#Pokemon fan fic

[archersxartxblog]

Warden's Twins: Wondering thoughts part one

this was just a fun idea I had in head for a bit, though I let it out here. just letting you know, I wrote this on my phone and this hasn't been spellchecked. Part of Warden's Twins AU

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Summery: a lot things have changed since Akari caught Dialga and Palkia, and it all feels like it's happening so quickly, and yet they're still not home. Emmet has some thoughts about it all, and needs some time to sort things out. But in Hisui, one should never let themselves become too distracted, not when space and time can distort on a whim. ____

He didn’t mean to wander away from his brother, but at the same time he just wanted to be alone for a little bit, just to try and get his thoughts straight.

It had been several months since the sky had turned red and Akari had caught both Dialga and Palkia, stopping the two from ripping the world apart. 

Since then, a lot had happened.

Two of the biggest being that Miss Zisu had moved in with them, and their dad telling them that they would have some new siblings joining them.

That had been a shock.

At first Emmet had been really excited.

He really liked Miss Zisu, she liked battles, she was fun to be around, and she made their dad happy, so having her around more was not a problem for him at the time. Plus, the idea of being a big brother was thrilling to think about. Most of his life Emmet had been the younger brother, despite Ingo only being a few minutes older than him, so to have actual siblings that were younger then him, who could look up to him, and depend on him; that had sounded exciting.

But as the months went on, they spent less and less time with their dad. He and Ingo were either being sent to the highlands to attend to Sneasler with one of the other Warden’s, or being sent out to spend time helping the other Warden’s with their duties.

It was starting to feel like they were being pushed away, in favor of something new.

Ingo simply shrugged it off, saying that their dad and Zisu ‘were just busy preparing for the new babies, and didn’t want to worry about them being bored’. And while that made sense, it still brought up some uncomfortable thoughts.

Like…what were they going to do when the time came to go back home? If there were new babies then what was going to happen? Would their dad just abandon them to join Ingo and Emmet back in Unova? Or would he end up staying in Hisui with the new babies and send him and his back all on their own? The new babies could always come with them to Unova, but then what about Miss Zisu? It didn’t seem fair to her to have her kids ripped away from her, or for them to have to lose their mom. But then again…it wasn’t fair for Emmet and Ingo to lose their dad either, not after finally finding him after all these years.

Maybe that was why they were being kept away from their dad. So it would be easier to let go when it was time to say goodbye to Hisui.

Then again, maybe he was over thinking things, after all there had been no sign of them even being able to go home.

Which was another thing he didn’t want to think about.

He didn’t want to stay in Hisui.

He didn’t want to be stuck here, in the past.

He wanted to go back to Unova, with his brother and his dad in tow.

He wanted to continue his journey.

Earn all eight badges.

Take on the Pokemon league.

And take on everything the Future had in store for him and his brother.

He didn’t want to stay in Hisui.

Didn’t want to stay in the past, where pokemon wanted to attack him at every turn, and the gods threw temper-tantrums.

He just wanted to go home, back to his uncle, back to his friends, and back to Unova, where things felt less confusing.

But yet, it felt like it had been over a year now and they were still here.

“I am Emmet! And I just want to go home!” he yelled, kicking a pebble in frustration as he let his emotions out, listening to it bounce off the cave’s walls as he continued deeper in.. “Is that really so much to ask for?”

As if on cue Emmet felt the hair on the back of his neck stand one end as a strange electricity surged through the air. At that moment, he felt his heart suddenly drop as he realized what this was.

Without another thought, Emmet took off at a full sprint back towards the mouth of the cave, hoping to escape the boundaries of the distortion before it was too late. 

Yet even as he ran, he could already see the ground beneath him change and distort. Grass starting to form on solid rock, puddles forming where it had been dry moments before, items from the future, some of which Emmet even recognized came from out of nowhere. Even the walls of the cave began to change, almost seeming to resemble Charge stone cave in some ways. 

His Father had warned him about this. Space-Time distortions. Small storms that happened when space and time just suddenly started to distort. They were extremely because they tended to bring with them angry and aggressive pokemon from different points in time and places. Their Father had always warned them to stay as far away from them if they could, and to run if they ever ended up getting caught in one.

“Ingo!” Emmet called out to his twin, trying desperately to find a way out of the cave as the walls around him changed and shifted. “Ingo!”

No answer. 

How did he manage to get this deep? He was sure he hadn’t been walking that long.

Was it a right or a left he took? He really should have been paying attention to where he was going.

“Ingo! Warden Gaeric!” He tried again, wishing his voice carried the same way his brother’s did.

“Elect!”

It was an answer, but not the one Emmet was looking for, as space and time bent around in front of him and allowed a very angry Electivire to step out of the Rift. Emmet skidded to a stop in front of the beast, staring up at it in fear as pokemon looked down at him like he was to blame for this.

“Elect!” The pokemon growled once more, raising its arms high over its head.

Emmet didn't wait for what came next as he quickly spun on his heel and fled deeper into the cave, and the Electivire charged after him.

He panted hard as he continued to run, pushing his little body as hard as he could, even as his engine felt like it was about to give out. 

He couldn't stop, not even to throw out a pokemon to fend off the enraged Electivire, if he did then he risked being open to an attack, or worse, another pokemon appearing behind him and joining the battle.

“Tivurrrrr!” 

Emmet felt electricity surged through the air as the pokemon behind him started to charge up an attack, and quickly ducked into a small opening in the wall; the heat of the attack just missing his cheek.

Emmet’s heart pounded in his chest as he slowly backed from the opening, his hands pressed firmly to his mouth in hopes of preventing any sound from escaping. 

The opening was just big enough that Emmet could stand if he slouched a bit. It was probably dug out by something small to hide from bigger predators. So, a big pokemon like Electivire had no way of coming in after him…but that didn't mean he was safe.

The Electivire stocked up to the opening, not fooled for a moment, as it glanced into the opening with a loud growl. Quickly Emmet backed up even further away, as a big yellow arm reached out for him, just inches away from grabbing him. 

Only for his back to hit a wall.

A Dead-end.

Emmet screamed as the now frustrated Electivire roared, as it smashed both its arms against the side of the wall in an attempt to make the opening bigger, and the air surged with electricity as the distortion continued to rage on.

He was going to die here.

He was going to die, all because he wandered away from his brother.

They might not even find his body, the distortion might just take him with him, and he'll be found dead in some random time and space.

Once more he felt the Electivire charge up another attack, and this time he had nowhere to go. And there was not enough room to even send out a pokemon.

 All he could do was close his eyes, and wait for it to happen.

“LOOK OUT!”

Suddenly, someone grabbed the back of his tunic in an oh-so familiar grip, and he was pulled backwards.

Emmet’s eyes snapped open and he watched as the walls turned from the harsh jagged and rough surface of stone to the smooth clean surface of metal, plastic and glass.

He saw the Electivire through what looked like the rift above Mt Coronet had formed in a window.

He watched as the Electivire smashed through the opening with its large body, electricity pulsing from its being as it continued towards him…

“Dragon Pulse!”

“Drrrraga!”

Only to be knocked back by a shock wave.

An alarm blared, sounding extremely loud to Emmet’s ears, before what looked like crystal shards formed over the rift, sealing it off.

“Hey, are you okay?” Someone asked him. But their voice sound so far away.

He opened his mouth to answer, only to find himself unable to speak.

His mouth was dry, and he felt like he hadn't drank anything all day.

Why was everything so blurry? 

“Hey?”

Was the ground shaking or was it just him? 

“Hey!”

He should probably answer the person trying to get his attention, they were starting to sound worried…

But first…

…he just needed…

…to…close…his…eyes…

Just…for…a…moment…

“No! Don't pass out!”

—

[stuckinthewrongworld]

I haven't even finished my Falkner x Reader fic and I already am working on an outline for a Raihan x Reader fic.... writers of Tumblr, is this what it's like?!

[kiisaes]

aaauuuggghhhhhhhh

[mynamesaplant]

Forgiveness is Electric

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Just a little short story about @critterbitter's hc of Emmet, Ingo, and Elesa. This is between the Volume Control and Volume Control (Reprise). Just a tiny change, Emmet caught Tynamo bc I sort of forgot when he did... My bad. Please go take a look at Critter's work, it is beautiful in every sense of the word.

I lied about posting to AO3 last time with Yearning for Wood Floors, but I will update that soon along with this one.

Enjoy!~

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“I do not think she will like those.”

“Who doesn’t love sweets?”

Ingo argued, plucking a box of Snom-Caps and turning it over and over in his hands. He contemplated the choices of candy in the aisle, the teenage clerk puffing their long, purple-streaked hair from their eyes behind the counter as the two children agonized over their decision. The clerk, Dakota, saw Ingo and Emmet in here all the time, the former had something of a sweet tooth and the latter… Well, whatever the opposite of a sweet tooth was, that was Emmet. The kid just loved sour things.

It wasn’t unusual to see them, but it didn’t usually take this long for them to make their selection. They had been there for nearly fifteen minutes, painstakingly reading each and every label and discussing them in hushed undertones. That was unusual by itself. Ingo was not known for his volume control.

Although unusual, they weren’t worried about them doing anything shady like stealing or being careless and knock things off the shelf. Might as well let them go about their business. To pass the time, they watched the fretful newly acquired Tynamo circle around them faster and faster until Emmet snatched the Pokémon deftly from the air and soothingly stroked its back.

“I am Emmet. We do not know what she likes.”

“We must do something! I just feel so dreadful.”

Emmet could see Ingo working himself up over this, just as he had a few hours ago, and Emmet placed a reassuring hand on his brother’s arm. His smile and eyes softened as his twin turned to him, Ingo’s eyes glittering with emotion and whatever proclamation dying on the back of his tongue.

He hadn’t meant it. He really hadn’t. He always got too loud when he was excited.

It had just backfired on him horribly.

Ingo cringed even now as he remembered the tears in her eyes, her hands slapped over her ears, and eyes huge with confusion and pain. She had run off before he could even apologize, and that knowledge was eating him alive all day.

Candy wouldn’t fix this. In his heart of hearts, he knew that, and maybe he had come here to grab himself some of his favorite snacks to ease the pain of losing a potential friend.

It was hard for them to understand others. Emmet and Ingo were so in-sync with each other that everyone seemed to be moving so much slower by comparison. It was like playing charades with someone who was underwater, the twins made perfect sense to one another, but it was unclear to everyone else.

This was not new to them, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating.

With their moms being busy with work and their uncle who didn’t have much interest with them most times, Emmet and Ingo came to rely on each other almost exclusively. Drayden would give them a little bit of pocket change, but never much. They had to be ultraconservative with what he gave them and had taken it upon themselves to run around Anville Town to take little odd jobs.

Leaves to rake? Oran berries to pick? Snow to shovel?

Emmet and Ingo did it all and saved what they could. They barely scraped together the money to purchase the Pokéballs needed to catch Tynamo and for additional balls to try and catch Ingo a starter.

Even though they knew everyone, they weren’t really close to anyone in town.

That could have been different if Ingo hadn’t ruined everything!

“Perhaps sweets are not the solution…”

Ingo finally admitted, setting the box down and rising to his feet. Readjusting his cap on his head and dusting off his knees to unconsciously tidy his appearance, Ingo’s frown deepened in thought. Even if he and Emmet apologized to her, Miss Elesa would not understand them. Drat! If only he had remembered her hearing aids, he had completely forgotten them tucked behind her black hair.

Emmet watched his face scrunch up, clearly having a long inner dialogue with himself where he alternatively berated himself and told himself that there was no crying over spilled milk. Gray eyes scanning the shelf, he took a bag of sour gummy-Bewear for himself, and chocolate covered pretzels for his brother, before hauling them to the counter where Dakota waited.

Tynamo drifted just below his elbow, still quite nervous around new people and often retreating to its ball when too anxious. Emmet’s soft encouragement was the only thing keeping the EleFish out while Dakota rang up both bags.

“Tynamo? Good for you, kiddo. I hear they’re not easy to catch.”

They rested their elbows on the counter, chin resting atop with a kind smile to the quieter twin. Dakota could see him beaming with pride, but he merely nodded, shuffling on the spot while he fished in the pocket of his overalls for some money. His Tynamo, like its trainer, seemed a little bashful at their words, and retreated into its ball.

“200… I think you brother is comatose over there.”

Dakota said not unkindly. Emmet jerked his head to where his brother stood motionless in front of the candy.

“Ingo!”

It was Ingo’s turn to jerk out of his, as Dakota had put it, “comatose state”. He trotted over to his side, staring at the bags of candies with confusion before it all seemed to click into place.

“You did not have to spend your pocket money on me.”

Emmet’s smile softened at the bashful note in his sibling’s voice. He wanted to. Ingo was feeling down, his twin often overthinking problems and burning himself out in the process. Emmet liked to take a step back to listen and reflect on people and conversations. A little break would do Ingo some good, so he insisted on the treats.

“I am Emmet. I wanted to. Yup!”

While Dakota bagged their treats in a small brown paper bag, they couldn’t help but lean over the counter to examine them. Although many people didn’t understand the secret code that the twins exchanged between glances, mouth twitches, and hand movements, Dakota could tell something was awry. Withholding the bag, they leaned over the counter with a faintly curious expression and a light tone.

“You guys alright?”

Unsurprisingly, the two exchanged looks, and a wordless conversation was held between them while Dakota waited. It was Ingo who swiveled his head back to face them, his face knit into a calculating grimace that seemed a little less friendly than usual, but only marginally.

“Yes,” he said slowly, eyes not breaking with the clerk, but they could see him shifting uncomfortably. “Emmet and I are attempting to right a wrong. However, we are encountering several roadblocks.”

There is a pause. Dakota still held the bag just out of reach as they gnawed on their lower lip. This wasn’t really their business, and they weren’t the type to stick their nose in where it didn’t belong… They thought of Drayden, who spent a lot of time in Opelucid and not watching his nephews – he barely spent any time with them.

They’re just kids.

“Do you need some help? It’s my job to help customers in the store y’know.”

Another pause. Another exchange of glances.

“I-” Ingo tries to being, already hard pressed to say anything and even less so when his sibling elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a look. He wouldn’t be allowed to take all the blame. “We upset one of our classmates with our carelessness. We think she was attempting to befriend us, but- uh… there were a few errors on our part.”

“And you’re trying to get candy for her to forgive you?”

“We thought about it, but it grew too complicated. We do not know what candy she likes, but more importantly, we do not think it’s a suitable apology.”

The clerk nodded, tapping the counter in thought as they tried to piece together some genuine advice for the boys.

“I think it’s a nice peace offering, but I think an apology would be better.”

“We broke her hearing aids… Yep…”

Emmet croaked suddenly, shrinking back in shame at the same time that Ingo grabbed the brim of his hat to tug it lower over his eyes.

“Ah,” Dakota hummed, tapping the counter even faster. They meant the new family that moved in from Sinnoh. They remembered their dads talking about the new signs that had to go all over town for the girl’s safety. Dakota couldn’t remember her name. “How did you break them?” They asked, already knowing the answer.

“Volume control.”

Ingo cringed, remembering his uncle’s warning about his naturally loud voice. Inside voice, Drayden had been emphasizing, and Ingo was trying to take those words to heart, but it was difficult. Since Ingo’s face didn’t emote well, he relied on his voice and his movement to articulate his emotions to others. They nod sympathetically.

“You didn’t see them?”

“No…”

The boy was squirming now, his shame and embarrassment with the situation reaching an all-time high. He felt Emmet moving to his side, reassuringly pressing against his arm, and resting his head on his twin’s shoulder. A flood of comfort helped Ingo release a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

Behind the counter, the clerk was rummaging through something – although tall for their age, Emmet and Ingo couldn’t see what they were doing. They heaved a box onto the counter, tipping it so the contents spilled out for them to see, and the boys were confused.

“Headphones?”

Emmet leaned forward on his tiptoes to look at the colorful array of boxes that ranged from normal headphones to ones that had Pikachu and Eevee ears topping them.

“Yeah, uh, maybe if she wears these, you’ll remember right away that she has headphones in.”

It was a half-baked idea. In truth, Dakota felt a bit sheepish about it now that the idea was out of their head, but when they looked up, the boys were beaming – well, Emmet beamed. Ingo reminded of them of their friend’s Purrloin in a way they couldn’t quite put their finger on.

“Bravo! What a marvelous suggestion!”

Ingo practically cheered, stepping beside Emmet to look through the headphones. It was probably going to cost them a bit from the tags on the boxes, but it would be worth it. The headphones would immediately remind Ingo that she had hearing aids in so he would be more inclined to get Miss Elesa’s attention in a different fashion, but it also might do the same for others who were unaware of her deafness.

“Sure – er, thank you…” Dakota was looking at the prices now and mentally smacked their forehead. They probably couldn’t afford the headphones. “I’ll-” They hesitate. It almost pained them to say what they were going to next. “I’ll pay for them so you can take them to her now.” The twins’ eyes went wide, both about to protest when Dakota interrupted, “In exchange, you can do a few chores for me at my place. I need to do some yardwork, but it always gives me hay fever. Sound like a deal?”

The answer was easy for them. Dakota told them to pick ones that they thought Miss Elesa would like.

“I think these ones are quite dashing.”

Ingo said, picking up the box with the Pikachu ears. Emmet pursed his lips and shook his head.

“Nope. Too big. Not a gamer girl.”

They continued to rummage through the boxes. They agreed that she must like Electric types. She had a Blitzle as her partner after all.

“I cannot recall, she is from Hoenn, correct?”

Emmet shrugged, unsure himself because they had both been looking through a magazine with an expose on the newest train lines running out of Nimbasa when she had been introduced. That just meant to them that, when the time came, going on their Pokémon journey by rail would be all the easier.

“Not sure.” He looked at the box Ingo had in his hand and his smile broadened, nodding in agreement to his brother’s unasked query. The perfect balance of subtle but stylish. “I am Emmet. Those are perfect.”

Plusle and Minun headphones.

[souenkun]

Larry's random conversarion lines 🍙

Pokémon Masters EX spoilers ahead!

Random conversation 1:

Ever since I met a certain individual, I now find myself gazing up at the sky every once in a while. There's scenery you'll never even notice if you stick to flat, well-trodden paths. Just something I've observed. I don't dislike the vast, clear sky... But I don't think I can reach it. It's nice to know that there's something like that out there, though.

Random conversation 2:

Pasio seems to have many good restaurants. Ah, I'm not asking for specific recommendations, though... I actually enjoy walking around and looking for a place I might like. That's part of the experience. I seek the exceptional only when it comes to food. Pasio has a variety of cuisines to choose from, so it's hard to stick to just one.

Random conversation 3:

(Player), which do you tend to favor: the exceptional or the average? I was thinking of inviting you to have a meal sometime. Casually figuring out your client's preferences is a special skill that you learn as a salaried employee.

Random conversation 4:

Lunchtime is one of the few things that a salaried employee like me can look forward to at work... We can decide whether to spend that precious time eating something familiar or trying out a new restaurant. It's not just about the meal. The decision-making process leading up to it is also something to look forward to.

Random conversation 5:

People, Pokémon... There's no need to overcomplicate things. Nowadays people only seem to want a shock factor. Something weird, something bizarre. When all's said and done, simplicity is strongest.

Random conversation 6:

You don't necessarily have to follow every instruction from your boss. But I pretend to follow them, at least, so I can avoid hassles later on. That's a technique you can use to get by in the workplace. Keep it in mind.

Random conversation 7:

I'm here in this famous tourist spot, but I can't really spread my wings while my boss has her eye on me. I guess I'll do what I usually do on my lunch break and find a spot to Roost...

[dragonkeeper19600]

Submas Headcanons

Some people have expressed interest in hearing my submas headcanons, so without further ado:

Ingo and Emmet are not originally from Nimbasa City. In fact, they were born and raised in Mistralton City.

They've always loved trains, ever since they were toddlers. Their mother figured they'd outgrow it eventually. They did not.

Their father worked in airplane maintenance at the Mistralton Cargo Service. He always brought his Pokémon, a Timburr, to work with him.

Unfortunately, when the boys were six, both their father and his Pokémon were killed in a workplace accident.

Both he and Timburr were interred together at Celestial Tower. In the years following his death, his wife would sometimes take Ingo and Emmet to visit his grave.

It was on one of these visits that Ingo met Chandelure.

Ingo, who was eight at the time, had just gotten into a fight with his mother.

The twins never really got along with their mother. She was never abusive to them, she just didn't really get them. Their eccentricities and "weird behavior" often left her exasperated.

Ingo was actually the better behaved of the twins. Emmet was the bigger handful. He would sometimes get so upset that he'd shut down and refuse to talk, only venting his frustration in loud, wordless whines.

The dad had always been better at calming him down, but these tantrums often left the mom at her wit's end.

Ingo often found himself caught between his mother and Emmet.

On this particular day, emotions were flying high (as they sometimes do when people are grieving), and Ingo got so angry that he ran deeper into Celestial Tower without Emmet or his mother. His mother shouted at him to come back or he'd get himself lost, but he didn't listen.

Guess what? He got lost.

It was later in the day, and there weren't any other visitors. He spent a long time wandering around the graves, not knowing where he was, feeling increasingly scared and sorry that he'd yelled at his mother.

Finally, after what felt like a long time, he collapsed on the ground beside a tombstone and buried his face in his arms. His legs were tired, and the area he was in didn't look familiar at all. He began to have those irrational thoughts that children sometimes have, that maybe his mother was so mad that she would just take Emmet and leave without him.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a little light wavering near the floor just a few feet away. When he looked closely at it, he saw that it was a Litwick. The boy and the Pokémon made eye contact for a moment before the Litwick disappeared behind a tombstone, only to reappear on top of another tombstone just a few feet behind it. It seemed to be beckoning Ingo to follow it.

Now, Ingo had heard the stories they tell about Litwick, how they pretend to guide lost children to safety while actually leading them to the spirit world.

But he was so lost, so lonely and desperate for someone to help him, that he didn't know what else to do except follow the Litwick.

Besides, even if the Litwick did lead him to the spirit world, maybe he'd be able to see his dad there...?

So, he followed the Litwick.

The Litwick led him down the various winding paths between the tombstones, down the stairs, over the mist-covered floor. Every time Ingo thought he'd lost the light, it would reappear a little closer, waving at him to resume its lead once more.

Finally, the walls inside the tower had grown dark, and Ingo saw a massive lighted doorway before him. Was this the spirit world?

No. It was the exit to Route 7. The bright light of the setting sun seared Ingo's eyes as he stepped out of the tower.

And who did he see just outside the entrance? His mother, with Emmet in tow, frantically giving Ingo's description to a police officer who'd been patrolling the area.

Emmet was the first to spot Ingo. Their mother immediately swept Ingo into a hug. Relief and frustration were mixed, and she scolded him even as she held him. ("Don't you ever scare me like that again!")

Ingo looked back over his shoulder at the tower as his mother led him away. He could still see the little light flickering in the dark doorway.

From then on, every time Ingo went to visit his father's grave, the little light was there.

Ingo started bringing the Litwick gifts. Little berries and other snacks he'd snatched from the house, and was pleasantly surprised to see Litwick eat them. He wasn't sure whether Litwick ate food or whether they exclusively fed on life energy.

Eventually, Ingo saved up enough pocket money to buy a Poké Ball from the Pokémon Center and brought Litwick home with him.

He had to hide Litwick from his mother because his mother always hated ghost Pokémon, and always kept her own Pokémon, a Herdier, close by whenever they visited Celestial Tower in case they were ever attacked by one.

Emmet tried to help Ingo keep Litwick hidden, but they were eventually found out. A particularly nasty fight broke out one night at dinner. Emmet was refusing to eat something on his plate. His mother, who was already in a bad mood, insisted that he was too old to be this picky and to eat already. Emmet shut down and refused to talk, and it just escalated from there.

Ingo tried to plead with his mother to stop yelling at Emmet, but that just redirected his mother's anger toward himself. Litwick saw her yelling at Ingo and got angry. The light on its head flared. Suddenly, Ingo's mother began to get very tired...

Ingo realized what was happening and shouted at Litwick to stop. Litwick was confused at first. It didn't think it was doing anything wrong. It was just trying to protect its friend. But when it saw how upset both Ingo and Emmet had become, it stopped draining energy from their mother, and the light on its head went out before she lost consciousness.

The crisis had been averted, but the jig was up. Ingo's mother naturally freaked out and insisted Ingo get rid of Litwick. The twins begged her not to make them get rid of Litwick, vowing that this would never happen again, but the mother went so far as to ransack their room looking for Litwick's Poké Ball. Once she finally found it, she vowed that first thing in the morning, she would trade Litwick away, and she wouldn't hear any arguments about it.

Ingo had always been the better behaved son, but the prospect of losing Litwick was too much. That night, he snuck into his mother's room, grabbed Litwick's Poké Ball from her purse, and ran away from home.

He was gone for three days before the police found him at Twist Mountain. At the time, he was only nine, too young to go on the gym challenge.

His mother was strangely subdued when she picked him up from the station. He had been expecting her to blow a gasket, but she only seemed tired. She grounded him for a month, but she never said another word about getting rid of Litwick.

Nowadays, she lives in Undella Town, in a villa that the twins paid for. She did not take news of Ingo's disappearance well. She sort of shut down and absolutely refuses to acknowledge that he's gone.

She and the twins were never close, but even so, Emmet can't help but feel abandoned by his mother in the wake of Ingo's disappearance.

Speaking of Emmet, here's how he met Eelektross:

When the twin were finally old enough to take the gym challenge, they decided to head south toward Chargestone Cave.

Ingo had an advantage because he had already had a Pokémon he'd been training for a while, but he promised Emmet they would catch him a Pokémon in the cave. And there were plenty of Pokémon to catch. Emmet borrowed Litwick and was able to catch himself a Joltik. Ingo, for his part, caught a Klink.

But Emmet heard one of the trainers they ran into say that this cave was home to a very rare Pokémon called Tynamo. Emmet was intrigued and immediately decided he wanted to catch one. As the twins neared the end of the cave, Emmet declared that he wasn't leaving until he caught a Tynamo.

Ingo was aghast. Tynamo was a super rare Pokémon. They could search the cave for days without seeing one.

Emmet suggested that Ingo could leave if he wanted and keep bringing Emmet food while he searched. Ingo thought this was a crazy idea and said so. But Emmet could be verrrry stubborn, and no matter what Ingo tried, he couldn't get him to leave the cave. Finally, Ingo departed for Route 6 in a huff, saying that Emmet could do what he wanted.

So Emmet searched the cave. But even after wandering through the cave for hours, he had still found no sign of a Tynamo. Worse yet, he kept running into a lot of rock Pokémon that his newly caught Joltik was unprepared to fight.

Finally, his watch told him that it was getting late. Emmet was exhausted and embarrassed. He regretted not having listened to Ingo, and he dreaded having to hear him say, "I told you so."

So, he decided to pull out his sleeping bag and camp right there on the cave floor in order to put off having to face Ingo until the next morning.

In the middle of night, he was awoken by the sound of something rummaging in his backpack. When he picked up his flashlight and looked, what did he see but a Tynamo munching on one of the Pecha Berries his mother had packed.

Emmet only had an instant to be excited before the Tynamo grabbed the berry in its sucker-like mouth and fled deeper into the cave. Emmet ran after it, flashlight in hand, determined not to let it get away.

But he wasn't the one to stop Tynamo. Instead, Tynamo was jumped by a pair of Boldore as it was fleeing. Emmet ducked behind a rock and watched as the Boldore easily beat up Tynamo and took the berry, from which it had only been able to take a few nibbles with its small mouth. Emmet, armed with only an exhausted Joltik, was completely helpless to stop this, and could only watch as the Boldore left with the spoils.

Emmet slowly approached Tynamo, who was lying on the ground in a tiny heap. It occurred to Emmet that perhaps the reason Tynamo were so rare was because they were so weak.

Emmet had been under the impression that because Tynamo were rare, they must be super powerful and that having one on his team would make him unstoppable. Nonetheless, he did not hesitate to reach for the empty Poké Ball he had in his pocket.

Ingo had spent the night at the Pokémon Center in Driftveil City, worried sick about Emmet. Early the next morning, he headed back toward Route 6 with plans to find him in Chargestone Cave and try once again to get him to give up his search for Tynamo.

Instead, he was shocked to run into a triumphant Emmet crossing one of the bridges over the river, holding up Tynamo's Poké Ball in his hand.

When Tynamo came to at the Pokémon Center, it was understandably alarmed to find itself in a strange place it didn't recognize with a strange kid it didn't know grinning down at it.

But it immediately perked up when Emmet dumped a bunch of berries from home onto the table below where it was floating.

As Tynamo looked up at Emmet questioningly, Emmet earnestly promised that he would make Tynamo strong and that as long as they were together, Tynamo would never be hungry again.

He has kept that promise.

I have a lot more, but I think that's more than enough for one post. I might make another post about Ingo's life in Hisui before he met the protagonist, but we'll see.

[den-ai-d]

Mayor Drayden is really trying not to go ballistic and wrestle a few stacks of paperwork 😠💢

4 alts with 3 variants each available on my patreon, preview and link under the cut 😉

I guess shedding a few layers of clothing counts as blowing off steam? 🤔

Get Drayden and all my previous rewards right here on my ✨Patreon✨

[s4turn-ly]

Some time ago I read about a Pokémon au where Gojo was champion in his region and GeTo was the evil leader.

of course the drawing has nothing to do with that but I wanted to try the style before venturing into designing

My babies before the disaster

Also this was the tweet!

[doodlejoltik]

Guys I have a confession to make. In spite of all my PLA posting and especially Reiposting... I have not actually played PLA.

Until now!!!

Armed with my new Switch Lite I now possess infinite power and will be able to Reipost to a degree heretofore unfathomable

There he is!

Objectively the best starter Rowlet /lh

So far I have been having a blast catching 'mons, dodge-roll climbing my way up unreasonably tall places, and not doing the plot. I have been assured this is part of the experience.

I forgot to take a screenshot so I had to yoink this from someone's YouTube playthrough but darn. Kamado. Did you really have to say it like that

(Haha isn't it funny that Rei does do that and yet he's not fully accepted and trusted in the end. Haha. Maybe he didn't work hard enough...)

This line stuck out to me. On one hand it's cautionary - in context, it's meant to warn Rei that he should be careful in how he behaves around the Diamond and Pearl clans, since the Galaxy Team is in a tenuous position here in Hisui. But from another view, it sort of suggests that "we are all equally outsiders here. You belong" which is more explicitly stated in lines like this one:

And so I see this narrative that's building up of "Rei can earn a place for himself where he is trusted and accepted if he works hard enough", which is reinforced time and time again as he gets more star ranks, and takes more requests from the villagers, who gradually become friendlier towards him, at varying rates. (I've been making a point to talk to all the NPCs every time I return to Jubilife Village.)

Which I'm sure you all know already, and which I also knew, to a point, but it hits different actually seeing its gradual progression in game.

Anyway. Next episode, we fight a Noble Pokemon and I'll see if all my dodge-rolling experience to climb tall heights will translate to being good at dodge-rolling away from murderously angry super-powered Pokemon. Wish Rei luck, he's being piloted by me and my decidedly lacking gamer reflexes XDD

I'll tag all my PLA posting "// tik plays PLA"

[imaginaryskeleton]

Can't wait to see the submas fandom be delusional again and hype up the almost nonexistent chance of an Emmet cameo in PLZ-A

[archersxartxblog]

Home for the Holidays

look I started the thing, probably do more tomorrow this is not proof read enjoy, there be more later

part two

---

“Coming to bed Zisu?” Ingo called from down the hall as he got ready to head to bed himself. “We've got some running around to do tomorrow before we pick up the boys at the port. Best if we turn in for the night now.”

The Chandelure sighed, glancing back towards the door, then back up at the full moon. 

Caleb's room really did have the best view of the night sky. 

In about twelve hours her boys would be home from school on winter break. To say she was excited would be the understatement of the century. She missed them dearly whenever they were gone, sure there had been calls every day but they weren't the same as having them home. And she knew that Ingo felt the same way.

Better yet Christmas was right around the corner. Lots of fun to be had there. 

Caleb would no doubt take claim over the kitchen to bake all kinds of delicious little treats.

Fjord would be parking himself on the couch to rotate between video games and watching Murder on the Orient Express, or any other Cozy Crime movie/show he could find, while knitting up sweaters and scarves for everyone.

Emmet would fight to get the decorations up, becoming frustrated with the lights yet refusing to ask for help.

And Ingo would go out looking for a good tree, because the smell of real pine made getting a real tree better than a plastic one.

She just wished she could join them in the festivities as a person, rather than as a pokemon.

Maybe she was being greedy…but dragons, she wanted time with her family, just once!

Sure, maybe she should be happy that she had been given a second life as a Litwick, and had got to spend her afterlife with Ingo and his brother. And maybe she should happy that she got to see her kids, again.

And as awkward as it had been at the time it was revealed, it was nice to be called ‘Zisu’ and ‘Mom’ again.

But dang it! 

Why should she just be happy with just this?

Did it really make up for the fact that she lost Ingo,not once but Twice, and had also been forced to give up her kids?

Did this really make up for all this?

She wished for just one month! Just one month to spend with her family! 

Just one month.

She wanted to bake with Caleb, Watch a movie with Fjord, Help Emmet with the decorations, and go tree hunting with Ingo.

Just one full month with them as herself, and she was willing to call it all even and be content as a Chandelure.

“Zisu?” 

Slowly she turned away from the window, feeling a gentle resting against her globe. There was Ingo, staring down at her worriedly as she floated in front of him.

“Is everything alright, Zisu?” He asked, running his thumb in soothing circles over her glass surface.

 she gave him a little chime as an answer. The simple ‘I'm fine’ kind of dismissive answer one gives when they're not in fact fine but don't want to talk about it. Not like he could call her out on it.

“Come on, let's head to bed.” He continued on, letting his hand slide down to her metal arms. “You'll want to be well rested, for when the boys come home tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you.”

He was right. 

Besides, what was the point of wishing for something that would never happen.

So she nodded, bobbing in the air slightly, and following Ingo out of the room. Completely unaware that her little wish did not go noticed.

–

As morning came, Zisu groaned as the sun shone right in her eyes.

Wanting just a few more minutes, she rolled over, pulled the blankets further up over her, and wrapped her arms around Ingo. 

“Zisu…?”

She winced slightly at Ingo’s voice, she hadn't meant to wake him, she just wanted to cuddle just a while longer. “Sorry, just go back to sleep for a bit” She chimed…

No, she didn't chime…those were words…human words…

Quickly, she let go of Ingo and sat up. Now completely awake, because she was able to actually sit up.

She looked down at her hands, amazed to see that she actually had hands. Soft, fleshy, human hands. 

She could even see bits of her hair hanging down in her face.

“Zisu?”

She looked back at Ingo, to see the man looking up at her with a look of fear and confusion. And without a second thought, she scooped him up in her arms, hugging him tightly to her chest. 

He was so warm.

Slowly his arms came up to return the embrace, his face pressing into her shoulder as he spoke. “Zisu…Please tell me we are not back in Hisui.”

Zisu felt her heartbreak a little. Hisui had not been kind to him. And she was sure that this turn of events was probably as shocking to him as it had been to her. maybe even causing the poor man to doubt his own mind.

But still, Zisu looked out the window just to confirm her own suspension. smiling as she could see the large fairest wheel off in the distance.

“We're still in Unova” She said, giving him a soft squeeze. “And this is real.”

[c0stiffen]

I POSTED /kaboom

[stuckinthewrongworld]

So I've binged @rougepancake 's "The Summoning" twice in the last 24 hours and I'm in love! If you're a Pokemon fan, you should totally read it. This is my take on a scene from chapter 5.

[mynamesaplant]

Just a Dragon in its Den

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Just a little short story about @critterbitter's submas hc. Please go take a look at Critter's work, it is beautiful in every sense of the word. This particular story looks more into Drayden, the twins, and the tension that has built between them. This takes place right before they make it to Opelucid. Enjoy another bad phonetically written accent! One other thing to note: Kaita is called "mother" by her sons and Lucielle is "mom".

Little piece of my own hc: The particular Haxorus that helped raise Emmet and Ingo is informally known as Darling by everyone bc they heard Drayden referring to 'darling' after battles and thought it was her name.

Thank you to @ingo-ingoing-ingone for being my beta reader. I appreciate you immensely, my friend.

You can find my series of Critter inspired works on AO3.

Don't like to read on Tumblr? Find the stand alone piece here on AO3.

Enjoy!~

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 Sunlight still managed to get into his eyes even with the canvas canopy over their heads…

Ingo pried open a bleary eye, scanning from his left to his right. A moment ticked by before he flopped his head back down.

It was just him, and his waxy partner half-way fused to his sleep shirt.

He could hear his best friends talking just outside the tent flaps, the sizzling of oil in a pan which made him jerk upright. Litwick was launched as he was quick to change and get outside before they burned a hole in the tent… again.

Ingo loved Emmet and Elesa, but they couldn’t cook without supervision. They could barely cook with supervision.

“Make way!”

Emmet and Elesa jumped out of the way as Ingo barreled out from the dark interior of the tent. Quick to relinquish stove duty to his twin, Emmet shot Elesa a smug grin that she merely harrumphed at.

“Told you that would get him up.”

“You two are cruel,”  Ingo tried to say through a yawn, but it only came out as a garbled noise. However, the intention seemed to come across just fine.

“We’re not cruel! You sleep like a log!”

He ignored Elesa, groggily shifting the bacon that was just starting to spatter and hiss in distress.

You jerk! I was sleeping!

A displeased crackle and spark came from the tent flap, Litwick's wax running with the intensity of her lavender inferno.

“Apologies, Litwick. I was terrified our tent would turn to cinders if these two were manning the camp stove any longer.”

The flame atop Litwick’s head, at the moment burning high and hot, slowly began to whittle down into a manageable flicker. Ingo stooped, scooping his Pokémon up carefully, and setting her near the small propane tank that fueled the stove, the Ghost Pokémon grumbling the whole time as her eyes fluttered shut. This was a new gift. Their mother heard from Uncle Drayden that they were on their journey through Unova and she had purchased this from a camp store in Galar; in her letter she suggested that it might be useful. Camping was very big there apparently; she had seen many people using this model of stove, and she saw no issues with twelve-year-olds using flammable materials like propane.

Their mother, Kaita, rarely sent them anything and, when she did, it was usually impractical or downright dangerous. The boys had stared at the box waiting for them at the Poké Mart in Lacunosa Town, perplexed when they saw their mother’s name with the return address for a hostel in Galar. How she had even known that they were going to be in Lacunosa before heading to Opelucid was anyone’s guess, but they took the package and attempted to call the number on the postcard, stuffed in hastily judging by the torn edges and messy scrawl, but the man with a thick Galarian accent told them she had left just the other day.

Somehow that was unsurprising to Emmet and Ingo.

“So, what’s on tap for today?”

“We should reach Opelucid by noon,” Emmet said, pulling his knees to his chest as he watched Tynamo flitter around the Dwebble that had been following them since they had departed from Route 18.

The little crustacean had been tottering after them at a distance, disappearing into its shell when anyone was close, but joined in on the fun with the other Pokémon on occasion.

“That’s where Drayden works, right?”

“Correct, we will be visiting him.”

That seemed to give Elesa pause, looking from one twin to the other.

“Are you sure?” Emmet shifted, throwing a glance toward Ingo who minutely shook his head. Though the motion was subtle, Elesa didn’t fail to catch it – she was used to their rhythms and motions. For whatever reason, they were uncomfortable. “We don’t have to stop by the gym if-”

“That is very much appreciated, Elesa.”

“Yup, verrrry nice of you.”

“But everyone knows us in Opelucid. Even if we don’t go to the gym, he’ll know we’re there.”

Against her side, Elesa felt Emmet shudder and mutter something about old ladies. She wasn’t sure what that meant either, but she assumed it wasn’t good.

“What about old ladies?”

“All of the octogenarians like to sit in the plaza by the gym to read their papers, feed the Pidoves, gossip, and play chess. You must pass by them if you want to get to the Pokémon Center. They like to joke that they are Opelucid’s stalwart sentinels and they… tattle on us to uncle when we got into mischief. It is why we asked to stay in Anville Town most days.”

Ingo did not add that by that point, Drayden had stopped asking and would be gone for most of the day. It had only been when they were very young, usually following hand-in-hand in their uncle’s wake and scurrying behind his Haxorus when strangers got too close to them.

“They pinched our cheeks… Fingers like Kingler claws.”

Emmet was the one to actually answer their friend’s question, subconsciously rubbing his cheek as if it had just been pinched. After the first few times that had happened, Darling realized that the twins did not like being touched without permission, and the Dragon Pokémon would insert herself between Emmet and Ingo and the elder men and women. She would rumble out a warning when people got too close, flashing her glinting tusks despite the fact that they were covered with thick Bouffalant leather to prevent any accidents.

Only until Drayden commanded her to stop, she was aggressive with any strangers or anyone that the twins seemed uncomfortable with. At the very least, Emmet and Ingo were convinced that Darling would be happy to see them.

Breakfast was a drawn-out affair. Each bite seemed to be smaller and smaller as if to prolong the inevitable meetup. Packing up and hiking to the city was also glacially slow, Emmet and Ingo dragging their feet as they neared the dragon’s den. Elesa stopped them just as they passed the first few residences, looking them over with steely eyes that the twins shrank away from.

“We can turn back now.”

“No… We mustn’t delay any further.”

Ingo insisted, forging ahead, and chewing his bottom lip to shreds with the all-consuming anxiety that he and Emmet collectively felt.

Opelucid was an overwhelming place. It radiated an unexplainable energy that seemed to loom over all those who entered her walls. They remembered the streets well. Ingo’s eyes fixed on the place where Emmet had tripped and scraped his knee, crying and oozing blood on the whole walk back to the gym. Emmet nervously flicked his eyes to the place where a mother yelled at him and Ingo when her teenage son had been bullying them – he’d called them oblivious, creepy, unsettling… Emmet swallowed hard, reaching for Ingo’s shirt tail, and gripping it tight, rubbing his thumb over the fabric methodically.

 Ingo’s hand reached back and offered his brother’s wrist a light squeeze, trying to reassure him even if he didn’t feel so sure himself. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite doing everything in their power, the trio could not avoid the parties of the elderly that seemed to stalk the streets of the city. There was no escape from the simpering words and the ruddy cheeks from pinching fingers, the kids barely escaped with their cheeks and dignity intact.

The doors to the gym hissed open, sounding more like an angry Zweilous bickering over a meal than the squeak from the friction of the moving belt. They moved into the atrium tentatively, the twins bunched together while Elesa stood off to one side, eyeing them worriedly as a young woman leaned over the counter. Thankfully, Emmet and Ingo didn’t recognize her, which must have meant she was new. Her accent confirmed it.

“Welcome ta the Opelucid Gym, are ya here ta challenge the gym leadah?”

“Ah, no. We, uh, we are here to see him.”

Ingo tried hard not to stammer and failed miserably, somewhat baffled by the heaviness of the Castelian accent rolling off her tongue. The young woman pursed her maroon-stained lips before turning her gaze to the computer before her. There was some clicking, some squinting between the monitor and the two boys, and she finally picked up a walkie-talkie that Emmet and Ingo knew was there.

“Mista Drayden, there are some… youts here ta see ya.”

There was a pause.

“Send them in, Audrey.”

They tried not to think about how irritated their uncle already sounded, instead choosing to focus on the awe on Elesa’s face as she looked around the gym. Her blue eyes quite nearly bulged out of her skull when they walked under winding bridges, gasped at the beautiful carvings of dragons that adorned the whole facility, and she oohed and aahed at the way the placed made the perfect mechanical maze to make every challenger prove their mettle before squaring up to the dragon master himself.

They traveled up the ramps without hesitation, Emmet and Ingo giving appropriate responses to the gym trainers who recognized them. A few of the older trainers stopped the trio, cooing over the twins who tried not to cringe at the unwanted touches and comments that only served to make them more anxious about their inevitable encounter.

The last ramp up to the arena was just ahead and Ingo took a deep breath, Emmet being the one to release – a frankly inadequate coping mechanism when faced with something like this. Before either could begin the ascent, Elesa leapt before them, and gave them an appraising look, the fierce blue tinged with a soft concern.

Her best friends did not act this way.

“Spill. What’s the matter?”

She didn’t give them a chance to look at each other as she inserted herself between them, there would be no silent agreement on how they would deflect her questions. Emmet flinched back, finding the seam of his bandana, and running over it with the flat of his thumb; Tynamo buzzed softly below his chin which was just as comforting for the young man. Ingo, the one directly under Elesa’s scrutiny, was standing firm – although, if one looked closely, they could see his knees shaking beneath the cuff of his shorts. He could feel it in his back and shoulders, so heavy from the anxiety that it was dragging him face first towards the ground like it was the planet’s gravitational pull.

There was no lying to her. She would wheedle it out of them before they took another step.

“The situation is… precarious. It has been more than a fortnight since we have spoken to Uncle.”

Elesa, nose scrunched in confusion, looked to Emmet for a translation.

“More than a month.”

Now he was fiddling with his hair, tugging and twisting his gray locks that framed his face rapidly between his spindly fingers. Tynamo offered another buzz, the tingle felt familiar and comforting.

“So? I haven’t spoken to my father in even longer.”

Behind her, Ingo pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. The situation is not the same. Elesa wanted nothing more than to go on her journey to be away from her father. Emmet and Ingo…

“Lesa…” There was more to their story in the city of Opelucid, but neither twin had the heart to delve into it. “We should not dillydally, uncle is waiting.”

Without another word, Ingo brushed past her, and Emmet was on his heels, both practically running up the ramp, which just felt like such an odd juxtaposition to earlier this morning where they seemed intent on moving slower than Slugmas.

Elesa tried to keep a close eye on her friends as they greeted their uncle, the three of them shifting uncomfortably like the idea of a hug seemed impossible. Drayden’s face was usually hard to read thanks to the copious amount of facial hair, but there was a pinched quality to his expression.

That detail was quickly replaced with exasperation as a large, leathery Pokémon tore across the arena at a breakneck pace. Skidding to a stop just before them, the beast lunged forward and -

“Haxorus!”

Ingo spluttered, his front coated head to toe in slobber that he was wiping from his eyes. The other two kids weren’t spared from the assault, not even Blitzle, who shook out his striped coat of the sticky saliva with an indignant snort. The bubble of tension seemed to ease a little with this interruption, but it was still palpable.

Tynamo remained close to Emmet, nestled in his bandana, and offering soft nips to his jaw and chin. Litwick was doing the same, unable to conjure up witty dialogue when Ingo’s soul looked so withered and violently flickering with each interaction with his uncle. Even Blitzle, who was first and foremost Elesa’s Pokémon, was sticking close to the twins. His training as an aid Pokémon was kicking in to shove his snout into the boys’ floundering hands so they could have an outlet for their pent-up anxiety.

Elesa attempted to catalog each word, each expression, each vocal fluctuation – but they seemed so… normal? What were her friends so worried about?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drayden was across the arena with Elesa and Blitzle, introducing her to his large, and very fluffy, Altaria. Emmet watched over the top of his magazine; this issue was dedicated to Dragon Pokémon found in the Alola region, and he elbowed his twin when he saw Drayden cast his gaze in their direction. Although Darling was curled around them, her tusks bound to prevent injury, Emmet and a groggy Ingo sank into her flank to make themselves as small as possible.

Darling woke up with a rumble, nudging her snout against them before lightly nibbling on their hair to put them at ease. Drayden seemed to take a deep breath as he approached, taking a seat on the bench beside them, and looking at his nephews out of the corner of his eye.

“Your friend likes Altaria.”

“Altaria is nice.”

Emmet’s reply was more like a squeak than anything. Ingo had taken interest in the skin on Darling’s neck. There it was again, the pressure on that bubble of tension becoming unbearable once again. Without Elesa there to deflect, it was like back all those years before.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of them were thinking the same thing: Kaita not so quietly arguing with Drayden, the twins covering their ears because they didn’t like the shrill tone their mother’s voice had taken. The four-year-olds didn’t really understand what was happening, but they were used to the yelling.

Mom and mother had been doing it for weeks.

“I can’t handle them on my own!”

Kaita had snapped, her eyes bright and her mouth curled into an awful snarl. Drayden offered her an equally ferocious growl, too much like their draconic partners than either of them cared to admit. He and his fraternal twin never saw eye to eye, but this?

He wanted to tell Kaita that that was too fucking bad. She and Lucielle should have thought this through a little longer. Kids were not marriage savers. Now she was trying to dump them on him? No fucking way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drayden blinked hard, allowing the blessed dark to cool the bubbling anger he felt toward his sister. This was not Emmet and Ingo’s fault… He had never addressed this incident with them before, had he? Of course, they had been old enough to remember. The Dragon Master picked on their discomfort quickly and he was just as happy to leave them home than he was to take them on his hour-long commute to Opelucid.

In that moment, it occurred to Drayden just how awful that sounded. He had never really thought of his nephews as being lonely, not when they had each other. He left them at home with Darling when they were still young, but that had only been a few years. They had been abandoned by their mothers and then again by him.

This knowledge felt like bile stinging the back of his throat.

“I love you boys.”

Whatever his nephews had expected him to say, it hadn’t been that. Drayden propped his elbows on his knees, not unlike Emmet did when he was chatting with his brother and looked at them with something akin to a pleading look.

“We love you too.”

Ingo’s response was so… Mechanical. A reflex. Drayden seemed pained and they both cringed, waiting for their uncle to adopt that tone of voice they were so well acquainted with by this point – that horrible concoction of disappointment and frustration that was all too familiar to their ears.

“No, Emmet… Ingo…” He got up, stepping toward them and crouching down, Darling temporarily swinging her head around to butt her snout under his chin affectionately before resuming her doting on the twins. He hated how they shrank away, cowering like they expected him to yell – had he ever yelled at them? No, not as far as he could remember, but perhaps his silence spoke volumes about his bitterness. “Boys,” he croaked, schooling his expression into something softer (which he only just realized was something he and Ingo had in common), “I am very proud of you. I’m proud of all you’ve accomplished.

Two sets of gray eyes blinked, a staccato of confusion at this admission, as if unsure how to process that compliment.

“… Thank you.”

Ingo said, a gravelly quality to his voice that made it quieter than its typical boom. Emmet’s hand was shaking, but Drayden recognized that a precursor to a form of stimming. It was something that evolved from learning sign for Elesa for both twins; Emmet used to snap his fingers and his brother hummed (usually quite out-of-tune and loudly).

“May I join you? You look quite cozy there.”

Emmet and Ingo scooted over, leaving room between them so their uncle could sit. They were still a little confused by the unexpected behavior from him, but Drayden asked for permission to put his arms around them, and they didn’t reject him. The aversion to touch made unprompted touch nearly unbearable for all except themselves and more recently Elesa, but Drayden seeking their acceptance felt… different – it felt nice.

“Your Pokémon’ve gotten a lot stronger. I can tell these things, you know.”

Gradually, Drayden felt Emmet and Ingo relaxing into him while they told him all about their adventures. They showed off Tynamo and Litwick, the latter looking a tad smug when Drayden said she had a menacing aura.

“We also have this Dwebble… Well, perhaps that is not quite accurate. He shares the same carriage as us and travels the same tracks, however, he insists on remaining unaccompanied.”

The Pokémon in question was observing from under the bench Drayden had vacated – oh my, nearly an hour ago, those boys really knew how to fill in the time. Dwebble’s eyestalks twitched, its body cautiously retracting into its shell now that it was the center of attention.

“He is shy, yup!”

Drayden offered a nod, crooking his finger at the small, shelled Pokémon. Dwebble, body still half hidden, obeyed the unspoken command and skittered forward.

“See, he has a magnificent specimen on his back. I have not looked into the logistics of whether sediments found in or on Crustle and Dwebble affect their battling, but he has a King’s rock. It is spectacular!”

Their uncle nodded with agreement, Darling grumbling encouragingly at the smaller Pokémon with his approach.

“I must agree. He’s spectacular… Have you asked him if he’d like to join you?”

Drayden listened carefully as Ingo explained the fiasco that was Route 18 – Frillish and all - and, although he was tempted into chastising Ingo, he held his tongue about his nephew’s so-called inside voice. In fact, Ingo parroted some of the lessons that Drayden had attempted to instill in him. He was trying to work on his “volume output”. The Dwebble seemed to be quite used to them now, scraping a claw against the sole of the Gym Leader’s shoes, which inexplicably reminded him of his nephews yet again.

“Such a shame. Ingo really likes rocks, too,” Emmet said with a sympathetic shake of his head when his brother sighed much too heavily for someone of his age. Drayden’s brow was furrowed, watching as the Bug Pokémon’s eyes darted to Ingo, and he said,

“Ask him again.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Ask Dwebble to join your team. Pokémon, just like humans, can have a hard time saying what they mean. Sometimes they need help or a little nudge. He’s come this far with you, hasn’t he?”

Ingo seemed to contemplate this for a moment, they certainly had gone the distance with Dwebble at their side…

Ingo leaned forward, trying to tamp down his excitement – just in case his uncle’s instincts were off.

“Dwebble… Are you interested in... Would you join me on this journey?”

 The Pokémon blinked up at the boy, eyestalks tilting to one side and then the other. In that moment, it felt as though all the air was sucked out of the room, the anxiety unwittingly rocketing up with each second that ticked by where the Pokémon before them didn’t answer.

Dwebble raised his pincers tacked against the ground, his eyestalks swaying to a music that only he seemed to hear, only for the Pokémon to instantly shoot back into his shell when a sonic boom shattered the silence.

You better get used to the human Exploud if you wanna be a part of this team.

Litwick groused, her annoyance was mostly for show at the pure joy in her trainer’s eyes when he picked up Dwebble. Spinning around in tight circles, Ingo wasn’t even able to say anything, only a mix of laughter that verged on happy sobs, as he held his new Pokémon close to his chest.

Emmet watched on with a bright smile, happy for his brother’s first genuine catch, allowing the bright glow of the moment to not be stymied by the fact that they had no money for Pokéballs and were fresh out because they lent all theirs to Elesa to catch some Plusle and Minun on Route 6 (with no resulting captures).

“King! You shall be called King.”

How does this walking pile of rocks have a name before me!?

Litwick shrieked, batting at Ingo’s ear in aggravation to no avail. Drayden watched on, beard obscuring the placid smile on his face.

Good. It was time to make better memories here in Opelucid.

[silverorchideon]

Sometimes, one train entered the station before the other.

To make sure they're fully maintained, one leaves out fuel for the other before leaving for the night.

It's a routine they've silently upheld for years.

I wrote a fic that also might provide some extra context.