#Rune Allard the Sobble/Drizzile/Inteleon is a good boi

[myselfinserts]

“Damn... that must have hurt. Are you okay?”

Champion of Kalos. Top Trainer of the Elite Four. Support Designer Extraordinaire. These titles and more were worn proudly on his sleeves. Étienne Allard didn't underestimate his opponents, even if they never impressed him much. Those that did interest him didn't do so for long. Few exceptions included his angel Lady L, and her friend Phoenix. And sometimes Reginald when the absentminded professor bothered to pay attention long enough on a Pokémon battle to actually instruct his partners on what moves to use. Then again, they were quite intelligent Pokémon in their own right. They often knew exactly what Regi was about to say before he even said it. There was a reason he used to be the Champion of the Elvin Island League.

Still, none of that mattered when Étienne was approached by the hero that day with a new, lizard-like Pokémon in his hands. The moment it came out of the Pokéball it began to cry, letting out a heartbreaking whine as tears  the size of Sitrus berries. They fell to the floor, slowly forming a puddle and leaving a mess.

"What, in the ever loving hell, is that?"

Regi smiled, holding up the sobbing mess of a Pokémon proudly. "It's a Sobble. I told you I was going to Galar, remember? And I got to bring some new Pokémon home with me! You wouldn't believe the wide variety they have there." He held the Sobble out to him, watching it curled into his friend's hand. "This little fella's for you!"

Étienne stared at the thing, completely unimpressed. It was small, round, and far too weepy. A lizard like creature with eyes as big as its head, tail curling into a spiral. If it would calm down, he might be inclined to call it cute. It was a lovely shade of blue he could appreciate.

The Sobble looked up at him, slowly starting to cease its tears. It started to relax, little hand gently gripping Étienne's fingers. The tail uncurled, lightly wrapping around his wrist as it stopped its crying sounds, replacing them with little chirps and trills.

"I think it likes you," Regi said.

Étienne  rolled his eyes. "…Then at least it has good taste."

Regi's smile didn't falter, though his eyes easily betrayed him. "You're not impressed."

"You think?" He handed him back the Sobble. "As much as I appreciate you thinking about me on your trip, I think I'll pass on this."

"Oh, come on!" He held it back out to him, batting his eyes softly. "I know Sobble doesn't seem like much, but I promise you, if you give the little guy a chance, you'll not regret it."

"Reginald, please," Étienne insisted. "What in god's name makes you think I need this sobbing creature that's made a mess of my floor? Which you will clean up, by the way."

Regi nodded. "I will clean it up. But please, just…give Sobble here a chance. There's so much potential in this Pokémon. Please?"

He should have said no. Insisted on saying he didn't need it. But something about the way it lightly held onto him, staring at him in awe and affection. It was almost too much. 

“I suppose I can let him stay for a month or two tops,” he conceded. “Just to get him some training so that he can properly look after a new trainer.”

“Really?” Regi let out a soft cheer. “Awesome! Thank you so much. I promise, Sobble here will be a perfect addition to your family.”

Étienne doubted it, but he promised to try and keep an open mind. 

“The Water Lizard Pokémon. When scared, this Pokémon cries. Its tears pack the chemical punch of 100 onions, and attackers won't be able to resist weeping.”

Étienne set the Pokédex down, looking at the Sobble currently poking at the small ball of paper that had missed the waste paper basket in the locker room. Thinking it might do the little one some good, he’d booked a private training session with his Milotic in the cool of the local gym. 

More than that, Étienne needed a good swim. 

“Alright,” he said. “Come on now.” 

He headed to the pool, the little Sobble hurrying after him. The moment they got inside, the creature let out a loud trilling cry, startling Étienne as he brought out his Milotic, Marcelle. He expected the creature to be scared and cause them both to weep. 

But Sobble wasn’t crying. He was smiling and bolting for the water rapidly. No sooner did it jump in did the Milotic follow. With a shrug, Étienne joined them. 

He swam after Marcelle, smiling as he was allowed to hop onto her back. The chill of the water against his skin was soothing, a rush of euphoria. The two did their usual routine, tricks and tumbles that showed off their synchronicity. Once those were finished, they did laps, racing from one end of the pool to the other, and timing their reflexes as they came around the rocks in the more terrain heavy area. After about an hour and a half, he waded to the edge, taking a breath as he looked around. 

Sobble was gone. 

“Where did he- QU'EST-CE QUE LE BAISE?!”

Étienne stumbled back, bobbing under the water briefly before coming back up with a start. Something had brushed against him, but he couldn’t see it. Whatever it was, it was soft, and had a very familiar texture. Étienne shook the hair from his face, spinning around in the water, just waiting for it to appear again. It wasn’t Marcelle. She was resting on one of the nearby rocks. 

Suddenly, something began moving above water. It was clear, but the shape of the waves as it came over to him were unmistakable. Slowly, the clear mound took on a blue hue, and he could see exactly what it was. It was round, soft, and had eyes as big as its head. 

“You?!”

The Sobble giggled, eyes shut as he smiled and waded side to side happily in the water. Étienne climbed out of the pool and ran back to the locker room, coming back with his dex and scrolling through it rapidly. It wasn’t until he got to the bottom that it finally appeared. 

“When it gets wet, its skin changes color, and this Pokémon becomes invisible as if it were camouflaged.”

Étienne looked over at the Sobble, who was already disappearing into the water again. 

“I’m going to kill Reginald for this pathetic excuse of a dex entry.”

“A clever combatant, this Pokémon battles using water balloons created with moisture secreted from its palms. Highly intelligent but also very lazy, it keeps enemies out of its territory by laying traps everywhere.”

Étienne had read the riot act to the professors to fix the entries for the Galarian Pokémon so that they were more organized. And no sooner had they been updated, the Sobble had evolved into Drizzile. He’d taken to calling him Rune, if for no other reason than to give him something to be called other than his species name. 

And looking over the entry for Drizzile, Étienne was convinced that this moody looking Pokémon wasn’t lazy. He knew deep down Rune was an active, curious child at heart. He always looked over what anyone was doing. He tried to be involved, even when it bothered the poor Chandelure in the kitchen. As a Sobble, Rune had made himself a little assistant of sorts. Rune was far from lazy. If anything, he just seemed bored. 

Luckily, he had an idea. 

“Rune?” Étienne called softly. “I’m heading to work. Do you want to come with me? You can be outside of the ball for this one.”

Rune looked up from his spot on the sofa excitedly. He rarely got to come out of the Pokéball when at the Atelier. He jumped off his seat and hurried over to him, and reached up to take Étienne‘s hand. After making sure the house was locked up, they headed out. 

When they arrived at the Atelier, Étienne lead Rune to one of the testing rooms. It was set up similarly to a small forest, with a tiny lake and a few sunbathing rocks. It looked beautiful. And Rune was already bouncing on his toes. Étienne tried not to laugh. 

“Alright. Here’s what I need you to do.” He lead Rune into the room, letting him get comfortable. “We’re testing a new product. It’s meant to detect traps in areas that have endangered Pokémon. I need you to lay some traps around the area for the product to detect. Think you can do that?”

Rune looked up at him, nodding as he gave his hand a light squeeze before letting go and hurrying to explore.  Étienne left him to his task, heading into the main part of the lab and preparing the product for testing. It was a small wrist watch like gizmo, with the ability to scan an area of up to 100 meters. With luck, it’d detect what it set out to find. He attached it to the test bots and headed back. It’d only taken him about twenty minutes, but by the time he returned, Rune was already waiting by the door. 

“Finished?” he asked. Rune nodded. “Alright. Let’s go to the observation deck.” He set up the bots and closed the door. Rune took Étienne‘s hand again and followed him to the window nearby. With a push of a button, the test began. 

It didn’t even last a minute before three of the ten bots got caught by a trip wire, and another two in a classic hanging net trap. One fell in a hole. How did he even dig that? And the remainder were either drowning or caught in bushes. 

Étienne let out a sigh. “Looks like we’re back to the drawing board.” He smiled, looking at the expectant Drizzile. “Do you want to continue helping me with this? Those are some clever tricks you pulled. You’d be an invaluable member of the team.”

Rune stared at him, eyes filling with happy tears as he smiled, chirping excitedly and bouncing on his toes. 

He took that as a yes.

It’d been three months since Étienne started bringing Rune to the Atelier to help with the testing, and already they were far ahead of schedule.  At the rate they were going, they were going to have the Trap Sensor ready for market by the start of the new year. Étienne was incredibly proud of the Drizzile, who was always awake early and ready to go in the morning. Rune always paid close attention, and he was adapting incredibly well to the changes. Rune was one of his best workers. He got along with the others, and was very helpful to Chris. He couldn’t help but feel proud. 

So once again, the two were walking home hand in hand. Tonight, they’d swing by the SF to pick up Ceri, then head home. They had to go the long way though, given the main street was closed for repairs. 

Étienne imediately wished they had gone straight home as they turned the corner, coming face to face with a giant, angry looking Lickilicky.

He wished he’d gone straight home. 

“Dammit,” he grumbled. He reached into his pocket, preparing to bring out his Absol, Angie. A quick Mega Evolution would take care of this for sure. 

However, as the Lickilicky charged at him, he heard a sharp, gargled cry. Rune had let go of his hand, bolting forward and throwing water balls, slowing the other Pokémon down. Rune leaped into the air, spinning around and managing to slap the Lickilicky with his tail before running round it in circles, throwing muddy water and screaming to get its attention. 

“Rune, what are you doing?! Get away from there!”

The Lickilicky glared at Rune, glowing a bright yellow. A bolt of lightning flew out, hitting Rune right in the back and causing him to freeze in place. When the lightning faded, the Lickilicky spun on its toes, smacking Rune into a nearby wall before turning to face Étienne again. 

Étienne couldn’t move. It was all he could do to focus on his quirk to keep his hand steady. 

Come on, dammit. Just pull out the damn ball, Étienne!

The Lickilicky started to glow again. 

Shit!

Just as he finally managed to pull out the Pokéball, the Lickilicky stopped glowing. Its face went blank, and it began to fall forward. As it hit the ground, Étienne stumbled back, nearly falling over from the shock. The pink mound was still breathing, but it was out cold. And completely soaked. Curious, and a little cautious, Étienne followed the trail of water. To where Rune had landed. 

Where Rune was no longer the little Drizzile he’d known for the last several months. 

Now, there was a tall, albeit injured and sitting, Inteleon over by the wall, finger pointing steadily at where the enemy Pokémon once stood. His body was covered in tiny sparks of electricity, and his breathing was a little shallow. But for the most part, he seemed alright. 

“Rune!” He hurried over to him, reaching into his work bag. “Damn... that must have hurt. Are you okay?”

Rune nodded, finally lowering his arm. Despite the injuries, he was smiling. 

“Hold on. I have a Full Heal in here somewhere.” He rummaged around until he found the medicine. “Here we go-eh?”

Rune let out a small whimper, lightly taking Étienne’s hand in his hands. Étienne felt himself relax. 

“I’m alright,” he assured. “No need to worry,. You did very well. Thank you, Rune. Now hold still. This might sting a little.”

“Inteleon, the Secret Agent Pokémon. It has many hidden capabilities, such as fingertips that can shoot water and a membrane on its back that it can use to glide through the air. Its nictitating membranes let it pick out foes' weak points so it can precisely blast them with water that shoots from its fingertips at Mach 3.”

Étienne had reread the Pokédex entry for Rune’s new form over a hundred times. What once started out as a ball of tears barely a foot tall had grown into a 6′ 3″ sniper with a strong love of support tech. Rune’s slender fingers were as steady as his own, making him a perfect shot. 

And now, that shot would be put to the test. Regi had invited them to test out a new version of the Dynamax bands, with the news that Rune was a very special Pokémon. As if Étienne needed to hear that told to him. Though he had to admit, the news that his Inteleon could Gigantamax was a surprise. A rarity in most Pokémon, and it was time to see what this new form could do. 

Étienne stood in the center of the field, standing beside Rune as Regi spoke to another professor and a rabbit Pokémon. If he could remember correctly, it was called a Cinderace, and it was nuzzling up very close to Gladstone, trying hard to reach his shoulder in a hug. There was also a large Rillaboom waiting by the entrance. 

“Looks like it’ll be a hard fight,” Étienne said. “Think you can handle it?”

Rune gave him a soft trill in reply, lightly holding his hand in solidarity as the opposing Pokémon began to approach with their trainers. Étienne smiled. 

“That’s just what I want to hear.”