his sides— at the onset of the name, before relaxing again at the wrong answer.

Ingo’s mind whirred like the gears of their shared Klinklang. A strong Unovan trainer that started with the letter G. One that might not have taken the gym battle challenge against Elesa. One that, according to Emmet, was both rude and retired.

His thoughts picked up speed before he eventually settled on—

“Grimsley?”

Ingo felt more than saw Emmet flinch, though the action didn’t go unnoticed by Elesa either.

“Oh… So it was just Grimsley,” Elesa nodded, posture slumping in relief.

Emmet looked away huffily, all but confirming it.

“I mean that makes sense— he is a little rough around the edges,” Elesa thought aloud before a slight smirk wormed its way onto her face, “Like a Sharpedo, I guess he has some… Rough Skin.”

Ingo let go of Emmet to clap at the joke with an amused chuckle, while Emmet booed, flashing two thumbs way, waaaaay down.

“What was he doing here? I heard that he had resigned from the League, but…” Ingo prompted, turning back to Emmet, curiosity piqued.

“I do not know. Only that he has been on vacation here since quitting the Elite Four,” Emmet bit out sharply.

“I think early retirement might be a better word. It’s been years hasn’t it?” Elesa followed up, pressing a finger to her chin in thought.

Emmet grumbled before begrudgingly answering their curious prodding with the information he knew; about how yes, Grimsley was retired, how he enjoyed Mantine Surfing as a pastime, and most importantly how Grimsley had a greasy mullet now and they should all make fun of him for it with Emmet.

To say Ingo was surprised Grimsley left such a nasty impression with Emmet was an understatement. He and Emmet had long since been used to dealing with unruly passengers at Gear Station during the years of service… but he could not recall any individual ever making such a resoundingly negative impression that it stuck with them for more than an hour at best.

Naturally, Ingo expressed that curiosity to Emmet who simply turned his nose up in response, stating—

“Grimsley is just an underhanded sore loser.”

And

“I can’t stand cheaters.”

Cheating and being a sore loser didn’t seem to fit the image of an Elite Four member in Ingo’s mind…even a retired one.

Once more the gears whirred, his brother’s behavior new but still familiar enough to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Ohhhh…

“Emmet,” Ingo tentatively began, his brother turning to face him, “Is Grimsley perhaps… your new rival?”

If Ingo were a lesser man, he might have laughed at the jaw drop and indignant expression that immediately weaved its way onto his twin’s face.

Though the red-faced spluttering as Emmet tried to form coherent sentences to denounce such an— “False!” “False! Lies!”— accusation almost broke that resolve.

After regaining enough of his composure, Emmet finally managed to explain.

“No. Grimsley doesn’t deserve my rivalry. Ingo and I are rivals. We push each other to be better. We are verrrry excellent rivals. Grimsley is… he is just someone I have to win against no matter what. That’s it,” Emmet crossed his arms, nodding resolutely to himself.

Elesa shifted her weight to one side, awkwardly murmuring, “…That sounds like a rivalry, Em.”

Emmet stared at them blankly for a few moments, eyes shifting from Elesa to Ingo and back before finally marching out of the Dome quietly.

Ingo and Elesa glanced at each other, both frowning, before following Emmet out of the facility.

It was not a shock that Emmet had gone silent as they approached him. Emmet had been nonverbal as a kid; and, although he had made leaps and bounds of progress growing up thanks in part to his twin, he still relapsed into his nonverbal state when particularly upset or embarrassed.

And Ingo knew better than anyone that Emmet’s actions spoke louder than his words.

Signing to his brother to ask if he was alright, he received a simple nod. And then to ask if he was upset at them, which received a quick headshake.

Good. He was okay then. Just frazzled.

Because of Grimsley.

Debating back and forth silently, he came to a tentative decision, tilting his head.

“How about we go to the beach instead today? We can have our hike to Wela Park another day.”

Emmet mirrored his head tilt, curious, signing quickly.

‘Why the beach? Why not the Volcano today?’

“It is… a long trip. We have already had a long day. The beach should be more… relaxing. For all of us.”

Emmet pauses a few moments before looking at Elesa for confirmation.

After she shot a thumbs up and smiled, he finally nodded and mirrored the same.

‘Okay.’

-----

After a couple of hours of relaxing on the beach— walking up and down the shore, building an impromptu sand castle, and half-burying his brother in it— Emmet had regained his voice, though his remarks were still curt and quiet.

He was sitting next to his twin on their matching beach towels, watching Elesa try Mantine Surfing for the first time.

“She is making it look easy,” Emmet breathed, amused at the group of fans clambering to get photos of her as she rode the waves.

“Well, she does have good balance…” Ingo hummed thoughtfully, “For someone who wears high heels for such long amounts of time, it must come fairly naturally.”

Emmet chuckled before laying back on his towel, eyes slipping shut to doze off.

The edges of Ingo’s lips curled up into a small smile at the sight.

“If you are going to nap, I believe I may follow Elesa’s tracks to try Mantine Surfing.”

Emmet simply grunted in acknowledgment, the warm sun quickly soothing him to sleep.

By the time Emmet awoke again, the sun had nearly set, the tide rolling in higher.

He looked around, sleepily, scanning the horizon for Ingo or Elesa.

Oh! There Ingo was! Though that did not look like Elesa. The black hair was too short and they appeared to be wearing a white and black kimo—

Grimsley.

Brow furrowing instantly, now instantly awake, Emmet jumped into a standing position before marching over to them as fast as possible.

-----

Ingo had noticed Grimsley watching his first ever Mantine Surfing lesson. It was unclear if he was simply waiting his turn, or if he had any actual interest in Ingo’s haphazard attempts.

Their gazes met as Ingo returned to shore, the Subway Boss waving to him politely. Grimsley nodded in return and walked over, Ingo meeting him halfway.

Ingo would not lie… he was expecting the worst. He was ready to intercept the Grimsley that Emmet had described: rude and callous.

And yet he was pleasant. Almost overly so.

Putting Emmet’s opinion of the man to one side of his brain, he allowed himself the friendly conversation.

He learned Grimsley was in fact waiting his turn to surf but was intrigued that one of the Subway Bosses had actually tried the sport.

Their back and forth continued for a bit longer and Ingo came to realize something important within those minutes.

Ingo, after being in the spotlight so long, had come to understand when people were flirting with him.

But to come from someone like Grimsley… the close lean in, the abundant chuckles and quips in between Ingo’s own words…

It was all very… unexpected and unusual.

He also didn’t expect Emmet to come barging in a moment later, wedging himself obviously between the two.

“Oh hello again, Subway Boss Emmet,” Grimsley drawled in greeting.

Ingo’s eyebrow quirked upward at the title.

“Ex-Elite Four Member Grimsley.”

Ingo’s other brow raised to meet it. He opened his mouth to stop the potential altercation before it could occur but—

“There you two are!” Elesa interrupted, bounding over with barely contained energy. Her eyes were alight with the same electricity as her Pokémon’s typing as she threw her arms around them both.

“Emmet! You should definitely try Mantine Surfing— I know you can’t resist a challenge and you should have seen Ingo! He— oh!”

Elesa cut herself short, eyes landing on the unexpected addition of their trio.

An easy smile lit up her face.

“So you are here, Grimsley.”

“Was I expected?” Grimsley smirked, crossing his arms casually.

Elesa shrugged, buzzing energy shifting her stance from toe to toe, “Emmet had told us you recommended Mantine Surfing to him. And I couldn’t help but give it a shot. It’s a lot of fun!”

Ingo nodded in agreement, “It was an exhilarating experience! I cannot wait to try it again at a later date.”

Grimsley’s face lit up mischievously at the word date, Emmet’s eyes narrowing in response.

“Well! We should get going anyhow! There will be plenty of time to Mantine Surf again later! But we must stick to our schedule and ride the tracks to our other destinations! Goodbye! Alola!”

Emmet tried releasing himself from Elesa’s grasp to no avail, as she only pulled him in closer.

“How about we all have a battle!”

Emmet paused, staring uncomprehendingly at his best friend.

What?

She stared back at him, gaze meaningful.

“You haven’t had a double battle since you’ve been here, right? And I know those are your favorites. This would be a perfect opportunity for us to have a multi-battle together.”

Emmet continued his silent staring. Yes, it’s true all of the battles down the mountain yesterday had been single battles. Even the battles from today were still single just against three foes… but…

A light went off in his mind as he pieced together Elesa’s intentions.

Elesa already anticipated Grimsley would be on the opposite team as him. And she also knew he and Ingo were a force to be reckoned with. It was a perfect opportunity for him to let off some needed steam.

“Grimsley, would you join us for a multi-battle? It would be verrrry fun battling against you,” Emmet’s smile painted innocently on his face as he straightened up, his posture professional even without the Subway Boss uniform.

Grimsley regarded him with a calculating smile, “My pleasure,” he purred, “ After all, I think Ingo and I would make an interesting combination against you and Elesa.”

Emmet fought against the bodily urge to maim Grimsley where he stood, body frozen in his perfect posture and leaving it to Elesa to accept the challenge for him before he could think twice about it.

Calling out their first Pokémon, the two teams quickly settled into a syncing rhythm. Emmet was vaguely surprised they were both working so well together. Elesa was doing a good job as his support with her paralysis-inducing Nuzzles, scouting ahead with her Emolga’s speed to create openings for Emmet’s heavier strikes.

However, likewise, Ingo and Grimsley were also supporting each other well. Emmet knew Ingo would never throw a fight, so he cannot find it in himself to mind too much when he sees Ingo putting his all into supporting Grimsley’s sharp blows.

But that didn’t stop him from gritting his teeth through the whole match.

He and Elesa had pushed them to their last Pokémon each— Liepard and Excadrill— who were just called into battle.

Meanwhile, he still had his last two— Galvantula (who was a poor matchup) with Archeops in reserve— and Elesa’s Zebstrika, which was currently on its last legs.

Grimsley and Emmet’s eyes met and narrowed at each other, almost daring the other to make the first move.

A loud siren blared from their left interrupting their contest and causing them both to flinch. A deep echoing cry and the harsh sound of waves crashing from the ocean pulled their attention away from the battle completely.

Looking through the choppy waves, it wasn’t hard to miss the Wailord thrashing about near the shore. And almost as quickly, it became apparent the cause of its distress.

The Wailord had become the unfortunate target of a gang of raging Sharpedo.

The Wailord tossed more urgently in anguish, the Sharpedo ramming its large body from all sides, as the lifeguards ushered beachgoers out and away from the scene towards safety, the tidal waves growing leagues larger, crashing brutally into the shore.

#pokemon #submas #pokemon emmet #pokemon grimsley #grimsley #my fanfic #fanfic #frighttrainshipping #alter emmet

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