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yeehawbvby · 11 months ago

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It Was Always You | Ch. 1*

(Piers x OC Maxine)

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Summary: “Here Max was, telling a long withheld secret to the very subject of it.

... She didn’t expect a kiss then. But she could tell in that moment that this was Piers' own confession of sorts. His way of trading his own secret for hers."

Author’s Note: This was supposed to only be a one-chapter follow-up to this fic, but I’ve gotten a little silly with it.

Hope y'all enjoy :3 x

Check it out on ao3!

Max’s twenties were flying by almost too quickly.

Once she had saved enough for her own apartment, she moved out of the one she was living in with Piers and Marnie to start fresh in Circhester. Far enough from Spikemuth for a nice change of pace, but close enough to see her best friends any time she wanted to. That was when she was 23.

Things were going well. Max obviously missed the easy access to the people who mattered most to her, but she was proud of how far she’d come, considering she spent her pre-teen and teen years living in a tent and barely scraping by.

She moved on from training at the Dark gym to become an Ice-type trainer under Melony’s rule, and it was Melony who pushed Max to join the gym challenge a year later — with an endorsement to boot. Marnie also happened to be entering the competition, and both of them were elated that they’d be up against each other.

Marnie and Max trained hard, duking it out in the wild areas and going into plenty of Dynamax dens together in their downtime. They busted their butts, worked their way up the rankings, and made it to the Semi-Finals. Max even earned a sick nickname for herself from fans along the way: DynaMax. Cheesy, of course, but she couldn’t blame them! The pun was practically begging to be made.

Unfortunately, neither Max nor Marnie won — Max went on to the Finals, only to get her ass kicked by Allister — but at least they grew as trainers and made worthy rivals out of each other.

As much as Max enjoyed the gym challenge, she was relieved to finally be out of the spotlight. And as much as she felt terrible about her defeat, she felt worse for the others.

Marnie wanted to be the Champion so badly, only to lose to Max, who wound up not even winning. Sure, Marnie was taking Piers’ spot as Spikemuth’s gym leader, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t her goal. She wanted to be the Champion, not a cog in the machine that was the Galarian league.

Max mentally reminded herself on repeat, much to her obvious detriment, that Marnie deserved a chance to enter the Finals more than she did.

Those other kids, Hop and Gloria, deserved better too.

Max ruined it for all of them.

And that made her feel like shit.

She told Melony she needed some time off, and the older woman was more than willing to accommodate. So, Max spent a solid while in complete isolation after her battle with Allister. She brought all her blankets over to the couch and let them absorb her, passing time by playing games, watching her comfort shows on repeat, napping, and crying.

Oh boy, there was a lot of crying.

It was utterly pathetic. She knew it was pathetic. She couldn’t stop it if she tried, though.

Her misdreavus was more than willing to act as a weight for her chest or a snuggle buddy when she needed it. She was happy to have its support, but it wanted to do more than it could ever possibly manage. Max often found herself sending it away to another room, pretending she was fine, just so it could have the much needed breaks it didn’t want to take.

Worried about barely having heard from Max since the day of her loss, Piers finally texted her to check in about 2 weeks in. She sent him a picture of her set-up, and he instantly recognized that she needed help.

He informed her that he was coming over. She objected, dumbly insisting she didn’t want to burden him. Piers ignored her, and the next thing Max knew, he was letting himself in with the spare key she gave him.

Having a view of the front door from her sofa, Max peeked over the back of it to silently greet her visitor. Piers’ heart sank when he saw her big, sad eyes poking out from atop the furniture like a shy sobble. He’d seen her in worse states for sure, having aided her through depressive episodes and autistic burnouts that lasted for months at a time, but it had been so long since she’d been like this. Who knew if it would evolve into something more akin to those past experiences?

After removing his boots, Piers wordlessly padded over to his friend. Max watched him the whole way, and when he sat close enough for their legs to touch, she leaned into him. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to his side. Pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

For good measure, of course.

After sharing their first kisses with one another, they became more casually intimate. They’d always hugged and held hands, but that kiss changed things.

They weren’t dating, but rather, filling in the blanks. They started to cuddle more often. They’d wind up kissing some more, no strings attached — or at least that’s what they told themselves — just because they felt lonely, or felt like doing it.

It worked out. As long as they were both single, they acted as a physical support for each other. This instance was no different.

The two trainers sat in silence for a bit. Max repositioned slightly to share her blankets with Piers before settling back down. Listened to his heartbeat. Worried the hem of his black tee. Absorbed his scent as if it were incense. It basically was, with how calming this felt for her.

Piers played with Max’s hair, twirling the short waves around his fingers. It reminded him about how he had cut her hair himself. Max wanted to chop her obnoxiously long tresses to her mid-back or so, but absolutely brutalized it; by the time Piers finished correcting her mistakes, it was as short as her shoulders.

He gave her a fringe, too.

Another act of good measure.

She often kept it half-up, with a pigtail on either side of her scalp. An ode to her Misdreavus in a way. But at this moment, it was a loose, frizzy mess. Piers ran his fingers through it, working some tangles out.

Max had a tendency to neglect herself when she felt this awful, but she’d been doing her best to eat and shower as needed this time.

Piers smiled to himself as he noticed that, although Max’s hair hadn’t been brushed, it was at least clean. He wanted to praise her, but held back, not wanting to come off as demeaning. Max didn’t expect him to notice, and was completely oblivious to Piers’ swelling pride as she began absentmindedly playing with the ends of his own tresses.

A few more minutes went by, and the silence was broken.

“I really fucked it up, didn’t I?” Max questioned, barely above a whisper.

“What?”

“The gym challenge.” Those few words came out more hoarse, and were accompanied by a sniffle. “What right did I have to rip the opportunity away from those kids? It wasn’t fair.”

“Max…”

“Marnie pretended to be happy for me when I beat her, but I could see the sadness in her eyes. She probably could’ve won it all had it not been for my dumb luck that day, and now she’ll just be constantly reminded of that every year during the challenge!”

“Max.”

“She’s gonna make an amazing gym leader but god, Piers, she could’ve been an even better Champion—“

Piers cut her off sternly. “Maxine!”

He felt her flinch and tightened his grip around her shoulder. He wrapped his right arm around her too, pulling her into a fuller embrace. Silently reassuring her that he wasn’t mad, he just needed her to stop spiraling.

“You were amazing. You are amazing. You deserved the chance to win jus’ as much as anyone else there, alright?”

“It doesn’t feel like it, though…” she squeezed out. Her voice cracked mid-sentence and her body began to shake. Piers pulled her closer and rested his cheek on top of her head while she cried. “I shouldn’t have even joined.”

A deep sigh ebbed Piers’ chest. “You’re allowed to feel however you want to feel, but Max, so many people rooted for you right through to the end. Thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands in Galar alone! And out of those people, just think of how many saw you as an inspiration. As their muse.”

That last part was more about himself than the others, but the point still stood.

Piers kept his head on Max’s, but raised a hand to her cheek, blindly wiping her tears as they fell. The strokes from his thumb and the gentle reverberation of his voice against her soothed her sobs away, her tears falling silently. Calmly, even.

“None of that was a waste for anyone,” Piers continued quietly. “Not for you, not for the other competitors, an’ definitely not for Marnie, I can promise you that. She really isn’t that miffed.”

Max shifted beneath him so she could meet Piers’ eyes. As he raised himself from his makeshift pillow, he grinned. Rather than responding, Max reverted back to her original spot against his chest with a solemn nod.

More silence, and then, “With the obvious aside, did ya enjoy the rest of the challenge? We haven’t had a chance to catch up.”

Max sighed and proceeded to nod against him. “Almost being killed in a Dynamax den and going out with Leon aside, it was a lot of fun, yeah.”

Piers can hear a slight grin in Max’s voice, but was caught off guard by the statement. “Was Leon not good to you?”

Thinking of Max with Leon was already hard enough without fear of how he might have treated her. Piers was doing his best to stay calm.

“Nonono, he was really good!”

Piers felt a pang in his chest. He was glad he wasn’t a dick, but…

“He just…” Max hesitated, moving away from Piers’ grasp to pop her knuckles before hugging her knees to her chest. In the process, she let her portion of the blankets drape off of her, revealing a cropped white camisole and her old Dark gym shorts. All that warm coverage made sense now.

Piers waited patiently while his friend gathered her bearings. A sigh escaped her. She pursed her lips in thought, zoned out on the coffee table in front of them.

“I dunno,” she finally trekked on, “It just wasn’t the same as—“

Max cut herself off. Her mouth stayed slightly ajar and her eyes widened, as though she was about to reveal something she didn’t want to share. She closed her lips and sighed again, shutting her weary eyes.

Piers cocked his head to the side, watching Max intently. What was she going to say? Should he pry?

He hoped for the best, his heart skipping a beat. Was she… was she going to compare Leon to him?

No, it was wishful thinking. It had to be. Max probably saw their occasional escapades as an escape, a tool. A filler. Just like he had tried to convince himself she was for him, too.

Unable to tame his curiosity, though, Piers pressed on, his voice quiet. “The same as what?”

Max tilted her head to get a better view of him, resting her cheek against her knee. Closed her eyes again. Opened them and kept her vision off of his face. Blinked a few times, then finally, “I-it wasn’t the same as with you, I guess. I dunno.”

Piers could fucking cry. Why did this feel like a confession? Was it one?

Being the type of person to haphazardly ramble on when she’s nervous, Max kept going. “Like, Leon was nice, and I still consider him a really good friend, and he wasn’t a bad boyfriend, I don’t think, but, like, I couldn’t help but keep comparing him to you, w-which is stupid because we aren’t dating,” Max gestured between Piers and herself, still refusing to look him in the eye, “but sometimes I-I guess it feels like we are, in a way? Which is dumb. And like, he was a great kisser, but those weren’t the same either, like, there wasn’t that- that same spark, and—“

“Max…”

The girl blinked before widening her eyes. She said too much. Her chest tightened and she hid, resting her forehead to the knee her cheek had been pressing into.

She couldn’t believe it. Why did she say all that? The whole reason they decided not to date, even though the physical attraction was there; not to kiss more than, like, once or twice a month at most; not to fuck when things got a bit steamy while they kissed… it was all to not risk making things weird. To not ruin the special bond they had with each other.

Yet here she was, telling a long withheld secret to the very subject of it.

What had she done?

“I’m sorry,” she squeaked into her knees.

Piers didn’t know what to say. His heart was racing, his face was on fire, his eyes were wide, his head was spinning.

He hadn’t noticed how much she truly meant to him until she was with Leon. Up until that point, he had an ignorant confidence that maybe they’d stay the way they were forever. Both single, both messing around with each other and others… until they eventually broke and lived happily ever after. Or something.

And he’d tried to move on, having a few dates with Milo in tandem, but that didn’t go far. Even spent a night between Raihan’s sheets here and there (yet another act of good measure). And while none of that was bad, they…

It was like Max just said. They weren’t the same as her. They weren’t her.

For a moment, he felt frozen.

In the next, he was swiveling himself to face her, ejecting Max’s discarded blankets off of himself too. He put a hand on her shoulder, whispered a soft “Hey.”

When Max looked up, her eyes shy and her cheeks tamato-hot, he moved in.

Max didn’t expect a kiss then. In the past, it as an unspoken mutual agreement before the event. Something along the lines of,

“Hey, kiss me.”

“Oh! Why?”

“Why not? T’s fun.”

“Fair point.”

Or,

“I wanna smooch.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“‘Kay, c’mere.”

Piers was gentle enough that she could have easily stopped him from tilting her chin up, from laying his lips against hers, from running his thumb up and down her cheek in the same way that always gave her gooserene bumps in the past, and from weaving his fingers through the messy hair near her nape.

But she didn’t. She didn’t want to.

She could tell in that moment that this was his own confession of sorts. His way of trading his own secret for hers. Of keeping things even. They’d continue this trend as the moments passed by:

When Piers pulled back, Max chased him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

When Max parted her lips for a breath, Piers explored her tongue with his own.

Just like the first time, and plenty more after that, when Piers nudged Max back, she obliged, happily laying herself beneath him.

When Max pulled Piers closer, he strengthened his hold on the arm around her.

When Piers’ hand retreated across her back before wandering down her hip, down her thigh, gripping her thigh, Max welcomed it, letting her corresponding leg lightly wrap around his bony waist.

And when Max let a hushed moan slip in response to Piers’ hardening sex pressing against her clothed slit and lower belly, Piers softly rutted himself against her, again, and again, and again.

All shame had flown out the window. They both hated to admit that they were getting off on dry humping after the barest hint of a love confession like a bunch of depraved teenagers. They simply ignored it in favor of breathing each other’s air and absorbing each other’s embarrassing sounds with more kisses…

Until a high-pitched chirp across the room interrupted them. Both trainers’ eyes shot open and over, locking onto those of a worried misdreavus. The creature peered back and forth between them before it ultimately locked its eyes onto its human’s, its blueish brows furrowed.

Max’s surprised open mouth morphed into a smile while Piers’ upper teeth dug into his bottom lip, containing his own grin.

Max reassured her partner, “Mis— Erm. It’s okay, he’s okay! You know he’s fine!”

It squinted, chirping again.

“Yes, I— pfft, I promise.”

Chirp.

“Just, uh. Go wait in there, or in your ball, or,” a defeated grunt escaped her before she pleaded, “anywhere other than here, please, oh my god.”

The Misdreavus’ eyelids narrowed again, and it chirped one last time — a stubborn, almost rebellious one — before retreating to Max’s bedroom, where it had been napping prior. It had the decency to nudge the door shut behind itself, at least.

Max’s shoulders shook with laughter as her eyes screwed shut, and the man mounting her leaned his forehead down to her shoulder, giggling against the fabric covering her upper chest.

“That little shit!”

“It was just looking out for me!” Max defended it, “You know it gets protective!”

“Yeah, well…” Piers punctuated his point with a lighthearted eye roll and shake of his head.

Their laughter died down, but their lips stayed curled up as their views aligned.

Piers speaks his friend’s name matter-of-factly, a mere few inches from her face. “Max.”

“Piers,” she parroted.

“I… fuck,” he murmured, before propositioning with dark eyes, “Can I fuck you?”

“Whoa!” Max’s eyebrows shot up and her heart stuttered. She was awestruck.

Piers misinterpreted Max’s shock for discomfort. “Oh,” the zigzagoon-haired man began to lift himself into a kneel, “Is that— did— is that okay or did I just—“

Leaning up onto her left palm and encouraging him to meet her with her right, Max shut Piers up with another kiss. He instantly relaxed into her touch.

When Max nodded, Piers parted from her to question it. He was stopped short.

“Please.”

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snrld · 2 years ago

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[ ⛓ ] has your muse ever felt trapped? by what?

Headcanon meme inspired by things I like ♫ @emmetrain ♫ Accepting

[ ⛓ ] has your muse ever felt trapped? by what?

{OOF... There's no denying that he felt trapped under Rose during his time as a Gym Leader, with it feeling more grueling than he thought. Sure, he got to represent his beloved Dark Types & try his hardest to make a name for Spikemuth, but at what cost? Spikemuth's dilapidation seeming like a direct result of him turning down Rose's offer to move. His blood, sweat, and tears poured into getting the Gym even into the minor leagues. His Gym seeming as less than compared to the others with all their glitz & glam and clearly more favored by Rose/the League.

All terrible results from a passion project of his, dragging Spikemuth into the spotlight. Coupled with the stress of having to collect & report the data from each win/loss to the League HQ himself since there's no League staff member present at all, working on getting Spikemuth fixed up, and managing his music career. Just a major oof all around.

However. Just bc hes no longer Gym Leader, that doesn't mean he's gonna stop advocating & working on Sppikemuth, especially since his sister's the new Gym Leader. If anything, that's gonna inspire himself to work even harder.}

#emmetrain #{ 𝒌𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔 ~ 𝒐𝒐𝒄 }#♫ ─ 𝙸'𝙼 𝙾𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙾𝙿 𝙰𝚂 𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙸𝙲'𝚂 𝙻𝙾𝚄𝙳 : ( headcanons )

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bellafragolina · 2 years ago

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Okay, so first of this was inspired by a fill from It-Ezz-What-it-Ezz, who did the same thing but for Guzma and Team Skull, so this doubles as a shout out to them, because I fell absolutely in love with the idea and would like to see the same done for Piers and Team Yell.

The Yell grunts figure out that Piers has a crush on the reader but for some reason hasn't made a move yet. Team Yell decides they are gonna help him out by playing wingmen, they are supportive fans! Go Piers! Piers deserves a nice significant other ! But since this is Team Yell we are talking about and they aren't exactly known as one of the smartest Pokemon antagonist teams their way of trying to set those two up is predictably chaotic.

Basically Team Yell causes well meaning havoc with Piers looking on in horror and embarrassment when he realizes what the fuck is going on while reader is just extremely entertained by all of it.

I ADORE It-Ezz-What-It-Ezz! I am such a big fan of their work. Goodness, I would pay to be as good as them! That imagine of theirs with Guzma is soooo cute too!

🍓🍓🍓

You had dropped by Spikemuth to attend one of Piers concerts. You and him had been friends for a while, and you often came by to see his concerts whenever you could make the time.

The town was lively. Fans from Spikemuth and beyond floated about, going between the stalls of food, merch, and some homemade goods the locals were selling. Team Yell were there too, gathered in small groups, getting ready to hype up their boss. You smiled at the team, acquainted with most of them through Piers. They waved and yelled over the chatter of the crowd at you, mostly nonsense you couldn’t make out. You laughed and waved back before making your way towards the stage.

Piers told you your were allowed up in the “VIP” area with Team Yell. It was a roped off area right in front of the stage that had no real security to separate it from the rest of the crowd. There was a few Team Yell members around, though, and they kept back the other fans before the concert started and everyone would swarm the stage.

And, as the sky darkened, it was a surprising number of Team Yell members that swarmed forward. You were immediately squished between shouting fans, smeared in paint and enthusiasm. You laughed, and cheered with them, infected by their energy. As you all shouted, Piers and his band took the stage. He noticed you amongst his subordinates almost immediately, and cocked a brow at how they all seemed to focus on you.

Whatever, he thought, ignoring the tinge of worry that gnawed on the back of his mind, time to play. Hope they like it. I wrote it for them.

He began to sing, heavy music with sweet lyrics of devotion. The spotlights faded between pink and red, the beats vibrating through the floor up into your chest. Your heart flutters as Piers makes heavy eye contact with you as he sings. You sway to the music and smile at him. His lips quirk up too, and you have to stop yourself from swooning.

“It’s for the boss!” One person yelled, to your slight confusion. But Piers was starting to sing his newest song, a love song, so you ignored the commotion to try and fantasize that he was singing to you.

“For the boss!” Several others chimed. Suddenly, several pairs of hands were on you. Without warning, you were lifted into the air, crowd surfing except they were shoving you forward?!

“Oh, bloody-” Piers quit singing to dive forward and catch you. Thrown onto the stage, wrapped in Piers’ arms, you were frozen like a Deerling in headlights. “Hell!”

“Kiss!” Team Yell cheered. The rest of the crowd, at first confused, quickly followed lead as they realized what was happening. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Piers, a rosy red under the spotlights, glanced at you, unsure. “You alright, love?”

You blinked at him, at the crowd, then back at him. With a small smirk, you nodded. “Mhm, but aren’t you gonna kiss me?”

Piers eyes blew wide, then lidded as he smirked. He knew he liked you. “Guess I shouldn’t disappoint the crowd.” He leaned in, the crowd exploding with cheers as he kisses you.

Those knuckleheads. He thought hazily, lost in the feeling of your mouth against in. He dips you back to feel you gasp against his lips. But I guess I have to thank them for this.

🍓🍓🍓

I love love love meddling friend fics. Team Yell are just doing what they think is best for their boss, lol. Have a great day everyone!!

~Renee

#piers x reader #pokemon imagines #pokemon x reader

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hyper-voice · 2 years ago

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Starter for @redlegend

For a place described as a ghost town, Spikemuth never truly sleeps. Even when the stadium isn’t rattling the city, there’s always a drift of music, laughter, yelling from somewhere, under the ever-present hum of neon signs. On this street, the noise is coming from the condemned old concert hall from the city’s heyday. Inside, the walls are covered in graffiti of a specific kind - like a sign in book at a museum, but with spray paint and a rebellious flair.

The sound of yelling and jeering filtered up from the main stairwell - taking the old, creaking stairs down leads to a basement that opens into a cavern, the walls torn away both by design and by decay. A throng of people are centered in a large cavern, lit by spotlight stands and a few luminescent pokemon. In the center of the crowd, a pokemon battle is taking place - or rather, ending. The contender’s final pokemon, a Thievul, is knocked unconscious with a vicious Throat Chop from an Obstagoon.

Behind Obstagoon, howling triumphant, is its owner, Piers - the musician from the concert just a few hours before. His hair is loosed from its tie and his makeup is smeared on his face, and he yells excitedly with his pokemon. Nearby, another person in Team Yell garb grabs Piers’s mic to yell:

“Who’s next?!”

#... (red)#lets goooooooo

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stillchaoticlogic · 5 years ago

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Descent: Chapter 1

Leon only thought he was the most powerful trainer in Galar...

He never battled you though.

Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole

You can hardly believe your eyes the first time you see him at the arena. Surely this is some kind of mistake. The Unbeatable… well formerly unbeatable… now dethroned Champion Leon.

The first few times he came he just watched and you just watched him. Your curiosity getting the better of you, besides if rumor has it, he’s looking for you.

Tonight as he steps into the ring there is a tension in the stagnant air. The old warehouse that is playing arena this month rife with the smell of sulfur and dust. The abandoned warehouse is old and in disrepair, but not old enough to become home to Pokemon or not be able to handle the battles. After all, these weren’t League battles, these were something else entirely. A high chain link fence goes up almost to the rafters of the old building. Spotlights shine down with a yellow light and makeshift stands were brought in. The betting pool is where the real fun is though. Everyone is betting against him, this isn’t his usual crowd.

These are rejects of the League, the dropouts and unsponsored. They hold no love for the champion of a sport that rejected them. However, they still love the thrill of battle, that’s what draws them here.

Leon only thought he was the strongest trainer in all of Galar.

He has never battled here.

He has never battled you.

“What does our former Champion want?” taunts the Five of Clubs.

He’s new meat, just beginning to make his way up the battle ranks. He’s progressed fast and he shows promise. That cocky attitude of his is to be desired though.

“I want to battle the strongest trainer here.”

“The Queen doesn’t take challengers that haven’t proven themselves worthy.”

“I’m the Champion!”

“Former Champion.”

Leon grits his teeth and lowers his head to hide his face under his hat.

“Still! Isn’t that proof enough? I was the Unbeatable-”

“We know! We know! The Unbeatable Champion!” interjects the Knight of Hearts. Her shrill voice cutting through the air like a siren.

“To answer your question, no it’s not enough. This isn’t your precious League. That would be like one of us walking out onto your pitch and demanding a battle from you. You haven’t earned the right to battle The Queen yet.”

“What do I have to do to battle her?”

“Move up the ranks, this isn’t playtime and you aren’t the king anymore.”

There is a chorus of cackles that go up from the crowd and Leon accepts the challenge with false confidence. He’s three battles in when he falls.

You watch emotionlessly as the Three of Diamonds’ Machoke slams his Charizard to the ground and Leon panics when he doesn’t get up.

“Charizard! Buddy?!” He rushes towards him and cradles the fire lizard’s massive head in his hands. You’ve never seen such a sight in your life.

“Deal with your teammate Diamond,” you mutter as you glance over to the young woman to your left.

“What?” she asks with faux innocence, “He knew what he was getting into!”

“You know they went harder on him than was appropriate. If something happened to his Charizard I’m going to have to deal with it. Don’t make me do that.”

“You got it Majesty!” She says in a mocking tone.

You roll your eyes at her as you leave your place on the upper level. Heading down the stairs you can still hear Leon’s panic over his friend. The crowd parts for you, but he doesn’t even notice your presence until you are right next to him.

“He’s going to be okay. Let’s get you two out of here.”

He whipped his head around to face you with fire in his eyes, “Don’t touch him.”

His voice is cold and hard. You put your hands up in a surrender position and stand up before backing away.

“You need to get him to a center. The angle that he hit the ground could have seriously harmed him and the faster you get him treatment the better.”

“You don’t think I know that?! I know how to take care of my team!”

“Then perhaps you should stop panicking and get moving.”

You feel his glare more than you see it as he returns his partner and rushes from the arena. You can hear the jeering crowd as he rushes out the door.

“It’s weird not seeing him in that stupid cape…” One of the cards says.”

You pay him no mind as you return to your place to watch the rest of the battles.

A week goes by before you see him again. He’s standing in the crowd watching the battles take place before he challenges one of the contenders.

“Look, we humored you the first time, but this is serious shit okay? I got rent to pay and I can’t do it if you don’t let me do my thing.”

“What you don’t think you can win against me?” Leon challenges.

“Listen Ace, you need a team to endorse you. One of the Kings or Queens have to let you on their team, once that happens you battle up the ranks. Once you’re a rank that is of any kind of importance then you can challenge royalty. Until then…. you’re a Joker. Jokers gotta prove themselves worthy of challenging those on a team by an elimination tournament. Only the top four competitors get the chance to be chosen for a team and that’s only if one of the royals likes you enough to pick you. No guarantees.”

“What makes this any different than the sponsors then? You’re still excluding people.”

“Anybody can join the Tournament of Fools, only the strongest get chosen for a team. The Kings and Queens have standards and you have to meet them. That’s the rules.”

Leon has a fire in his eyes you’ve never seen before, so you aren’t surprised when he asks.

“When’s the next Tournament of Fools?”

“Two weeks.”

“I’ll be there.”

With a roll of your eyes, you watch as the former champion leaves the arena. There is only one person you know that may have the answer to what’s going on.

Spikemuth feels like home as you walk through the neon-lit streets. When you get to the arena and you see Piers up on stage you lean back against the wall to watch the set. It’s a few songs before he notices you, but when he does he puts a halt to the practice.

“What have I done to warrant a visit from her Majesty?” he asks in an almost mocking tone. You know better though, you can hear the underlying nerves from a life he’s left behind.

“Absolutely nothing, I figured you may be able to help me through… It seems a former champion intends to join the Tournament of Fools in a couple of weeks.”

“Leon? In the Underground?”

“Yes, and I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“They’ll eat him alive…”

“They already have and he’s coming back for more.”

Piers looks away from you, “I’ll go talk to him…”

“That’s a good idea.”

“If I can’t convince him though…”

“You know there is nothing that I can do Piers.”

“So you won’t even try?”

“I can’t just scoop the former champion up in order to protect him… You of all people should know this. I got you out Piers, now I need you to keep him from coming back.”

You don’t see Leon over the next two weeks, and you believe that Piers got through to him. It’s not until the night of the tournament that he returns. You notice among the crowd Piers and Raihan obviously trying to keep their friend from making a big mistake, but he doesn’t seem to be listening.

The crowd is rife with anticipation and as Leon walks up to the sign-in sheet you can hear the whispers go up among them. They can’t wait to watch him fail.

“You have all heard of the Four Royals of the Underground, but now it’s time to see them with your own eyes! We have the King of Hearts, and his specialty is Fairy Types! Don’t let their innocence fool you! You will fall in love just for him to break your heart!” A tall man with dark hair swept back neatly stands up. He’s wearing a black suit with a red shirt underneath. The mask covering his eyes is white, he winks flirtatiously at the audience.

“Next, we have the Queen of Diamonds! Her exterior isn’t the only thing icy about her! Her team will freeze you in place and shatter your chances of victory.” Diamond stands up with her icy blonde hair down in loose curls. Her white dress is long and form-fitting shimmering in the light. The smirk on her face is haughty as she regards the crowd.

“We can’t forget our King of Clubs! This master of street brawls will put any and all dojos to shame! One right hook is all it takes for his killer team to take the win!” Clubs stands up and cracks his knuckles while he regards the audience with a sneer. He’s wearing a pair of ripped jeans with a black shirt and black leather jacket.

“And finally, last but certainly not least, the Queen of Spades! She may let you pick your poison, but that doesn’t mean you can take it!” You stand up in your black pants, combat boots and long black coat cascading down behind you. You regard the crowd cooly as you give a smirk and a wave.

“Alright contestants! It’s not only your job to win, but you have to impress royalty as well! Better bring your A-game. Only four of you have a chance at getting chosen tonight. Let’s go!”

The battles begin with four on four battle royals. You aren’t surprised when among the amateurs Leon shines. He wasn’t the Unbeatable Champion for the last few years for nothing, and despite his previous losses, he isn’t weak.

“Leon’s doing pretty good… I may just recruit him so I can break him a little bit…” Clubs chuckles as he glances over at Diamond. She snickers before she turns back to the battle. There is no love for Leon here. He represents everything that most of the trainers in the Underground hate. He succeeded where they couldn’t and now he’s infringing upon their territory.

When the battles are over Leon stands victorious over all of the competitors. You had hoped he would be ignored regardless of how good he is and be turned away, but you know that’s not the case. You know what you have to do even if you hate it.

“Our reigning champion will be choosing for her team first. Your Majesty.”

You watch as Leon’s eyes zero in on you as you stand up and regard each of the trainers. You know you’re who he has been searching for.

“Leon,” you announce in an almost bored tone.

The crowd is silent as Leon makes his way to your team. You can feel the eyes of your rivals and they are rife with hostility.

“Someone is going soft…” mutters Diamond.

“I literally destroyed you last week… you sure?” you ask as you turn towards her with an arrogant smirk.

She huffs and looks away.

You regard Leon as he walks by you to sit in the only vacant seat on your team.

“You know Spades… If you didn’t already have a target on your back, you do now. Sticking your neck out for the former champion… bleeding heart ain’t ya?” Clubs drawls from his seat.

“If I couldn’t handle a target on my back I wouldn’t be the High Queen, would I? Do your worst Clubs… it still won’t be good enough.” you murmur almost innocently.

“Now… now… this is supposed to be a fun event! You’re all so serious!” Hearts interjects with a pointed look at Clubs.

He just sneers at the two of you before he turns to evaluate the rest of the candidates. The other royalty chooses their teammates quickly and the teams welcome their new Aces to their teams. Once the formalities are over everybody heads out to go to a party in the warehouse. Before Leon can leave you whip your head around to face him, “You’re coming with me… we need to talk.”

You lead him into your makeshift office before you round on him, “I hope you know precisely what you’ve gotten yourself and me into.”

“Look! I just want a chance to prove-”

“What? That you’re the best? The most powerful? News flash. You’ve never been the best or the most powerful, there is always someone better and more powerful. Victory is fleeting and now you’re a target. They want to destroy you.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle!” he says clearly offended.

“Like you handled it the other night?” he looks away from you.

“Look… I feel for you,” you continue, “but you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“It’s just a battle league!”

“It’s way more than that…”

Before you can explain Piers and Raihan burst into the room and you roll your eyes at the pair.

“(Name)! You chose him!”

You glare over at Piers, “You didn’t do your job…”

“I tried… it’s not my fault he didn’t listen…” he says with slight annoyance.

“Wait. How do you two know each other?”

“We used to battle together, we went up the ranks together.”

“Piers… you were in the Underground League?”

“Yeah… I had to make money somehow and this was the best way. When Marnie got older I got out, but it wasn’t easy. If it wasn’t for (Name) here I would still be in the League.”

“Doing what?”

“Whatever I needed to do.”

“Getting out of the League isn’t always easy. Sometimes you just have to retire otherwise, you have to be released.”

“What do they do if you aren’t released?”

“They pretty much destroy your life.”

“Destroy your life?”

“Look it’s all fun and games for the most part, but there is a market for illegal Pokémon here. That’s where the Underground comes in.”

“You steal Pokémon!?”

“No! We aren’t Team Rocket! We catch them, some of the more esteemed are breeders. No body’s abusing Pokémon here, but if you want a Pokémon that isn’t exactly supposed to be here, we have our ways. For this reason, it’s exclusive. I don’t even know how you found out about us let alone found us.”

“Some guy just told me about you all.”

“What guy?”

“I don’t know his name… maybe if I saw him I would recognize him?”

“That’s not good… It sounds like a trap…”

“Why would that be a trap?”

“Because this is an underground league with illegal side work and you’re a celebrity. What makes you think this isn’t a trap?” you in annoyance.

“I didn’t know you smuggled illegal pokemon!”

“That’s because you aren’t even supposed to know we exist!” you snap.

“Well what do we do now?” asks Leon.

“I don’t know… but you have to get stronger, they are going to be coming for you.”

He frowns at you but nods, determination in his eyes, “What do I need to do?”

“We’re going to the training ground tomorrow.”

“Where’s that?”

“Oh, you’ll see…”

Notes: I know this is something a little different, but I wanted something edgy. I’ve been playing with this idea for a little so I hope you all like it! Please Comment!

#pokemon leon #leon x reader #champion leon #champion leon x reader #pokemon #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon scenarios #pokemon imagines #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #sword and shield fanfiction #swis fanfiction

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spkmth · 4 years ago

Text

SOME BANAL KBNZ HEADCANONS.

HOW THEY MET, BECAME FRIENDS, AND FELL IN LOVE.

• they met as children, during a battle in the wild area ; piers saved raihan from some camp interlopers one evening, and raihan’s enthusiastic gratitude, while grating, meant that he immediately endeared himself to piers. they never had the chance to become rivals, as piers’ journey got cut short when he had to become marnie’s full-time caregiver ; but he never fell out of touch with raihan, and they texted one another at least once a week. when raihan left for the isle of armor, and then for university in kalos right after, their messages passed less and less frequently ... and when raihan returned nearly a year later, a fully-fledged dynamax master and certified dragonkeeper, piers could scarcely recognize him.

• the attraction was immediate, but it took a long while for love to grow. as a man both in the closet and in the spotlight, raihan couldn’t deny his physical and mental attraction to piers, but had to stuff his feelings to save face in front of his family and his adoring fans ( and initially out of fear that piers wouldn’t feel the same ). for his part, piers made his intent apparent, but not too apparent to jeopardize their long-time friendship ; he’d had hundreds of one-night stands, infamously never going back for encores, but by the time he’d cajoled raihan into bed with him, he realized that he was going to have to break his one-and-done rule. they hooked up pretty regularly after that, always in secret, always in spikemuth for raihan’s peace of mind.

• raihan admitted to having feelings first. piers initially thought it was a joke or a slip of the tongue ; he’d seen the way raihan looked at leon ( spoiler: it was the same way he looked at raihan ) and figured that their hook-ups were just for fun. but leon is untouchable, and piers is warm and comforting and sweet beneath the tight leather and spikes and neon colors —— raihan reassures him that he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, not for all the pokégram clout in the world, and that’s when piers realizes that holy shit this is real.

• yes, they are in love. no, it isn’t a ruse, a front, or some scheme to make leon jealous. no, they aren’t just fucking because they’re two hot guys and people on the internet like that.

RELATIONSHIP QUIRKS.

• yes, raihan gets on piers’ nerves sometimes, with his constant selfies and his exuberant,�� loud personality. piers gets on raihan’s, too ; his non-stop partying and continuous self-deprecation get under raihan’s skin. but they love each other anyway —— no love is perfect, and they acknowledge that they aren’t perfect people, and they don’t expect to break the mold in this regard.

• yes, raihan is attracted to leon. piers is attracted to leon too. they have a standing agreement that if it ever came up, leon is the only person they are allowed to have a threesome with, or sleep with one-on-one. but raihan likes leon on a personal level, too, whereas piers only sees him as happy-go-lucky champion time guy. indeed, piers resents leon to some degree, due to raihan’s fixation on him ; its fine if raihan wants his body, but only piers gets raihan’s heart. piers is also genuinely suspicious of leon : the guy’s too happy ... what has rose done to him? ( i hate when people make them a happy ot3 when piers has never been in the same room as the guy. do i think they have potential? of course. the internet exists solely for things like that. but GIVE ME CONFLICT DAMN IT. )

• they never lie to one another. the foundation of their relationship is honesty. raihan is expected to hold himself to a certain set of standards in his city and around his family, and even on his pokégram ; the only time he can let loose and be wild is on the pitch ... and with piers. and of course, for piers, punk is about shunning social norms and truly being oneself, and piers is the dictionary definition of a punk. he’s genuinely never lied to raihan, not as a child and not as a grown ass man ; in fact, sometimes his bluntness gets him into more trouble than a lie would. but as a couple, their honesty has always saved them and kept them together.

• raihan has yet to introduce piers to his parents, even as a friend. they’ve seen piers on tv and have made it clear that they dislike his lifestyle. it’s a good thing they don’t use pokégram, or else they’d see piers’ face plastered all over raihan’s feed. none of this bothers piers : he won’t be introducing raihan to his parents anytime soon, either, because wyndon prison has strict visitation rules and piers couldn’t care less. in fact, the only familial validation he needs is marnie’s, and she’s given it in spades. marnie adores raihan, and couldn’t imagine a better partner for her dumpster fire of a brother.

• piers loathes the idea of marriage. its a societal construct used to declare that a relationship is Supreme and those people are off the table, when basic human dignity and respect should be enough for that. unfortunately for him, raihan is a sucker for marriage, and has his mind set on it. someday, raihan.

• raihan doesn’t like piers’ drug use, and does his best to curb it, but won’t ask him to stop altogether. piers is happy living a short and explosive life, and raihan wouldn’t change that ; he simply keeps an eye out for him and is constantly brushing up on his cpr skills, just in case.

• raihan is incredibly educated, and some would argue that he is far smarter than piers ; as a man with full tertiary education, as well as a certification in the most dangerous pokémon type and mastery of the dynamax phenomenon, he could talk circles around piers if he wanted to. but raihan knows that having an education doesn’t make one smart ; piers is street savvy, much more so than raihan could hope to be, and he knows his way around a dollar better than any professor raihan ever learned from. and marnie is a perfectly well-educated and wonderfully socialized young lady, mostly due to her brother’s efforts ... so anyone who makes insinuations about piers’ intelligence around raihan will always end up with a fist in their face. for his part, though, piers enjoys listening to raihan prattle on about the function of a dragon’s scales, or something else he learned in school ; its something he’d wished he’d been able to do, something that he hopes he gets a shot at in his next life.

• despite being a bleeding heart who loves to spout shakespeare, raihan struggles with physical intimacy, sexually or otherwise. piers is a surprisingly discerning and compassionate lover, able to tell what his partner wants at a glance, and completely capable of fulfilling those needs without having to be asked ; its something that raihan envies. he’s great at displays of affection, and boy howdy can he explain it with words, but he doubts he’ll ever be as intuitively gifted as piers.

• piers has never written a song about raihan. when asked why, he’ll say that he simply can’t put the depth and scope of his feelings into words. he wants to, but every time he puts the pen to paper, it tries to spit everything out at once, leaving incomprehensible scribbles behind. he doesn’t have words for the ache in his chest, the shaking of his fingers, the simultaneous thrill and fear of being vulnerable with someone who truly cares about him ... so he writes songs about fucking the system instead.

WHO IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER AT...

• CARING FOR THE OTHER. they spend equal amounts of time caring for one another ; they’re both natural caregivers who love tending to others. raihan is much more ready to admit when he needs to be taken care of than piers is, as piers is used to doing everything on his own and struggles to ask for help ; but raihan is tuned into piers’ nonverbal cues well enough that he silently steps up right when piers silently gives in. piers, for his part, is happy to surrender to raihan as well ; raihan has proven time and time again that he would never intentionally hurt him ... at least, not without a safe word. ( the concept that piers is a uwu uke who needs to be taken care of bothers me because of his apparent willingness to relinquish control, something that canon piers has some pretty clear issues with doing. he strikes me as a man who needs to be needed, and who enjoys being a caretaker even if he’ll never admit it. the vulnerability of letting raihan take care of him, when piers has cared for others his whole life, is what attracts me to this pairing, not a hot goth boy getting railed in the ass. it isn’t that he NEEDS to be taken care of; its that he WANTS to be taken care of, by raihan. that’s good shit. and also piers isn’t a goth. )

• COOKING. raihan is the better cook, but piers makes a better cup of tea. raihan is the whip-shit at making curry ; its probably the one thing he’s beaten leon at. for his part, piers’ cups of tea are as legendary as his singing, and he has his friends’ and family’s preferences memorized.

• SINGING / MUSIC. piers, purely for his understanding of musical constructs and ability to read music. raihan can’t read music to save his soul, but he is great at learning by ear, and has a wonderful grasp of pitch and tone. piers has a wider range, but raihan has a purer voice ; years of chainsmoking has added a distinctive rasp to piers’ voice, but that’s one of the things that makes him famous. the first time the public got any inkling of their closeness was a spontaneous duet at a karaoke bar ( and surprisingly, they were sober ).

• FUCKING. piers, no contest. he’s talented and infamous for his exploits, and if he hasn’t tried it, he wants to. raihan certainly isn’t wet behind the ears, but sex isn’t his priority ; he likes connecting with people on an individual level, and then a physical level if they’re compatible. piers has the higher libido of the two, and this sometimes bothers raihan, partly because he wishes he had a greater sex drive and partly because he wishes piers would stop and smell the roselia with him instead of constantly trying to get him out of his clothes.

WHO DOES WHAT MORE?

• SMOKING / DRINKING. piers smokes way more than raihan, and raihan prefers hookah to cigarettes. they’re both drinkers, but skinny little piers can drink the dragon under the table. however, raihan is aces at concealing his level of drunkenness until he’s beyond the point of no return ; piers is shit at hiding it. drunk piers is baseline horny, sometimes happy, sometimes angry ; raihan is the happy / sleepy kind of drunk. raihan is picky and prefers mixed drinks, and piers will drink anything that isn’t cheap beer. raihan greatly prefers drinking at home, as he’d seen piers get roofied at a pub once and it traumatized him.

• STAYING UP LATE. piers is the king of the night-noctowls. raihan is lucky to make it to midnight.

• CHECKING THEIR PHONE. raihan. always raihan. piers’ poor rotom-phone has abandonment issues from how little it’s used.

• TOPPING / BOTTOMING. piers is 90% power bottom and 10% service top. he loves getting fucked and telling his lover how he wants it, but he’s also great at pleasing his partner no matter what they want from him, and loves taking care of his partner and making them scream. raihan is 70% service top, 15% power top, and 15% genuine sub. as nice as it is to flex his muscles and use his ungodly height to his advantage, sometimes its nice to just be taken care of. fortunately for raihan, piers is great at understanding nonverbal cues, and can easily tell what mindset raihan is in without having to ask.

#▌ 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ( 𝘙𝘌𝘉𝘌𝘓 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘈 𝘊𝘈𝘜𝘚𝘌. ) —— HEADCANONS.#▌ ♫ ( 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘈 𝘚𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘓𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘈𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘋. ) —— KBNZ.#yes i did just spend three hours writing this.#i have a lot of feelings about kbnz man

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darktypeimagines · 5 years ago

Note

Piers with an s/o who just got back from a mental health break that lasted a little too long and like,,, they have a lot to catch up on and they’re just stressed about it. In case it wasn’t obvious this is a situation I’m in rn lmao

I hope you feel better soon. I don’t know what exact mental health issues you’re experiencing, and I wrote it more or less depression-y/burn-out-y. Hope that’s ok, if not, send another request.

To you, and anyone else, my messaging is always open if you just need someone to talk to.

Put under the cut due to topic.

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

Piers was not a stranger to poor mental health. Spikemuth was not an easy city to grow up in, and at times, the spotlight could be just as stressful. As an adult, he’s learned how to handle this in healthier ways, but sometimes, it’s just too much.

So, when you started showing signs that you were going through something, Piers noticed immediately. He started doing little things for you; nothing major. Just simple things like bringing you dinner or offering to straighten things up a bit.

He wasn’t sure how open you were. Whether or not you were ready to talk about it. To his knowledge, you weren’t engaging in anything super dangerous to yourself, so he waited for you to come to him. Piers just didn’t want to cross a line; emotions are tricky. Even if what was going on was really obvious.

But then you began distancing. That’s what scared him. You started staying at your home more often than his. You texted less. Went out less. Some days, he couldn’t even get a hold of you.

After a little while of this, he decided he needed to finally see you in person again. He was beyond worried. His schedule was booked, between battles and concerts, and while it hurt him to do so, he canceled one of his smaller concerts so he could have time to come see you.

He dropped by late morning, electric blanket in tow. It was a cold winter’s day, and in Galar, winter’s could be brutal. And he knew how much you loved that blanket. He made a mental note to order one for you later.

Piers let himself in with his key. The house was silent, smelled a bit musty. All of the blinds were shut closed and a layer of dust coated many of your possessions.

He checked the living room first. Nope. The kitchen was nearby, and you weren’t there, either. So that meant the bedroom.

Yep, it was the bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it was dark. He only knew you were in there because of the lump on the bed.

He quietly walked up to you. It was difficult to tell if you were asleep, but once he was nearly there, it seemed like you were. He plugged in the blanket, and slipped into the bed with you gently, pulling the blanket over the two of you.

You shifted but did not wake. So, he waited.

It took a couple of hours for you to finally wake up. And when you did, and realized what happened, you apologized profusely. Piers assured you it was okay; he was just worried about you and peppered you with light kisses.

Finally, though, you actually started talking. If you are vague, he’ll still pick up on what you mean. He knows the signs, he knows the symptoms, and even if you can’t articulate it, he knows what you mean. This isn’t his first time around this block, after all.

You two end up talking throughout most of the day. There was so much you two missed. Marnie was doing well; the Champion Cup was coming up, and she had a good shot at winning! Piers had also decided to quit being a gym leader, too…

And for him? He missed how much pain you had been in, and even though he tried his best to reach out, he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.

The two of you talked and agreed to improve your communication with each other. A mental health break is fine but shutting everyone else out might only make you feel worse.

So, you agreed that the next time you began to feel like this, you would at least try to tell Piers what was going on and try a bit more to reach out when you needed help.

Hopefully, this would prevent a break from lasting too long again.

And yes, you spent most of the day in that electric blanket, curled up together in the warmth.

#piers #piers x reader #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon imagines #pokemon #x reader #ask #tw: depression #tw: mental health #I wasn't sure how to tw: warning this if you need a tag added I'll add it just let me know

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carefreejules · 4 years ago

Photo

Chapter 2: Let the Battle Begin

In the middle of the void of darkness, a lone figure stands under a single spotlight. Except that she’s not alone. A hand reaches out and grabs her wrist, startling the girl from her lonely thoughts. The hand belonged to a boy, around her age. His uninhibited toothy grin and cheery golden eyes that he showed just for her, made her smile just as brightly back.

Warm.

Friend.

The darkness suddenly lit up with an ocean of stars, filling her heart with awe, wonder, and wishes that she hoped the stars could grant for her. The boy suddenly broke out into a run, tugging her wrist and bringing her along with him.

She stumbled a bit, but pulled herself back up to catch up to him. He let go of her wrist, seeing her keep up with him as they ran side by side.

They didn’t know where they were running to, or where they were going, but the endless path of stars that lit up both of their worlds was the only guide they needed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Warm. Her body felt...warm. Warmer than usual. Even through the blaring and deafening sound of her alarm, she wanted to sink further into the comfort of her duvet covers. That dream was...very different from the usual.

A pleasant difference.

She didn’t feel confined or chained down by loneliness. The sea of stars of her dream opened up her world of possibilities, showering her heart with carefree wishes. The boy in her dreams...Did she see a similar sight with him before? Were their wishes and dreams the same, making the stars align so they could run together?

If only she could remember what his dreams were-

RING RING RING RING

Juliet, for once, wanted to dwell on her dreams longer, but it seemed like the world was pulling her back to reality. She blindly reached for her Rotom phone that she hid under her pillow and sleepily spoke in the receiver.

“Hello-”

“Jules!!! Where are you?! The train is going to leave in 15 minutes!!”

Train? 15 minutes?

Oh shit.

Juliet sprang up from her bed in a frenzy, darting to her bathroom to get ready as quickly as she could. She made a good call by packing up her things the night before, but even so, it wasn’t like her to be late for anything. Once she was sufficiently ready, she scooped up Pistachio from his bed, grabbed her suitcase and ran out the door in five minutes flat.

Somehow, she made it to Wyndon Station with two minutes to spare, her heart pounding in her ears that she didn’t notice her team calling out to her.

“Sorry, sorry! But, I’m here now, right?” Juliet huffed while taking generous gulps of air. Arceus, perhaps she should squeeze in a bit of cardio if a sprint took this much out of her.

“You’ve never been late to anything, though. You’re usually the first one to arrive before the scheduled time. Are you feeling OK?” Mary asked, eyes filled with concern. Their leader waved her hand in defence.

“I’m feeling great, actually! Minus the running part.”

“Still, don’t push yourself. The Opening Ceremony for the Gym Challenge is today and it wouldn’t do well if our leader wasn’t feeling up to it.”

The day had finally come. The annual Gym Challenge would finally be underway and then the Champion Cup right after. First day of the job, and the Raid Team had to be in Motostoke for rehearsals before the real thing kicked off in the evening. The thrill wouldn’t quite hit them until they stepped foot inside of the stadium for the very first time. They eagerly boarded the train headed to Motostoke, feeling the anticipation fill up in their chests as they watched the train pull out of the station until Wyndon was far off into the distance.

It was strange. As they watched the scenery pass by and change from the windows, they all felt like they were travelling to a brand new place like they’ve done during their travels together. The places they were going to visit over the course of the Gym Challenge were far from new, but it felt like they were a part of something bigger.

Something significant.

That feeling only seemed to grow when the steam coming from the cogs of Motostoke finally came into view, and the group marvelled at the banners and streamers that decorated the train station and all over the town.

It felt like the whole city came to life when they stepped out of the train station. People were crowded all over the streets, lined up in front of stalls selling official Gym Challenge merchandise. Some children were even dressed up as their favourite gym leaders. It hadn’t even started but the festive spirit was already in high gear.

“So this is what Galar is like during the Gym Challenge…” Tessu marveled in awe.

“Want me to ask one of those kids where they got their Raihan hoodie from so we can get one in your size?” Juliet nudged her elbow teasingly at Mary. Mary pouted with embarrassment and nudged back.

“What about you? I bet you want Leon’s cape.”

“That gaudy thing? No thanks.”

“Alright, ladies. Let’s try to navigate through this crowd so we can get to the stadium.” Vanquil suggested, already squeezing through the waves of people that walked through the congested streets.

The line up to the stadium was unsurprisingly long. Luckily one of the staff members of the stadium recognized them immediately and ushered them to the back entrance, away from the prying eyes of attendees who recognized them.

“Did you hear people whispering about us in the line?” Tessu alerted.

“Yeah. We did sort of hint to them of a big announcement on Pokegram. They must have put two and two together from seeing us here.” Vanquil replied back.

“I’m getting a bit nervous now…” Mary muttered.

“Well, you better put on a brave face because we’re about to see how many seats there are in the stadium.”

From concrete to astroturf, that field of the stadium stretched out wide in front of them, a preview of the sheer scale of the event and battles that would take place. Without the seats filled to the brim with roaring fans, they couldn’t help but feel small in such a wide open space.

Juliet couldn’t help but wander over to the centre of the field; the centre of the action. What was it like to stand on this field, with thousands of eyes fixated on your every move and command? Gyms in other regions didn’t have the same glamour or spectacle for the League as Galar did. Would it be more challenging because of that? Or would the cheers of support push challengers to their limit, to the point where they feel strong enough that they can take on the world?

Perhaps that was why challengers needed to be endorsed before they could take on the League – to acknowledge the determination and will to be the best.

“Jules!! We’re going to go over rehearsals now!!” Tessu shouted across the field.

“Coming!”

“And, that’s basically the gist of the Opening Ceremonies. Don’t worry about having to memorize anything since the cameras aren’t on us very often. Any questions?”

“I do. Why is the Dark Gym Leader, Piers, absent from the script?” Vanquil asked. The main host, Phil, crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat contemplatively.

“Ahh, he won’t make it today. He’s also a bit of a hard nut to crack. His Gym is the only one where you can’t Dynamax Pokemon. Every year Chairman Rose asks him if he wants to build a gym closer to a Power Spot, but the guy always turns down the offer.”

“Now that you mention it, we haven’t really visited Spikemuth before, right?”

“I passed by it once and it looks kind of...sketchy.” Juliet added while flipping through the script again for the 20th time. The town didn’t look very welcoming, for lack of a better word. Dark alleys, neon signs and lighting everywhere – it was the textbook definition of a place that people should avoid at all costs. But, it did have a certain aesthetic to it that lent itself well to being the location of the Dark-type Gym. And the fact that the Gym leader himself didn’t seem interested in Dynamax, it made the whole place exude a rebellious spirit.

Still, she wouldn’t want to visit there alone.

“But, you have to admit – there’s something kind of admirable about a Gym Leader who chooses to battle normally.” Tessu thought out loud.

“That’s true. He’s clearly a Gym Leader for a reason so he’s probably tough.” Phil agreed before getting up from his chair. “Even though Piers isn’t here, why don’t we go say hi to the other Gym Leaders before rehearsal starts?”

“They’re here?!” Mary squeaked.

“Of course! Follow me!”

Following Phil down the hall, they were already greeted by the Grass-type Gym Leader, Milo, who was chatting with Nessa outside in the hall. The farmer greeted the approaching group with a gentle smile and waved at them.

“Phil! It’s good to see you again. And who do you have there with you?”

“Likewise, Milo. These are my co-hosts! With each Gym Challenge getting bigger and popular as the years go on, I’m going to need some help so Chairman Rose hired these four to help me.”

“Is that so? It’s nice to meet you four. I’m Milo, the first Gym Leader and I specialize in Grass-type Pokemon.” Milo gestured to Nessa, who turned to face the group and smiled kindly at them.

“This is Nessa. The second Gym Leader who specializes in Water-type Pokemon.”

“It’s a pleasure. Don’t hesitate to ask us any questions if you have any, OK?” Nessa assured.

Milo and Nessa. The first two hurdles of the Gym Challenge. The farmer was exactly how everyone described him as. Gentle, laid-back, and had a refreshing aura that made you feel relaxed in his presence. Nessa, on the other hand, had a confident air around her that was a compliment to her beauty. Juliet had heard rumours of their rivalry, but Milo didn’t strike her as someone who responded to competitiveness as Nessa would. But for two Gym Leaders who looked and acted almost like polar opposites, they seemed to have a common ground.

“We will! Thank you, Nessa, Milo.” Juliet replied back.

“What’s going on over here?” A sharp voice interrupted. They all turned their heads to see the (tall) Dragon-type Gym Leader make his way over to him with his Rotom phone floating around him, as if ready to take a photo at any opportune time. His relaxed cyan eyes regarded them casually until his eyebrows raised in recognition at the Raid Team.

“Hey, I recognize you four! You’re the talk of the town when it comes to Max Raid Battles, right? What was your team called...Raid Prism, I think?”

As expected from the Gym Leader with the biggest online, and even real life presence. Literally and figuratively. He had a massive following on both Pokegram and Chatoter, where he often posts photos of his Pokemon or of himself. Especially himself. One might think he has an ego the size of a Wailord, but based on the tone of how he addressed their team, Raihan sounded humble and honest.

“That’s right! Wow, to be recognized by the great Raihan himself...” Vanquil chuckled bashfully.

“I’m no stranger to what’s trending online. I’ve seen a few of your recorded battles and I think anyone would be impressed by the things your team pulls off!” Raihan commanded his Rotom phone to float a little higher so he and Raid Prism were all in frame for the camera. “Let’s commemorate this first meeting with a selfie, yeah?”

“Mary, step out from behind me. You’re not in frame.” Tessu giggled, gently pushing the brunette aside so she wasn’t just timidly poking her head for the camera. Raihan looked at Mary from the camera screen and shot her a lazy smile.

“No need to be camera shy. I don’t bite.”

“Those teeth of yours beg to differ.” Juliet joked.

“Very funny. On the count of 3, say ‘Goomy’. 1, 2, 3, Goomy!”

“Goomy!”.

“And last but certainly not least, those who overcome all of these acclaimed Gym Leaders will have the honour of partaking in the Champion’s Cup – the final hurdle to see who will be the one to challenge Leon, the Undefeated Champion!” Rose rehearsed into the empty stadium.

“Annnnnnd, he’s not even here.” Tessu snickered away from her mic. Phil snorted and leaned into his microphone to offer a bit of humorous ad lib.

“The person you’re trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone.”

Some of the Gym Leaders out on the field doubled over in laughter as Rose rolled his eyes in amusement.

“That concludes the Opening Ceremony of the Gym Challenge. I wish all the challengers the best of luck on their journey and I hope to see you all again at the Champion Cup in Wyndon Stadium!”

“Wooooooooooooooo!” Raid Prism cheered into their mics while clapping their hands for makeshift applause. Once Rose and the Gym Leaders walked off of the field, they turned off their mics and let out a collective sigh of relief. It was a pretty straight-forward job and they were reading off of a script, but knowing that they would be talking over a stadium filled with thousands of people made their stomachs sink in anxiety. Especially knowing their fans would be watching them too.

“And, that’s the end of our rehearsal run. Good work, guys!” Phil complimented with a cheery grin, until he noticed the lack of response and tense expressions on their faces. “Whoa, are you guys OK?”

“Y-Yeah, I think the nervousness for the real thing is setting in.” Vanquil noted shakily.

“Don’t be nervous! Remember, everyone in those seats is here to have a good time. They’re not going to care how ‘professional’ you are – have fun with it and the audience will feel it too.”

“You’re right...Thanks, Phil.” Juliet thanked him. It wouldn’t do good for them to feed on each others’ anxiety, prompting her to relax in her seat to meditate and reflect as Phil went over some tweaks and adjustments to their performance. Mary needs to speak with confidence, Vanquil doesn’t need to project into the mic, Tessu needs to slow down, and she needs to talk a bit less – a reasonable fix, she thought, and something that she really needed to take to heart outside of work.

Suddenly the door to the broadcast room swung wide open, revealing an out-of-breath Leon, who was clutching on the door knob with his upper body hunched over. The poor guy looked like he just sprinted a mile.

“Easy there, Champion. Good to see you’ve finally made it.” Phil joked before tossing him a water bottle. The Champion stood upright in time to catch it, uncapping it and chugging the whole thing down in one go.

And then he realized which room he barged into.

“O-Oh, I thought this was the break room.” Leon stammered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Well, we’re about to head there now. Pizza should be here by now.” Upon hearing that, Juliet’s stomach began to growl, making her flush and look away from the heads that turned into her direction.

“...I didn’t eat breakfast, OK?” She briskly walked out of the door, almost missing the amused smirk that Leon wore on his face as she walked past him. He chuckled, catching up to her pace until he was walking beside her.

“Looks like I’m not the only one with a habit that hasn’t changed.” The Champion mentioned casually. Juliet blinked and looked at him questionably, until something within her triggered a familiar feeling that reminded her of what he was talking about. He had one hell of a memory.

She envied him.

“That was the only time I fainted. I’m surprised you even remembered.”

“Well, I was the one who caught you before you hit the ground.”

“You did? I think I remember my aunt scolding me for not taking better care of myself..Though, I can see her feeling bad for making a guest look out for me.” Thinking back, she faintly recall there being a stuck up family staying at the inn who were constantly demanding room service, or massages, or amenities. But, everything that happened after felt foggy in her mind.

Why?

But, the feeling of familiarity was there.

“I’d like to think I was more than just a ‘guest’ at that point.” Leon added with a chuckle.

“I suppose, but you have to admit, that whole thing of not telling each other our names was strange.” Even if she was the one who started it. She had her reasons and she was going to tell him one day. She owed him that much, even if it stung just thinking about it.

“It was a little strange, but I played along anyway. I figured you had your reasons and you don’t have to tell me why. If anything, I...kind of benefited from the alias too.” He revealed, a nostalgic yet far-off look in his golden eyes. Hearing that made her perk up, cobalt blue eyes meeting his gold with interest.

Guess she wasn’t the only one with a mountain of secrets. And even though she couldn’t unearth what was hiding in his eyes, she felt that they would tell each other in due time. But they had their respective jobs to do and if there’s a trait that they both shared, it was to keep private matters away from work.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Rose began, his voice booming through the filled stadium of ecstatic fans, hot spot lights, and colourful fireworks that lit up the stadium like a grand stage.

"I am Rose, chairman of the Pokémon League! I know that everyone gathered here...” He pointed to the various Rotom drones that were whizzing around him. "And everyone watching from home, have all been waiting for this big moment! It is my pleasure to announce that finally— the Galar region Gym Challenge will now begin!"

The collective screams and cheers were deafening, and it felt like the stadium shook from excitement.

“We’ve made some exciting changes to this year’s Gym Challenge and we’ve even invited some very special guests that will surely make this challenge the most exciting one year yet! Allow me to introduce one of the top Max Raid teams of the Galar Region, Raid Prism!” The Chairman raised his arms towards the jumbotron screen behind him, unveiling Raid Prism’s four pointed star logo before the screen turned over to reveal the four of them in the broadcast room, waving to the camera with wide smiles on their faces.

“Good evening, Galar!!” Juliet greeted into the microphone. “It’s an honour to be here co-hosting for this year’s Gym Challenge. To all of our fans who are in the stands or at home watching, thank you for being here! And for those who don’t know us, my name is Juliet,”

“I’m Mary!”

“I’m Tessu!”

“And I’m Vanquil!”

“And we’re...” They connected their peace signs together to recreate their logo according to their respective colours. “Raid Prism!”

They weren’t expecting the chorus of cheers from the stands, or even those who switched their light sticks to their colours. It made them feel equally flattered, but perhaps even a bit embarrassed too. It’s not like they were well known enough by every day people to be recognized on the streets – so it was unknown to them how they would be approached. This moment dashed most of the worries that they had.

“Now, some of you are probably wondering, ‘who?’, and to that I say, fair enough.” Juliet joked. She was so relieved that a good amount of people in the audience had laughed at her ad lib. “Max Raids are becoming a popular pastime, and even sport, here in the Galar region, and I suggest you either follow us and all the other teams on Pokegram, to see what all the rage is about. But enough about us – let’s kick things off by introducing the acclaimed Gym Leaders of Galar!”

The main lights of the stadium turned off, only leaving a single bright spot light on to shine down on each Gym Leader, along with the endless stretch of light sticks that decorated the stadium like stars.

“Let’s welcome the first gym leader - the fighting farmer! Here’s the Grass-type expert, Milo!” Phil announced. Green fireworks shot through the air as Milo walked onto the stadium, waving to the sea of green glow sticks that were on just for him. One by one, the Gym Leaders made their grand entrance onto the field, all of them standing in a line which resulted in a flurry of colourful fireworks exploding over their heads.

“Unfortunately, we’re missing one, but...These are the Gym Leaders that we in the Galar region are proud to call our own!" Rose proclaimed proudly. “You may have noticed something different this year though, as instead of one Gym Leader per Gym, we’ve included both Gym Leaders for their respective Gyms. To make things more challenging and to push our challengers to the absolute limit, you’ll have to face Bea and Allister in the fourth Gym, and Gordie and Melony in the sixth Gym! Consider it preparation for when you’ll face off Raihan, the master of double battles and the final hurdle of the Gym Challenge.”

“And once trainers have conquered all eight gyms and collected all eight badges,” Juliet began.

“They will have to put their skills to the test for the greatest challenge of them all,” Tessu followed.

“The Champion Cup is where the true battle begins,” Mary added.

“Only the most worthy will have the honour of challenging the greatest Champion in history!” Vanquil ended, giving a signalling nod to Phil and the tech crew.

“He who holds the honour of Champion for the 13th year in a row, please welcome your Champion, the King of Kings, Leon!!” Phil announced with a flourish. The centre of the stadium sparked with confetti and smoke, revealing Leon in all of his majestic glory once the smoke cleared. The crowd went absolutely wild, men and women alike screaming at the top of their lungs for their Champion, and children waving their light sticks wildly as they jumped out of their seats. He flashed his cape around before striking his signature pose towards the night sky, sending a final grand explosive firework into the heavens.

“A few words for our challengers, Leon?” Rose asked. Leon turned to the challengers that stood on the opposite side of the field from him and the Gym Leaders. His eyes wandered over to each of them, scoping out the young trainers who aimed to knock the crown off of his head. He shot a quick smile to Hop, who waved eagerly at him when their eyes met. And then there was his best friend, a short haired brunette girl who nodded confidently when his eyes fell on her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all, face to face, in this setting, but keep in mind that only one of you will get to face me on the battlefield. That being said, I expect great things from all of you and your Pokemon. Strengthen your bonds with your Pokemon, believe in them so they will believe in you, and each of you can soar to greater heights! I look forward to seeing which one of you will stand on the other side of the field at Wyndon Stadium for the Champion Cup!”

“That concludes the Opening Ceremony of the Gym Challenge. I wish all the challengers the best of luck on their journey and I hope to see you all again at the Champion Cup!” Rose concluded, followed by a few more bursts of fireworks.

And thus, the Gym Challenge finally begins...

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Chapter 3: The First Step

“Great job, you guys! That was even better than rehearsals!” Phil praised as he delivered hi-fives to each of them. The four slumped in their seats, feeling the adrenaline as a result from the spectacle simmering down in their systems. The event was nothing short of magical thanks to all the pizazz and fireworks, but it was certainly draining for their first day.

“Haha, I’m not surprised that you guys are tired. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” Phil gathered up their scripts, straightened them out, before pulling out a new outline with a green cover. “With the Opening Ceremony out of the way, the challengers will be making their way through the first three gyms, which usually takes up about a month at most. But, I’ll save the details for later when it matters. For now, we’ll need to meet up at Turffield on the 7th, which is a day or two before we should expect challengers.”

“And is there a cut off date for challengers?” Juliet asked.

“We try to give challengers as much time as they can since every trainer is different, but the main organizers are in charge of monitoring the progress of each challenger and will give them warnings if they’re falling behind. We don’t want to rush them, but there’s still a general schedule we need to follow.” Phil’s smile widened as he looked over the outline. “I think you guys will like the sound of this. Since the League has been working hard on trying to expand its audience to other regions, they’re implementing a segment where we get to ‘participate’ in the gyms to see how they function. So, for Milo’s Gym, we’ll be going up against each other to see who can herd the Wooloo the fastest and it will be recorded and televised.”

“That sounds like fun!” Tessu exclaimed.

“I feel like Mary has an edge in this though.” Vanquil snickered. Mary laughed nervously and fiddled with her brown curls. Just as Juliet worked at the Battle Cafe on the side, Mary worked at the Daycare Centre on Route 5 so working with all kinds of Pokemon, baby or not, was second nature to her. Sometimes Pokemon were naturally drawn to her like she was their mom and more often than not, whenever they were looking for Raids in the Wild Area, many wild Pokemon would end up following them. It was definitely an easy way to catch Pokemon, but not so much if the Pokemon belonged to a family already since that could turn into a violent encounter.

They don’t speak of the run-in with the very angry mother Bewear.

“Sure, but I’m not exactly athletic.” Mary countered.

“Yeah, but I think the Wooloo will come to you, instead of you going to the Wooloo.” Juliet retorted playfully. “But that sounds like a great idea! I think it’ll also give viewers a chance to get to know the Gym Leaders outside of Pokemon battles.” Herding Wooloo...Now that was something she didn’t know she needed on her bucket list. She couldn’t help but giggle from just imagining a bunch of Wooloo rolling around and knocking into everything in sight. Was Wooloo Bowling a thing? That could make for an interesting new sport all together.

After briefing over some final details of the outline, Phil dismissed them, only to be invited for drinks by Raihan and some of the other Gym Leaders. Mary and Juliet weren’t one for drinking so Tessu and Vanquil accepted the invitation while they headed to Budew Inn to stay for the night. On their way there, Juliet was not expecting to be tackled and hugged from behind by a very excited Hop. She barely caught herself before she could fall face flat into the ground.

“Juliet! Long time no see!!” He cheered. Juliet laughed and turned around to hug the boy properly, only to be surprised at how much he had grown. He was at her height now! Ignoring the disappointing reminder of her height, she casually ruffled a hand through his hair like she had done all those years ago.

“Hey Hop! Look at how tall you’ve gotten. I’m a little jealous.”

“Heh, I’ve been training hard so I can be as tall as Lee!”

“Looks like you’ll have no problem getting there at this rate. This is my best friend, Mary.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Hop! Good luck with the Gym Challenge!” Mary encouraged with a gentle smile.

“Thanks! I hope you two will root for me!”

“Hop!! No fair!” The short haired brunette from the Opening Ceremony, panted as she caught up with him. Hop snickered and puffed out his chest, standing proudly in front of his heaving best friend as if he had just won a marathon.

“You’ll have to train harder to catch up to me, Glo!”

“Hmph. I still beat you the other day in a battle.” She pouted.

“Beginner’s luck.” Hop shrugged off. “This is my best friend and rival, Gloria!”

“Nice to meet you, Juliet and Mary. Hop has actually mentioned you, Juliet, a few times before in the past.” Gloria mentioned casually, making Hop turn away bashfully. Juliet couldn’t help but smile at that. Hop was probably around 8 years old when he and his brother came to Hoenn, and how he followed them everywhere and would throw a fit if he wasn’t included whenever she and Leon hung out. The details were still hazy to her, but it felt right. She could faintly recall the cheerfulness she felt during those times and that’s what she relied on.

She wondered if Hop looked up to her like an older sister?

Juliet raised an eyebrow with interest. “Oho, did he now? Aww, I’m flattered you missed me, lil bro.”

“I mean, me and Lee had a lot of fun in Hoenn thanks to you! Heck, when we came home, Lee spent days writing a letter to you.”

Letter...? What letter? Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so surprised since she didn’t have a cellphone or a computer that she could have used to keep in touch with him so letters were the next best thing even if it lacked convenience. But, she didn’t recall receiving anything from him and if she did, her aunt would have definitely told her? She honestly felt a little guilty now, knowing that he wrote something for her to keep in touch but didn’t get a response back because it got lost in the mail or something.

“Ahh, there you guys are! You’re both faster than you look.” Leon called out as he ran up to them. Juliet made a mental note to ask about the letter in detail later and maybe even apologize for not doing more to keep in touch. He tipped his hat at Juliet and Mary. “Good evening, ladies. Awesome job on your first day!”

“Thanks, Champ. You’re not going to get hammered like the others?”

“I have a couple of meetings in the morning so that wouldn’t be a good idea.” He laughed. “Besides, I want to make sure these two get some sleep before they set off on their journey.”

“Whaaaat? It’s still so early though!” Hop complained.

“Hopscotch, trust me, you’ll thank me later.” Just to make sure his brother did listen to him, he picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, chuckling as Hop protested to put him down. Gloria giggled at the sight and ignored Hop’s pleas for help until he eventually accepted his fate with his arms crossed over his brother’s shoulder. There was something warmly nostalgic about watching the brothers fool around with each other.

“Some things never change...” Gloria sighed.

“...I agree.” Juliet smiled nostalgically.

She’s running, the once starlit sky fading back into black, the boy who was running right next to her nowhere to be found. He was right there! Right next to her! Where did he go? Her frantic footsteps rang hollowly in her ears as she desperately tried to reach for someone – anyone. Calling out for the boy only to be answered with nothing but her own heavy breathing.

She trips, stumbling onto the ground, wincing from the cold, hard ground that dug into her knees. She feebly tries to get up, praying that someone would be there with their hand out if she lifted her head.

But there was no one.

She curls up, hugging her knees to her chest.

Why was she always left behind?

Rather than being woken up by the blaring sound of an alarm clock, she felt someone shaking her awake. The gesture becoming stronger as she slowly regains consciousness. Opening her tear filled eyes, she could barely make out the worried faces of her friends hovering over her. Blinking away the tears, she pulled herself up from her bed, despite how heavy her heart felt in her chest.

“I’m fine, guys. Just another bad dream.”

“You’ve been getting a lot of those lately. Are you sure you’re OK?” Mary asked with concerned eyes. Juliet breathed shakily and pressed her fingers against her temple. No, she wouldn’t say she was OK if she was being honest. But, at the same time, her recurring nightmares were part of her everyday life so perhaps it was just a normal thing for her – she wasn’t a dream expert so what did she know. Besides, every so often she would have a happier dream. A glimmer of light in the midst of darkness.

“Dreams are just dreams. Lately mine haven’t been so...cheery but I try not to think about them.” Juliet forced a carefree smile and hoped that the tell tale twitch in the corner of her lips wasn’t a dead give-away of her facade.

“If you say so...We won’t force you to say things you don’t feel comfortable sharing, but you know you can count on us, right?” Tessu reassured, offering her a steaming cup of her favourite tea. Juliet nodded and gratefully took the offered drink and sipped it slowly.

She would tell them soon. She had to.

“Anyway, we have a big day today! We’re going to be heading to Turffield to shoot the first challenge for the variety show so let’s try to have fun today!”

Turffield was lush with rolling hills and tilled fields – a stark contrast to the dome shaped stadium that stood in the centre of the idyllic town. Besides the stadium bringing in tourists from all over, the hill that stood on the west side of town was an attraction that held mysterious origins of what was depicted.

But, sightseeing could wait.

Arriving at the Grass Stadium, Raid Prism and Phil were instructed to don specially made outfits specifically for the show that consisted of a t-shirt in their respective colours, navy blue overalls and white gloves. The attire was simple and comfortable, but Juliet couldn’t help but feel a little sheepish considering her impression of farmers often consisted of them wearing their hair in braids, as she does every day.

Though, that didn’t really matter since she thought it was a nice change from her usual casual attire.

“Welcome to my gym, everyone!” Milo greeted with a gentle smile. The gym itself was rather linear initial glance. The floor was completely covered in grass with bales of hale scattered throughout as either obstacles or decorations, on top of electric sign boards that displayed a counter. And of course, there were herds of Wooloo that were milling about and doing their own thing as the trainers of the gym were setting things up with the camera crew.

“Thank you for having us!” They replied in unison.

“Of course. To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever been put on camera for something like this so I’m feeling a little flustered right now.” Milo admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I think we’re all pretty new to this.” Phil chuckled and turned to Raid Prism. “What about you guys? I imagine this is pretty different from live streaming.”

“We definitely don’t have this kind of budget or staff and we don’t really have any scripted content since Max Raid battles are very much real and unpredictable.” Tessu started.

“But, since this is a variety program and it's about us getting to know the Gym Leaders and experiencing the gyms, I think the important thing is to just act natural.” Juliet ended. It was reassuring knowing that they didn’t have to act with any sort of script unlike many ‘reality’ programs out there that are actually scripted to stir up drama or drive the narrative into a specific direction. Still, knowing that they were going to be viewed by people outside of their fanbase was nerve-wracking because who knows if they were entertaining enough for televised programs like this.

Juliet lost count of how many times she subconsciously touched her hair when she stepped out of the dressing room just to make sure nothing was sticking out that would make her appear sloppy.

“Alright! Listen up everyone!” The director ordered. Everyone in the gym dropped what they were doing and perked their heads up attentively to the director. He held a rolled up magazine in his hand and smacked it against an open palm before pointing it at Milo. The farmer tensed up despite the director shooting him a wide toothy grin.

“Relax, mate. I may be the director, but I don’t want any one of you to be tense, alright? We’re going to open up the program with you, Milo, and you’re going to introduce your gym as if you were greeting a challenger. Feel free to throw in some facts about yourself like how long you’ve been a Gym Leader, your goals, etc.” The director then directed his rolled up magazine at Raid Prism and Phil.

“You’ll then welcome Raid Prism and Phil, explain the rules of your gym and the challenge will start. Any questions?”

“Is there a prize for the winner?” Vanquil asked cheekily.

The director snorted at the question and shrugged casually. “Bragging rights.”

“Take 12, And...action!”

“Welcome to Turffield Stadium! I’m Milo, the Grass-type Gym Leader. Here at my gym, challengers will have to make it through this course by herding Wooloo to each check point, until they reach the end to battle me. As you can see from the course, there’s obstacles and trainers scattered throughout that will break the Wooloos formation so make sure all Wooloo are accounted for at each checkpoint! But, for this special program, our challengers for today don’t need to battle any of the trainers. These Wooloo are a bit unruly to deal with but they’re friendly all the same!” Milo turned to Raid Prism and Phil.

“I have some special guests here today to experience what my gym is all about in a friendly competition. Phil, Raid Prism, thank you for coming!”

“Thank you for letting us get a first hand experience of what your gym is all about. I have to ask though, as a seasoned farmer as yourself, what advice would you give us for herding Wooloo?” Phil questioned. Milo hummed and tapped his cheek thoughtfully at the question.

“That’s a good question! I think keeping a cool head is important. Wooloo are generally obedient, but if you freak out, they’ll freak out too.”

“Juliet, you’re pretty chill and relaxed so I think you have the advantage.” Vanquil noted, nudging his elbow into her side.

Juliet rolled her eyes and shooed his elbow away. Being laid back only got her so far and for an activity such as herding Wooloo, pure adrenaline alone could stress her out. Not to mention she had poor stamina and endurance so she’ll probably end up feeling extremely sore tomorrow. She silently cursed herself for not working out a bit more for today’s shoot.

“My stamina is not very good though. Like we talked about before, I think Mary has the upper hand because Pokemon are naturally drawn to her.”

“I don’t know if kindness is enough to win, though...” Mary retorted hesitantly, averting her eyes away from the camera.

“You do you, Mary! Think back to the classic story of the Buneary and the Turtwig. Turtwig won the race by doing its own thing.” Tessu added optimistically.

“Haha, I like the way you think! Every challenger I battle brings something different to the table so I look forward to seeing how you’ll herd Wooloo in your own ways. Who wants to go first?” Milo asked. Juliet looked at her team, who all looked at her expectantly. She then turned to Phil, who shrugged as if to say ‘You or I could go first’.

Luckily it didn’t matter who went first since no one could see what the person was doing, therefore no one got the advantage of working around the other person’s mistakes. Juliet stepped forward and raised her hand. “I guess I’ll go first!”

“Great! To keep things even and fair, everyone else will be wearing blindfolds and headphones in a different room so no one will know what the other person did until the big reveal at the end!” Milo explained as the others were ushered off camera and Juliet stood in position. She took a few deep breaths to clear her head and carefully watched the herd of Wooloo waiting for her on the other side of the gate.

“Are you ready, Juliet?”

“Ready!”

“3, 2, 1...GO!”

Juliet burst through the gates, almost startling the Wooloo, but obediently rolled along her path through the first course and to the first checkpoint. There were no obstacles which offered no trouble to the 20 Wooloo that had to be herded so it was a decent enough of a tutorial for what’s to come. Trainers were omitted from their challenge but that meant there would be more obstacles to hinder their progress. Once the counter registered 20 Wooloo, they all collectively smashed into the barrels of hay, revealing the next area of the course.

“It really is like Wooloo bowling!” Juliet remarked. She could hear Milo laugh at her comment on the sidelines, along with the camera crew that were running alongside her, capturing her every move. A Yamper suddenly jumped out from the left, causing the Wooloo to roll out of formation away from the electric puppy.

“Uh oh.” She muttered to herself, looking around for any sort of stick or object to distract the Yamper with. She then looked at her hand and yanked off one of her gloves and threw it in the opposite direction for the Yamper to chase after. Luckily, it took the bait and scampered to retrieve the glove while she cooed the Wooloo back into positions so they could reach the next checkpoint.

“Things will get a bit trickier from here but good luck!” Milo called out. Looking ahead, she got an idea of what he meant. The path split into three, with two Yampers occupying two of the paths. It wasn’t a simple solution of herding through the empty path when both Yampers came running towards her, barking and breaking through the Wooloo in two different groups. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. She only had one glove left so she would only be able to distract one of the Yampers, and there was still another section after to get through.

She opted to herd half of the Wooloo since she was already wasting time pondering over tactics. She looked back to see the two Yampers chasing the other half of the Wooloo in circles which gave her an idea. Once the half of the herd were at the checkpoint, she brought her ungloved hand to her lips and a loud whistle rang out, making the Yampers perk up from the sound and stop chasing the remaining Wooloo.

“Come here, boys!” She whistled again and patted her knees to get their attention. Their tails waggled excitedly, running towards her and herding the other half of the Wooloo to the checkpoint. She sighed in relief at the unorthodox idea and readied herself to complete the final stretch, but not before being jumped by both Yampers.

“H-Hey! Not now! I’ll play with you guys later!!” The Yampers offered a few more face licks before crawling off of her and scurrying back to their original positions. Juliet groaned, wiping the slobber off of her face with her sleeve and choosing to ignore the chuckles that came from the crew.

“You’re almost at the end! Keep it up!” Milo encouraged.

The Wooloo broke through the hay barrier, and Juliet swore under her breath from the final course. There were now three Yampers and rather than there being linear paths, it was broken up unevenly by different barriers.

“Is this herding Wooloo or playing tag with Yampers?!” She breathed out exasperatedly.

“That’s what herding with Wooloo is like! Sometimes you have to herd them away from train tracks, wild Pokemon, and other hazards!”

“You got your work cut out for you, I’ll give you that, Milo!” Despite her pounding heart and heaving chest, she pushed forward and despite the Yampers breaking up the Wooloo into smaller groups, she traversed through the winding path with the few Wooloo that stuck with her. Ordering the small group to stay at the checkpoint, she tried her previous strategy of whistling to the Yampers.

They didn’t listen and continued to chase the Wooloo throughout the course. If the Yampers weren’t going to come to her, she would have to go to them.

“If they want to play tag, let’s play tag!” Taking a moment to catch her breath, Juliet sprinted towards the Yampers with her arms outstretched as if she was going to scoop them up in her arms. They scurried away from her, nearly crashing into each other as they ran towards the checkpoint with the remaining Wooloo rolling away in front of them.

Hey, if there wasn’t a rule against Yampers helping her herd, she was going to take advantage of that instead of working against the rowdy puppies. The Wooloo crashed into the final barriers of hay and rolled into their respective pens at the finish line, signalling the end of the challenge with an air horn that blared across the course. Juliet slumped to her knees in exhaustion, grimacing at the sweat that rolled down her forehead and back.

That was...a lot more tiring than she expected. She did not envy Milo’s job at all, even if he gained those strong arms and legs in the process.

She’ll stick to doing light jogs and archery.

Juliet barely acknowledged his presence when he wrapped a clean towel around her neck and offered her a water bottle. “Great job out there! You definitely know how to think quickly under pressure.”

“Aha...Thanks, Milo. But, I think your patience is second to none if you can do this kind of work daily.”

The farmer chuckled and sheepishly scratched his cheek. “You’re giving me a bit too much credit. It takes a lot of training to build up the stamina for this kind of work, but with discipline and training, you can get to where I am as well.”

“Good point, but I think I’ll leave the farmer's life to you.”

“And cut! Great work, you two!”

“And the winner of the Grass Gym Challenge...With a time of 6 minutes and 45 seconds...Congratulations, Mary!”

“Huh?! I did that well?!”

“See, we knew you could do it!” Tessu exclaimed. Vanquil and Juliet looked over at Phil, who was slumped over from having the longest time, putting him in last place. They offered him a reassuring pat on the back in solidarity.

“Even though there isn’t a grand prize for winning, please accept my Rare League Card for your victory!” Milo reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny holographic card that depicted him cuddling with a Wooloo. Mary timidly accepted the card, still looking a bit dumbfounded by the results.

“Let’s replay Mary’s footage for the other challengers!”

As expected, upon stepping out of the gates, Mary gently cooed and coaxed the Wooloo to her and lightly jogged them to the checkpoints. When it came to the Yampers, their rowdiness were almost non-existent in her presence, choosing to either follow her or steer clear of the Wooloo.

It was a pure and wholesome display of how slow and steady wins the race.

Or perhaps, kindness and patience wins the race?

“Pokemon Whisperer.” The group, beside Mary, uttered in unison.

“You guys!”

“Well, that was something.” Juliet sighed tiredly. By the end of the shoot, the sun dipped into the horizon, casting the entire farming town into a gentle orange glow. Phil had excused himself for the rest of the evening, leaving Raid Prism on their own to explore the town if they wanted before they would have to rest up for the upcoming days of commentating for the Grass Gym. They decided to check out the giant geoglyph on the west side of town before it got dark. It was like a massive piece of art, with the hill being used as a canvas to depict a historical scene that was said to be about the Dynamax Phenomenon.

“Oh! I didn’t expect to see you guys here.” Sonia called out. The group turned their heads to see the Professor assistant with her faithful Yamper by her side, along with Gloria and Hop. Her Yamper scampered over to the team, receiving greeting pats from each of them before going back to Sonia’s side.

“Hey Sonia! Out researching?” Vanquil greeted. Sonia put a hand on her hip and twirled a finger through her hair thoughtfully.

“That’s right. I came to check out the geoglyph here and thought I’d give these two a bit of a history lesson on what’s known about it.”

“Mind if we listen in? We aren’t from Galar so we don’t know too much either.” Tessu asked.

“I don’t mind!” Sonia cleared her throat. The Raid team stepped aside to allow the assistant to stand in front of the railing, front and center of the imposing geoglyph that was etched into the grassy hill.

“The geoglyph is said to represent Dynamax and ‘The Darkest Day’. A long time ago...a great black storm covered the Galar region. Giant Pokémon ran rampant... But what was that black storm they called ‘the Darkest Day’? What connection does it have to Dynamax? Especially considering Pokemon can still Dynamax even though the storm has been gone for about 3000 thousand years. Except we can control it for the most part thanks to the Wishing Stars embedded in Dynamax bands.” Sonia’s eyebrows furrowed in mild frustration from the theories that brought about more questions than answers. “What do you all think?”

Juliet hummed, deep in thought. “If I got this right, Dynamax came about from the Darkest Day?”

“That’s what we think, yes.”

“So, I guess the big question to the big picture is what caused the Darkest Day to happen and how.”

“Maybe we can try to catch a Celebi and ask it to take you back 3000 years. It’d be a huge research breakthrough.” Vanquil joked.

“I wish. Trying to find a Celebi would just add to my workload.” Sonia giggled, waving off the sarcastic offer.

“The longer I look at it, doesn’t the Pokemon look like a Toxtricity?” Gloria chimed in.

Huh. Looking at it closely, the figure did have the characteristics of a Toxtricity. But there was something slightly different about it. Squinting, at the tail of the Pokemon specifically, it reminded Juliet a lot of a Gigantamax Toxtricity, except it was standing on upright rather than on all fours. Evolutionary changes, perhaps?

“The tail specifically makes it look like a Gigantamax Toxtricity. But, it’s not standing on all fours like the ones we’ve found in the Wild Area.” Juliet added. Sonia’s eyes lit up from the observations and quickly pulled out a notepad to jot down notes.

“Interesting! That doesn’t exactly answer any questions to the origins of the Darkest Day, but now it makes me curious on why Toxtricity was chosen to be depicted, and in this form. Whether there’s a deeper meaning behind that, I’ll have to look into as well but I definitely feel motivated to do more research in the other towns! Thanks for the input, everyone.” She turned to Hop and Gloria. “And good luck with the Gym challenge, you two!”

“Good luck with your research, Sonia!” Juliet waved to the assistant. Sonia shot her a thankful grin before following her loyal Yamper down the hill.

Watching Sonia descend down the hill, the team turned to the young Gym Challengers with tired smiles on their faces. Knowing what the Gym Challengers would have to go through on their first gym, they couldn’t help but feel a little nervous for them. Maybe they would have an easier time because of their youthful vigor? Then again, they had the trainers and Milo to worry about as well.

“So, how are you two feeling? Ready to take on the very first gym?” Vanquil asked. Hop perked up excitedly from the switch in topic to the Gym Challenge. Probably not much of a history fan or he had trouble wrapping his head around what Sonia was talking about. It was a lot to take in so they couldn’t blame the trainer especially when the highly anticipated Gym Challenge was now underway.

“I’m more than ready! I’m finally taking the first steps into following my brother!”

“We’ll see about that.” Gloria challenged. Something shone in Hop’s eyes at that, making him pull out a Pokeball and thrusting it towards his childhood friend. Gloria answered his challenge with a Pokeball of her own. The air suddenly grew tense, and Raid Prism were prepared to deliver impromptu commentary to the battle between young rivals-

Until the sound of gurgling came from Hop and Gloria’s stomachs.

Lying in bed at the inn, Juliet lay on her bed, fully awake with her mind swimming in thoughts about the Darkest Day and Dynamax. Despite the physical workout from herding Wooloo, the image of the geoglyph kept her mind distracted from drifting off.

It seemed the world didn’t want her to sleep, her phone vibrating from receiving a text. Turning over in her bed, she blindly reached for her Rotom phone she hid under her pillow. After letting her eyes adjust to the bright screen, she opened up the messenger window to see a text from Leon.

Raising an eyebrow out of curiosity as to why he was still up, she started texting him back.

Leon: Hey Juliet. thanks for taking care

of my brother and Gloria in Turffield.

he didn't cause you guys any trouble did he?

Juliet: Np, and no he didn’t. he’s really

excited about the first gym

Leon: I know lol he's been texting me

non-stop about it

Leon: I hope he's going to be ok

Juliet: oh? big bro doubting his little bro?

Leon: Doubt isn't the word I’d use but

Leon: I just don’t want him to push

himself too hard you know?

Leon: Sorry I just realized that I'm probably

keeping you up

Juliet: It’s fine. I’m having trouble sleeping

anyway.

Juliet: If it makes you feel any better,

I’ll keep an eye on him since our

team is commentating the gym

challenge anyway

Juliet: So I can see his progress and how

he’s battling

Leon: Thanks. I appreciate it. I’m going

to try to make it to his battles but it’s hard

with my schedule

Juliet: it's the thought that counts

but I'd remind him every now and

again that you’re always supporting him

Juliet: That's what I would do

Leon: Yeah. It's the least that I could do

Leon: Sometimes I wish I had more time to

spend with my family and friends

Juliet: The champion life sounds hard

but It's ok to have those days

Leon: You think so?

Juliet: Of course. you’re only human

Leon. You’re allowed to be stressed.

It doesn’t matter how much you love

your job – sometimes it’ll feel like work

Leon: ...thank you

Leon: Hearing that makes me feel a lot

better

Juliet: Any time champ. Cut yourself

some slack. You’re worried about

Hop pushing himself too hard but I think

you're pushing yourself too hard

Leon: Well there's not much I can do

about that with my workload

Leon: But I'll try

Juliet: Good

Juliet: Now go to sleep. Can’t give

your fans a champion time with bags

under your eyes

Leon: Ha ha

Juliet: Actually, one more thing

Leon: Yeah?

Juliet: Hop mentioned something

about you writing a letter to me

when you came back from vacation

from Hoenn. What’s that about?

For some reason, he took awhile to type out his response even though his response was rather curt and short. Maybe he had trouble remembering it himself?

Leon: Oh

Leon: That

Leon: Don’t worry about it

Juliet: ??? Well now I can’t with

a suspicious response like

that. Spill

Leon: It was nothing!! It was so long

ago that I don’t really remember

Juliet: Liar

Leon: I mean it! OK good night

Juliet snorted. Did she make him flustered? That was a first. Whatever the illusive letter was about, it probably made him cringe thinking about it. She shoved her phone back under her pillow and sighed into the darkness of her suite. No time for family and friends. Feeling like you aren’t allowed to be stressed because of the privileges of being Champion...

“I wonder...if there are people who have said bad things about him, does he know? And how does he deal with it...” She buried her face into a spare pillow, but not being able to shake off the blurry image of the Leon she knew from back then. How long had she kept the memories of that time locked away? And why did it take seeing him again trigger pieces of that memory to come back?

It was almost like...She was forgetting something important. Significant. Whatever it was, she couldn’t for the life of her remember why it was important either. But, it felt like something was mixing up what she knew from her past.

Maybe she was going crazy.

Groaning in defeat, she turned over on her stomach and forced her mind to shut up so she could finally drift into the unconscious.

And hope a pleasant dream was waiting for her.

#pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #swsh #champion leon #fanfic #jewels art

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jabberwockprince · 5 years ago

Photo

Sometimes you just gotta make a galar version of your trainersona in order to smooch the gym leaders,,, But yeah, I haven’t posted art here in a hot sec so here’s Dynamo, whose name I regret now that Dynamax exists !

He’s one of the members of the “Battle Teatro League”, a theatre where the public is able to fight the characters and actors of certain plays to advance the plot ! Dynamo represents the “Uncharming Prince”, the last trainer the player must battle before the King and Queen of the league ! !

also before I go rambling even more about him, credits to lil-riku on deviantart for the XY versus template ! The templates at the end are mine and you can use them if you wanna, just make sure not to delete the credit !

r u b s my little hands together - aight let’s get this lore bread

Dynamo is actually from Unova, a detail he avoids sharing as much as possible with Galar natives. He and his sister were forced to travel to Galar, Ballonlea and live with their aunt at a young age, due to the financial problems back home.

Growing up, Dynamo began identifying as transgender - knowing that he and his sister’s expenses were taking a toll on their aunt, he couldn’t handle the thought of coming out, let alone bring up the subject of surgery for the future. In the end, he ran away under the pretense of wanting to become Galar’s new champion and get one of the gym leaders to endorse him.

Spikemuth became his new home until he landed a job at the Battle Teatro in Circhester. He climbed up the ranks over the years - now able to transition and taking the spotlight as one of the main actors. Dynamo’s goal changed, as he now wished to save enough money so it would never become a problem for his family.

Dynamo can be fought up to 3 times. His monologues change each time the player challenges him, as he begins with a full in-character royal persona, slowly sliding into a more casual and joking attitude. He’s one of the very few actors that cannot be found at the backstage, though - instead, he can be seen outside the Battle Teatro after each play.

The player find and battle his little sister Daniela (”Dani”) in many occasions, in which she’ll ask the player if they’ve seen her “elder sister Dyna”, as she’s unaware of Dynamo’s true identity. If the player has battled her in every city, they’ll find her at the entrance of Battle Teatro, hinting that she’s finally found her long lost big brother and now she’s gathering the courage to face him.

After the player becomes Galar’s champion, they can return to Battle Teatro for a rematch. The play Dynamo starred in is unavailable as it’s revealed he returned to Ballonlea with Dina. If the player visits the siblings’ home, their aunt will explain that the two left as soon as they came. From this point forward, the siblings can be found and fought in certain locations. Dani aspires to challenge the player themself, having recieved an endorsement from Nessa. Dynamo on the other hand just wants to make up for the time lost and accompany his sister.

#trainersona #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword #pokemon shield #artists on tumblr #purinsu art

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obstrucct-mov · 2 years ago

Text

“ do you feel like Marnie is a better gym leader than you”

My muse has to tell nothing but the truth for 10 asks ♫ Anonymous ♫ Accepting

He's quiet for a bit before finally sighing and saying, "Marnie's a great trainer. Strong, thoughtful, cares 'bout her Pokemon. I know her not becomin' Champion was rough, but I hope she knows she'll have me every step of th' way with her becomin' Gym Leader. I... hope I wasn't pesterin' her 'bout it or make her feel like she had to so I could focus on m'music. I don't want her to feel like she was forced t'take on that responsibility, certainly don't want t'leave her with Spikemuth's mess. That's all on me."

"I put m'heart an' soul into bein' a Gym Leader, even though I was under Rose's thumb. I fought t'even make that Gym a reality in th' first place, so 'course I'm gonna battle with everythin' I have. Doesn't mean it wasn't hard. It was. An' I'm not gonna lie t'her an' say it'll be easy for her. She'll have th' spotlight on her like I did. But I'll be there for her."

He then shrugged before adding,

"...Yeah, maybe she is better than me. She won't be stuck under Rose, not feel that kinda pressure. That'll give her, hopefully, more freedom than I ever had. Lookin' forward t'seein' what she does, though."

#Anonymous #♫ ─ 𝙸 𝙵𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝚆 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝚆 𝚆𝙾𝙽 : ( ic )

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imjeralee · 4 years ago

Text

Wallflower: Chapter 14 - Of Dragons and Princesses

Raihan x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Note: This is my first Pokemon fanfic. I hope you enjoy it :) Originally posted on Archive of Our Own.

Summary: You’re an unassuming Pokemon breeder who works at the nursery in the Wild Area and he’s Raihan, the fearsome gym leader of Hammerlocke who has more than a million followers. You don’t want anything to do with him but he’s…persistent.

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Lemon, smut, violence, language

OF DRAGONS AND PRINCESSES

...

At the Rose of the Rondelands, Eli steps onto the stage of the Grand ballroom. It's time for his special announcement. He joins Chairman Rose's side and greets him with a handshake. As usual, Rose's appearance is immaculate. He once wanted to be like Rose, but that dream turned to dust very quickly.

As Rose moves to the side, Eli stands in the centre in front of the microphone where the spotlight shines on him. For once and perhaps for the very first time, the attention is on him for a change. Not Raihan, not Leon... not anyone else...and he likes it. Eli scans the audience in the dark where numerous pairs of eyes gaze at him in return. Everyone's wondering what his secret special announcement is all about.

Let's not disappoint them then, he thinks to himself as he takes a deep breath.

"Good evening, everyone." He says, "And thank you for coming today. I'm sure not many of you know or recognise me but my name is Eli and I've been working alongside Chairman Rose for a long time. Before I continue, I'd like you all to please join me for a round of applause to our wonderful Chairman of the Pokemon League who made all of this possible...."

The guests mutter to themselves; generally, everyone is in an agreeable mood and the hall erupts into applause. Eli claps too, and Chairman Rose nods at the audience in acknowledgement, lifting a hand up with a smile whilst Oleana stands solemnly at the side of the curtain. Unbeknownst to some, men clad in black simultaneously begin to weave their way into the crowd whilst two men begin to close the doors leading to the exit whilst another moves to stand in front of the fire exit. From the corner of his eye, Eli watches the men move into their positions with a smirk.

The crowd continue to applaud and Eli says, "Chairman Rose, I'm so grateful for the opportunity and it's been such a pleasure...But I regret to inform you that I have decided... I no longer want to work for you - "

In a split second, a dark shadow flits towards the centre of the podium, aiming for Rose's direction and the man is suddenly thrown off his feet by what appears to be a sharp gust of wind. He drops to the ground with a loud thump, a stain of red immediately appearing on his shirt along with three deep gashes in the sleeve of his tux. Women scream and the clapping stops at once as a Gliscor appears from out of nowhere, zooming above the crowd before it heads for Eli's direction and the young man lifts his arm; the pokemon perches itself, folding its wings and Eli strokes its head.

"Good job, Gliscor..." Eli mutters as the pokemon chitters loudly with affection.

The room erupts into chaos as the guests are thrown into a panic by the pokemon attack. However, they're quickly subdued by the men in black whilst the gym leaders begin to move, heading for the stage.

"Stop." Eli calls them out at once, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

From the corner of his eye, he sees Oleana, her usual indifferent expression vanishing as she attempts to rush over to the downed man.

"That includes you too, Oleana." Eli is quick to warn her and she stops at once, frozen.

"...I'm fine, Ms Oleana." Rose grunts out, clutching his bleeding arm; he moves to sit up as Eli approaches and grabs him, hauling him up onto his feet and turning to the crowd. Rose hisses with pain, pressing his palm over his flesh wounds in an effort to stop the blood.

Whilst the rest of the guests are confused, cowering and afraid, Eli regards the gym leaders from the bottom of his eyes. "Piers, I can see you reaching for your Pokemon. Not a wise decision. In fact, if I see anyone taking out a pokemon, I'll get Gliscor to kill Chairman Rose."

Piers lowers his hand from his belt, glowering up at Eli. "You wouldn't dare. Why are you doin' this and what's the meanin' of this anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm stealing everyone's pokemon." Without further ado, Eli turns his attention away from him and to his men. "If anyone resists or even attempts to fight back, kill them." He spots Raihan's ex-girlfriend and smirks, "Start with her first."

"Yes, sir." The men acknowledge Eli's command and soon, they begin rounding up every guest into a single line and forcing them to face the wall. They work quickly and systematically, some hold out bags whilst the others threaten the guests and take any pokemon they can get their hands on. Eli watches; there's something satisfying watching this. It's identical to a good old-fashioned train robbery. Nessa and Opal are next; they're forced to stand with their chests pressed against the wall whilst the men snatch their bags and empty it free of their pokemon.

"Oh my." Opal mutters, her legs are about to go under but Bea and Milo leave their spots to go help her; a few members are quick to apprehend them but Eli lets them pass and they are able to assist her. "How could you do this to us?"

"How could I?" Eli mutters, "I can do anything I want, I am Eli of Team Rocket."

A silence follows as all the gym leaders look at him with widened eyes.

"Yes, that's right. I never worked for the likes of Rose or the Pokemon League... my allegiance has always been to Team Rocket."

As the looting continues, a man in black rushes up to the stage beside Eli. "Everything's in place, sir. All the bodyguards, staff, guests - all taken care of."

"And the energy plant?"

The man nods.

Generally speaking, everything's going according to plan. However, he can't shake off the feeling that something, or someone, is missing... He turns to the crowd once more, counting the gym leaders before his eyes widen thoroughly, "...Where's Raihan? Where's that girlfriend of his?? Where's Leon?!" He hisses, "I ordered you to keep a close eye on the guests. No-one was supposed to leave!"

"S-sorry, they probably left early so we didn't - "

Enraged, Eli kicks the microphone and it clatters over the ground noisily. Another silence spawns as the gym leaders throw glances to each other from the corner of their eyes and Eli knows what they're thinking already. "Let's get out of here." Eli snarls. Turning to Rose, he adds, "You're coming with us, boss."

...

Present.

When Leon returns to the hotel, it is sealed off by police and there's a small crowd gathered outside. He's allowed entry and he discovers the lobby is in a state of disarray but his priority is Chairman Rose so he rushes past the receptionist and concierge desk and dashes towards the direction of the Grand ballroom until Charizard tugs on his cape and stops him. Leon turns round and Charizard gestures to a sign on the wall, indicating he is actually heading towards the swimming pool. Charizard then points to the correct hallway; Leon grins sheepishly and retraces his steps.

"What will I do without you?" Leon says as Charizard shakes his head helplessly, and the duo pass the front desk for a second time.

The phones have been ringing off the hook and the hotel staff are struggling to deal with the rapid influx of calls. "Hello, this is the front desk. Ah, yes, that's correct, sir - please do stay inside your room, we're currently in a state of emergency...if you could kindly oblige..." The worker puts down the phone after a brief interchange and the phone rings once more. He picks it up again and presses the receiver against his ear. "Hello, this is the front desk..... Correct, ma'am, please do not leave your room...Screams heard? A-ah, yes, we have called the police..."

The duo rushes down the hallway, spotting a few guests lying on the floor and surrounded by Chanseys and two Nurse Joys. Leon and Charizard both exchange glances and once they're at the grand ballroom, they enter only to see more Nurse Joys, Chanseys, more downed guests and a couple of Officer Jennys. Leon sees all the gym leader tending to some of the guests too, trying to calm them down. Opal is sitting down with her umbrella whilst Bea stays by her side; Nessa, Gordie and Melony are assisting the Joys and handing out supplies to panicked guests. Oleana is in the corner, looking somewhat dazed until she spots Leon.

"Leon!! I mean, Mr Champion..."

"Ah, Ms Oleana!" Leon sprints over and kneels by her side. "What happened here?"

"He's taken Chairman Rose - Eli, and a group of men dressed in black." Oleana mutters miserably; she seems shaken, her face is unusually pale. "He was part of Team Rocket all along...."

"Don't worry, I'm here now, there's no need to be afraid. Take it easy, Ms Oleana."

She nods. "I-I'm sorry."

"Leon." says a stoic voice, and he looks up to see Kabu approaching him; Milo and Piers are with him, too.

"Are you guys alright?" Leon asks.

"Yes, we're fine." Kabu replies, "Eli's special announcement was an ambush; he announced that he was Team Rocket, attacked Chairman Rose and took him away. He also had his men steal everyone's pokemon. We heard him mention the energy plant, so we believe he's taken the Chairman there."

Piers says, "I'll go back to Spikemuth and come back with some pokemon."

"Thanks, Piers." Leon replies, "Milo, could you stay here and help the others?"

"Yes, of course." Milo says, smiling widely.

"Leon, I'll go with you." Kabu says, "You need backup."

"But all your pokemon have been stolen."

Kabu tugs gently at the neck of his t-shirt, revealing a little red bug that pokes its head out from within. "...Not all of them." He says, smirking.

And Leon grins. "Alright! Let's go to Hammerlocke."

...

Meanwhile.

You leave the storeroom, having changed out of your dress and into the spare clothes you keep in your locker, namely a plain white t-shirt and black high-waisted leggings, along with your old sneakers. This feels so much better and much more, well...you.

You re-enter the waiting area to see your boss seated quietly on the sofa with her Houndoom and the policeman's leaning against the counter writing down notes. Your boss hasn't said a word since.

The TV's on so you join Raihan's side to see what's showing. Inwardly, you're relieved when he entwines his hand with yours, threading your fingers together and squeezing your hand tightly. You were afraid that he was angry because you had raised your voice to him at the party over a matter that now seemed so...petty and insignificant.

Averting your attention to the TV, the news is showing the outskirts of Hammerlocke stadium; the sky above the building is bathed in an ominous bright-red glow reminiscent of Dynamax phenomenon; a few locals stand outside at a safe distance to observe whilst the newscaster explains the mysterious glow has appeared from out of the blue, emitting from Hammerlocke stadium. The news ticker displays 'Dozens people injured at Rose of the Rondelands'. More information is not provided, however.

"....What's going on...?" Allister murmurs, just as Raihan's Rotom sounds off: it's an emergency message from Leon.

Raihan grows quiet and you know he's concerned; he checks the message, scanning the text before he mutters, "Leon wants to meet me at the energy plant. He says...Eli is part of Team Rocket, they've stolen everyone's pokemon and he's taken Chairman Rose."

"Ma'am, I'm afraid you'll need to come with me to the station." The policeman says hurriedly.

"Wait - " You begin; you're afraid the policeman believes your boss is part of Team Rocket too and you're ready to protect her. Your boss is innocent - she couldn't be a part of this. As you ponder, your boss slowly turns round and stands up wordlessly, placing her hand atop of yours. "Boss?"

"...Hen, I'll go with him - don't worry about me. I'll... I'll need to close the nursery now." She mutters. Without much choice, the TV and main lights are switched off and the nursery is bathed in darkness. Your group leave the building and Raihan and the policeman exchange a few words whilst your boss assures you she will be fine again. You nod limply and your boss leaves with the policeman, heading towards the direction of Motostoke whilst you, Allister and Raihan watch their retreating backs.

Eli is part of Team Rocket... you always knew something was wrong with him, but you wouldn’t have thought he was allied with a villainous faction.

Glancing at Raihan, you notice his expression has darkened considerably since receiving the message. "I'm going to Hammerlocke," He utters, "I want you to stay with Allister."

You spin on your heel to face him. "No way. You can't go on your own. This is Team Rocket we're talking about!" You exclaim; everyone's heard of Team Rocket and they're quite well-known in Johto - they took over the Lake of Rage and Goldenrod Radio Tower once. "I'm coming with you."

"Tch," He grunts under his breath, his right eye twitching rather fiercely. You've seen his eye twitch, usually when he's excited during battles - but you’ve never mentioned it and for the first time, Raihan looks rather frustrated that you're not listening to him. "You could get hurt."

"I'll be fine, my pokemon - "

"That's not the point."

"Rai, I can help."

"I don't want anything to happen to you; Eli keeps targeting you because of me." Raihan growls, before he pulls you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you, "C'mon...listen to me. Be a good girl and stay here. You're my princess, I'm supposed to protect you."

Whilst Allister watches blankly, you feel your lungs are about to explode by how tightly Raihan holds onto you and he bundles you up even tighter in his embrace, burying his nose into your hair; you sink against his chest, your face pushed into the sleek fabric of his hoodie. It’s really cute how Raihan keeps calling you his princess but...

”So if I’m the princess, where does the prince fit in all this?” You mumble.

”There is no prince, just the dragon,” Raihan utters, “And the dragon wants to keep the princess all to himself.”

Your cheeks go bright red in response. He got you good! “...You can’t keep the princess locked away forever. Rai, I know you want to protect me. And you always do, so I know I’ll be safe if I stay with you."

"This is different."

”I want to go with you, don’t leave me alone.”

Raihan sighs under his breath, letting go of you to rub the side of his neck. “When you say stuff like that, I...damn it.”

Your friend’s words echo in your mind - she's right. Raihan spoils you; there is some power you hold over him.

Allister continues watching your exchange, glancing between yourself and Raihan and blinking behind his mask before he says, "....Can we go now?"

You and Raihan quickly throw your glance to the boy. "Yeah."

"Then let's go.....We might not get there on time if we call the taxi though...."

Whilst you ponder if it's legal to fly in Galar using one's own pokemon and not via a Corviknight taxi, Raihan glances towards the direction of the city. Although they can be seen in the distance, the castle walls of Hammerlocke appears to be a speck in the horizon. Usually if one is not in a hurry to get to Hammerlocke, they could walk or use the Rotom bike to get there but time is of essence here.

"We'll use Flygon." Raihan says as he scoops out an ultra ball from his pocket, "But there's only room for two."

"Don't worry, I have my own ride." You say, grinning as you take out a pokeball.

It's been a while since you flew on Salamence and when you let him out of his capsule, it also occurs to you that you never fail to surprise Raihan because his face lights up at once at the sight of your dragon pokemon. Once Raihan and Allister are seated comfortably on Flygon, and before you take off to the skies, Raihan smirks at you. Oh, he must be falling in love with you all over again.

Nevertheless, you arrive in Hammerlocke in less than five minutes; Salamence seems overjoyed to be finally flying again since you came to Galar, and during the short ride, he glances around the scenery below before growling loudly with happiness and shakes himself on a few occasions, enjoying the feel of the wind on his body. Along the way, you see a small flock of Spearow, Pidgey and Fletchling flying by your side.

Once you begin to descend, he lands beside Flygon and lets you carefully hop off before you thank him and stroke his head. He growls again, licking your cheek.

"Good boy." You mutter, recalling him into the capsule whilst Raihan recalls his Flygon.

Your group arrive at the stadium, heading towards the door just as they whoosh open and a man donned in a black sweater and sweats with a red 'R' on the front comes barging out, cradling an unconscious pokemon in his arms. "Nooooo, my poor Zubat! Nooooo!"

He almost knocks you to the ground if Raihan didn't help catch you in time and once you're back on your feet, you mutter your thanks and your group quickly rush in to see Piers and Kabu at a large metal door to the right of the hall that leads to the energy plant. Kabu's Sizzlipede sits on his shoulder whilst an Obstagoon stands beside Piers. Both gym leaders quickly spot your group; they don't look surprised to see you at all.

"You made it." Kabu says stoically. He's calm yet solemn as always, regardless of the situation.

"Thanks for comin'." Piers mutters.

Raihan strolls towards them, "Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine, thank you."

”What’s the plan?”

"Some Team Rocket grunts were guardin' the door; that was the last of them. Leon's gone in to get the Chairman so you should go in too. Kabu and I will stay 'ere. We can keep watch and stop further intruders. Use the lift, it'll take you down."

The gym leaders promptly step aside to allow your group in. Without further ado, you follow Raihan and Allister into the lift and once the doors close, you can't help but wonder what lies in store. Your heart thunders hard against your ribs; you've only been in Galar for roughly six months and your life has never been this exciting or exhilarating. You've heard of the many adventures other Pokemon trainers have had during their travels - and whilst you admit that you envied their experiences and tales of mystery and wonder, is this what you really want after all? Was coming here a good idea? After all, Raihan could get hurt. You could get hurt and so could Allister. You could've just listened to Raihan and gone home to sit on the couch with Espeon and waited, made yourself a cup of tea...watch a bit of the telly, too.

Allister brings you out of your thoughts as the lift stops. "We're here..."

You look up; it's taken you to the basement and you hold your breath as the door opens, revealing a dark corridor with a dim, reddish glow a distance ahead which should be your destination. Just how deep underground are you? In the background, a low but gentle humming noise persists. You squint your eyes, noticing the corridor is nothing but a linear path that appears to be rather short until -

"Stop in the name of Team Rocket!" A young man in the same black uniform startles your group, rushing towards you with a pokeball in hand. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

Shit, this is really the last thing you need right now. You're about to step forwards when Allister holds his arm out and moves in front of yourself and Raihan. "....I will deal with this one. You two go on ahead."

There's no time to waste; Raihan nods and squeezes your hand firmly. "Thanks, Allister. Stay safe."

"I will..."

As Allister engages in a pokemon battle with the Team Rocket grunt, you and Raihan are able to slip past and continue down the corridor without any obstacles; the bizarre humming noise can be heard as you journey through and you spot two more Team Rocket grunts ahead who haven't noticed your presences yet. They seem to be in deep conversation with each other although they're huddled over a large machine with a glass container - it's filled to the brim with pokeballs, great balls and ultra balls.

"That must be the stolen pokemon." You utter under your breath, before you abruptly turn to Raihan, clutching his hand firmly, "I'll deal with them. You need to go ahead and find Leon."

He pauses for a split second, brows furrowing under his headband as he contemplates your plan. "You gonna be okay?"

"Of course."

Your gazes meet before he cups your face with his large hands and leans forwards, pressing his lips against your forehead. "I guess there's no stopping you." He mutters, "Be careful."

Your heart jumps in your throat in response when he releases you, your knees going weak; you give him a reassuring smile before you leave his side, making your way towards the two grunts who are pressing their noses against the glass of the machine. You can hear their conversation more clearly now:

"Oooh, this is amazing, look at all these strong pokemon we stole! I call dibs on Bea's Machamp!" coos Grunt 1, chuckling under his breath.

"That's not fair!" exclaims Grunt 2, "Then...I get Melony's Lapras!"

"Hey, you two." You call out, reaching for Haxorus' pokeball from behind your back.

At the sound of your voice, they leap in the air with fright and turn to you. "What the - ?! Who the hell are you?"

"You guys wouldn't be interested in my pokemon, would you?"

"What!! No way! We don't want whatever shitty pokemon you have! Get lost!" yells Grunt 1, before he grabs a pokeball from his belt and throws it, releasing a Zubat. At the same time, Grunt 2 follows Grunt 1's example and releases a Koffing. Oh dear, looks like they haven't learned their lesson from their previous exploits at all.

"Still using Zubats and Koffings, huh?" You utter, before you also grab Salamence's pokeball and abruptly throw them into the air; the capsules opens, releasing your dragon pokemon. Haxorus roars loudly and the battle starts; Raihan slips past, winking at you.

You watch him head towards the large opening ahead, disappearing inside and you inwardly pray to Arceus that he'll be safe and sound. And unsurprisingly, your battle is over in less than two minutes.

"T-this isn't possible!!!" Grunt 1 squawks in disbelief.

"She's a monster, RUN!!!!" Grunt 2 screams.

Haxorus and Salamence have crushed their opponents in one hit and the two grunts recall their fainted pokemon and rush off somewhere, but not before honouring the rules of Pokemon battling and dumping some cash onto the floor during their frantic escape. With an eyebrow raised, you're surprised at their conduct but nonetheless, you're two thousand eight hundred and eighty dollars richer. You'll go and buy some treats for your pokemon later. You recall Salamence and you're about to recall Haxorus but upon inspecting the machine full of stolen pokemon, you're not quite sure how to turn it off. Soon, you hear footsteps heading towards your direction and turning round, you see Allister approaching. He stops before you, staring up at your Haxorus.

"Allister! You're okay!!" You exclaim with relief, throwing your arms around him.

"....Yep..." He's a little startled by your hug, taking a few steps backwards before he turns to the machine, "....Is that the stolen pokemon?"

"Yeah." You usher him to the side next, "Stand back. Haxorus, use Iron Tail!"

Your Haxorus acknowledges with a growl and as his tail glows; he turns and slams his tail into the machine; your pokemon smashes it in one move and the machine lets out a loud fizz and sparks begin to fly as it powers down. Cracks appear on the glass before it shatters completely; an assortment of capsules begin dropping out, rolling onto the floor. You recall Haxorus, and grin widely at Allister - it's a shame you can't see his expression behind the mask.

"Allister, get Kabu and Piers." You utter, and Allister nods; you know they'll ensure the stolen pokemon are returned to their owners. "I'll go ahead and find the others."

"Okay....try not to get hurt."

”I won’t.”

As Allister heads back towards the direction of the lift, you continue down the corridor and towards the source of the eerie red light. It should lead you to where the others are and where Chairman Rose is apparently being held. The closer you get, the humming noise grows louder and louder and you can hear some conversation from within now.

"Where's that girlfriend of yours? Surely, she must be around." It's Eli.

Now you can hear Raihan: "She's got nothing to do with you. Let Chairman Rose go."

You continue to tiptoe forwards and arrive at the edge of the corridor wall where you use it as cover and carefully peer into the room. Your eyes grow wide at the sight; this must be the core of the energy plant... and it's bigger than you had anticipated. The walls stretch to at least over a hundred feet tall. An abundance of strange machines line the walls in a circle, various lights flashing on and off. They fill the walls from floor to ceiling (...in fact, you cannot even see the ceiling) and there's a metal walkway above. In the very middle of the massive room, you see Eli, Leon and Raihan locked in confrontation.

Eli says, "You see, Raihan...I hate everything about you. I was promised the position of Hammerlocke gym leader a long time ago by this man but then....you came. You waltzed in with your stupid grin, your stupid social media account and your stupid little dragons....and then Rose decides that you're a better fit for the position, not me. He cast me aside and told me I was no longer suitable. I wasn't as handsome as you, I wasn't as popular as you, I wasn't as strong as you. Apparently, I wouldn't be able to represent the Pokemon League as good as you and that is why I joined Team Rocket."

Rose is sitting up against a large generator that stands on its own in the middle, clutching his bleeding arm; it's switched on, and it's the source of the red light and the humming noise.

You see Rose shaking his head before he attempts to stand up. "You don't understand, Eli. The final gym needs a trainer who is capable of strong compassion and empathy; whenever they lose to a gym challenger, they have to accept their defeat with grace and send the gym challenger onto the path towards the final stage of their journey - the championship tournament. In fact, I couldn't consider you for any of the gym leader positions due to that reason. You didn't understand; all you wanted was the title, the fame and the victory. You didn't want to be defeated; you wanted all the gym challengers to lose. That's not what the Pokemon League stands for."

There's a brief silence; Eli's face gradually fades into a shade of red before his fists curl and clinch. "SHUT UP!” He roars, storming over to the Chairman, "You bastard, are you saying I'm worthless? I'll show you, I'll show you all! I will be the most powerful trainer in Galar and you will regretnot choosing me!!!" Eli yells, before he turns to the generator, pushes down on a lever and sparks begin to fly from the machine as it begins to whir even louder.

Everyone glances around on high alert until the room immediately dissolves into a darker shade of red and a tannoy goes off; it's so loud your ears hurt and you can't help but wince: "Warning...high energy levels detected within the vicinity, please evacuate immediately...Warning..."

The generator is whirring furiously, the dials wavering in their meters uncontrollably until a bright beam of light emerges from the top of the machine and shoots high up into the atmosphere. It promptly disappears into the darkness; there's the sound of a muffled explosion followed by a low rumble, akin to thunder. You gawk, eyes narrowing as an ominous cloud begins to appear...and promptly splits into two. Everyone stares, transfixed, as the slit grows larger and larger, revealing a bizarre sight within - it's not the energy plant as one would have thought - you see an image of yourselves except it's upside-down and clearly distorted. The image is soon replaced with a shadowy black tentacle that begins to emerge and your eyes widen at once.

It's a portal, and something is trying to come out.

Eli gawks at the spectacle, the corner of his lips tugging into a crazed smirk. "Heh...heh...hehe...it's working...it's actually working. Eternatus, I call upon you!! Lend me your strength!!" He screams, throwing his arms up into the air. Raihan and Leon attempt to move forwards, but Eli is quick to respond. "I won't let you! Eternatus is mine!" He shouts angrily, grabbing a pokeball from his waist and releasing a Gyarados onto the field.

Raihan grabs an ultra ball next. "Leon, I'll handle Eli. You need to get Chairman Rose out of here."

"Alright. Thank you, Raihan." Leon utters, "Charizard, let's go!"

There's your chance! You rush inside as Leon helps Rose onto Charizard and although reluctant to be sent away, the flame pokemon flaps its wings and takes to the air with Rose; it heads towards you and you duck out of the way; the ground begins trembling furiously as the beam of light continues emitting from the generator, shining so brightly that the generator is beginning to wobble, threatening to explode. You pass Raihan; he's battling Eli with Duraludon. Your gazes meet; he appears a little stunned to see you but nevertheless, concentrates on his battle.

You imagine Eli has another trick up his sleeve, and you're not surprised when a shadow flits towards you and you see it's a Gliscor, determined to stop you. You release Haxorus again, instructing him to hold off the attacking Pokemon whilst you join Leon at the machine; he's trying to switch off the machine, trying to lift the lever up but it won't budge - it's stuck.

"What are you doing here?" Leon yells over the noise as the tannoy continues sounding off. "It's too dangerous, get out of here!"

You shake your head, planting your hand firmly on top of his. "I'm here to help!"

He's taken aback, but nonetheless, seems relieved with your assistance. "Okay, let's do this on three. Have you got a good grip?"

You nod fiercely and Leon begins the countdown.

“Three - "

You squeeze your eyes shut as you dig your heels into the ground, shifting all your strength to your arm as you attempt to push the lever up.

"Two - "

Sweat dots Leon's forehead as you both struggle to shut down the generator. You keep pressing forwards, trying to muster as much as strength as possible. You end up placing your other hand over Leon's, and Leon does the same, planting his other hand on top of yours. The lever begins to inch up slightly.

Trying not to focus on the chaos around you, all that matters now is stopping Eli and closing the generator down despite the vicious tremors under your feet. However, you throw a glimpse over your shoulder, watching Haxorus snap his jaws at the Gliscor that keeps flitting around, just out of reach. High above and the portal grows larger and larger, and when you flick your gaze up, you spot a dark silhouette lurking within along with a pair of glowing red eyes.

"No!!!!" Eli yells, but he's too late.

"One!"

With your combined strength, you both finally push the lever up and as it slams back into place, the light emitting from the top of the generator blinks unsteadily for a split second before promptly disappearing in a blink of an eye. Your hands tremble fiercely whilst Leon waits with baited breath. The surroundings grow still until you hear Raihan shouting your name - you turn round but a weighty, invisible force slams into your chest, knocking you off your feet and into air; you're flung far away from the generator.

The intense light returns, blinding you; an unearthly shriek can be heard, the walls shaking from the sound. No, you thought you stopped the generator, the portal... did you fail? Is this the end of the world?

The ground stops trembling, everything grows quiet...and your vision goes dark.

Opening your eyes, you blink and glance around.

The first thought that springs to your mind is: Where's Raihan? Where is everyone and...where am I?

Your view is blurry, your head is throbbing painfully. Strange, hushed whispers and murmurs assault your ears. Disoriented, you attempt to identify your surroundings. You are no longer in the energy plant, but a large expanse with a dark sky. To your right, you see a staircase but it's going the wrong way. To your left, a waterfall is flowing...but in reverse. You watch with confusion as the water flows up and up and up - and as you follow the direction the water is flowing in, you resort to tilting your head to a one hundred and eighty degree angle, and you see there is a pool of water... you're in an incredible but terrifying place where everything is upside down and the laws of physics, or nature, don't exist here.

All of a sudden, a colossal shadow covers your form, forcing you to look up yet again. A strange creature is patrolling a floating island, gliding around silently on its six thin, black tentacles...there are various red, black and gold rings on its serpentine form... You're not particular familiar with this pokemon; you've only seen one or two pictures and read about it in a few books but...

"......Giratina?" You find yourself croaking out. "No...no way..."

Your eyes widen to the size of saucers as the pokemon continues to effortlessly weave and slither around, seemingly oblivious to you; never could you have imagine that in your pitiful life, you would get the chance to see a legendary pokemon. You must be dreaming, right? You pinch yourself on the arm thoroughly and it hurts like a bitch. Also, those black tentacles must be what you saw in the energy plant. What was Eli trying to summon again? Eternatus? Did he make a mistake?

You continue to gawp at the renegade pokemon as it slinks around a few floating islands until it finally twists and turns, now heading for your direction. Uh-oh. You take a few steps back, your legs weak; maybe you should hide? However, there's nothing on this island you're standing on and as you take a few steps back, you accidentally trip over a raised bump on the ground and drop to the floor, scratching your elbows in progress. Throwing your glance up, Giratina nears.

Your heart beats frantically with fear as it swoops before you with insane speed and your jaw hits the ground as the massive pokemon hovers in front of you, scrutinising your tiny figure with its beady eyes.

Fear seizes you from all over and you're completely frozen. Your jaw goes slack as your eyes take in the sight of the mythical, legendary pokemon. It's presence is foreboding but you do not sense any malicious intent. For what appears to be a long time, you merely stare at its hauntingly beautiful form. How could such a wondrous creature like this possibly exist? As you lock eyes with the creature, your gut clenches with nausea all of a sudden and you feel light-headed. Could this be an effect of looking at it? Or is it simply because you don't belong in this world, in this dimension?

"Um...please...?" You utter, as you tremble helplessly, "I'm not meant to be here, and I want to go home. Giratina, are you able to take me back?"

You're trying to talk to it - a legendary pokemon, a mythical being - one that holds immense power, the power to jump between various dimensions... This shows just how tiny and insignificant you are in this universe. You can't believe what is going on right now; you hope it understands you but you can't help but feel ridiculous. Giratina doesn't respond in any way, regarding you silently with its intense red eyes.

"Please...I really want to go home.”

The creature continues to stare at you until it swoops away; in its wake, you see a blob of light hovering in the air before it begins to expand. It's a portal... it's been left for you and Giratina is gone. Seriously, this must be a dream... the light continues to glow, beckoning you to come closer. Swallowing down, you take a few baby steps and approach the light and -

- promptly open your eyes, where you see Raihan to your left, tying a little bandage over your arm until he notices you're awake. "Hey..."

The corner of your eyes begin to prickle with lukewarm tears. "Raihan!" You exclaim with relief, sitting up and throwing your arms around him.

He chuckles, encircling his arms around your waist and pulling you into his lap. With his lips by your ear, he murmurs soothingly, "You okay?"

You nod, clutching onto him even tighter, burying your face into the crook of his neck but then - "Haxorus! Where are you??"

To your right, you see Haxorus has been by your side the entire time and he growls and nickers happily; you breathe a sigh of relief, raise a hand and he lowers himself to your level so you can pat him.

"Oh, thank Arceus..." You utter, before you recall him into his capsule.

With your Pokemon safe and sound, you avert full attention to Raihan. He presses his lips against the side of your face, smoothing down your hair with his large hand. Then he gently unfolds your legs so you're more comfortable but you end up wrapping your legs around his waist - it's second nature to you now - and you lock him into a full body hug.

His arms return to settle on your waist before he gently rocks you side to side, forcing you to laugh, and when you pull away, your gazes meet before he begins to lean in.

Your lips meet and you close your eyes once more, moaning softly against his mouth. When you were in the Distortion world, you were afraid you might not ever get the opportunity to see him again, to see your family and friends... you didn't realise you had so much to lose.

You pull Raihan closer to you so you can feel his lips on yours just a bit more - and you unintentionally deepen the kiss which has Raihan smirking against your lips before he bundles you up in his arms again and presses you even closer against his chest. The need for air forces you to break apart however, and you slowly lift a finger to your lips whilst Raihan grins to himself.

"What happened?" You ask, "Where's Eli? Did we stop him?"

Throwing your glance to the hall, there are a few chubby pink Chanseys sprinting to and fro. Chairman Rose sits near the closed kiosk with his assistant along with Allister, Kabu and Piers; a Chansey and Nurse Joy tends to him. Another Chansey is assisting Leon. He's sitting against the wall and once he notices you're awake, he grins widely at you. There's a plaster stuck to his chin and cheek, his long hair ruffled and messy. Charizard hugs him tightly, rubbing the top of his head with one claw, eyes closed.

"Yep." Raihan says with a grin. "We did."

"Where is he?"

Raihan jabs his thumb to a corner where a fuming Eli is being escorted towards the stadium exit by some policemen. You stare wide-eyed as Raihan adds, "Can you get up?"

"...I think so..."

With Raihan's help, he lifts you up and settles you onto your feet; you hold onto him as your feet feels light, and you glance down at yourself. You've been patched up by Chansey, with a plaster on your neck and face and Raihan's bandage on your arm but aside from that, nothing else. You're fine. Raihan loops your arm around his shoulder and you glance around the hall of Hammerlocke stadium. It's quiet and dark in here, but outside the glass doors, you can see various flashes of light going on and off and a lingering crowd full of curious faces. The flashes belong to cameras.

The paparazzi are outside.

Raihan notices how tense you become and squeezes your shoulder reassuringly. You throw your nervous glance to him but he merely grins; soon, Leon joins you and so does Charizard. Next, Chairman Rose, Oleana and the gym leaders head over to your group and Oleana helps him adjust his tie and dust his suit down. Poor Chairman Rose, he looks as bedraggled as everyone else. He thanks Oleana and she returns to his side quietly; Rose glances at you, acknowledging you with a nod.

"Thank you for your help." He says, and your face goes undoubtedly red whilst he proceeds to address the others. "Leon...Raihan...Kabu, Piers...Allister...Thank you. Thank you for your help. Everyone in Galar will know what you did tonight. If it were not for you, I would not be here." He smiles gently next and gestures to the door, "Well then, shall we?"

He's referring to the paparazzi; they must be dying to know what happened. You swallow a huge lump in your throat as Rose and Oleana leave first and Leon and the others follow him; Rose opens the doors and it's then you hear the loud, overlapping shouts and cries of the journalists and the nonstop sounds of camera shutters going off.

"Chatot Daily Times -- Chairman Rose, can you tell us what happened tonight?!!"

"Chairman Rose, this is Staraptor News! Look over here, please!"

"Chairman Rose, is it true that Eli is a part of Team Rocket and tried to assassinate you tonight!?"

"Mr Champion, please do share a few words!!!"

"Kabu, is it true you fought off ten members of Team Rocket with only your Sizzlipede??!"

The amount of noise is staggering and hurts your ears at once; as the journalists clamber over each other, shoving microphones and cameras in front of Rose's face, you gawk as Rose remains calm and holds up his hand. "...Please, everyone...one at a time..."

There's no change regardless of Rose's polite request, the paparazzi keep firing question after question, and it's the same for Leon, Kabu, Allister and Piers - they're surrounded at once.

"Let's get a group picture!!!!" Someone yells, and the journalists murmur in agreement.

Everyone begins to move into place; Rose stands in the middle, Oleana moves behind him. Leon goes to the left with Charizard behind him. Kabu and Piers move to the right. Allister is made to stand at the very front. Raihan joins Leon and you have no choice but to stand beside Raihan as he keeps his arm wrapped firmly around your shoulder. The cameras continue going off and you crack a thin, watery smile. The group photo session is over and everyone is separated once more by the paparazzi - oh shit, you and Raihan are not spared, either. In a matter of seconds, you are swamped, bombarded with unfamiliar faces and microphones and bright lights.

"Raihan, is this your new girlfriend???!"

"Please do tell us how long you've been dating for!"

"How did you meet and when?"

"Is it true she stopped Eli???"

“Miss, how does it feel to be ‘Raihan’s Princess’?”

"Mr Raihan, please look this way!"

"Raihan, over here!"

Camera flashes are going off like crazy in front of your face and your vision goes white; you're seeing spots and stars. At the same time, you can hear the rapid clicks of camera shutters going off. Who knows what kind of photo they're taking of you? Overwhelmed, you try to move but they've blocked your way. "Rai..." You squeak out as your breath begins to shorten; you can't breathe, you need some space, you need some air -

Raihan pulls you into chest protectively and away from the crowd, grinning for the camera. "Do you mind? My girlfriend is very shy."

There's a loud assortment of 'oooh's', 'awws' and 'aaah's’ along with some scattered laughter amongst the journalists.

"Can you let us pass? She's tired and needs rest." Raihan adds.

"Sure, sure, but how 'bout a quick one for the front page, eh?" screams one random journalist.

Raihan scans the crowd briefly as you cling onto him. One for the front page? Does he mean....a kiss? You peer up at him whilst Raihan throws a quick glimpse to you. It's not looking too good - you don't think the journalists are going to let you through at this rate.

But perhaps the oddest thing is....you don't actually care anymore. And... you’re not scared.

Therefore, you nod.

You can do this.

Raihan gazes at you in surprise. "...Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"We don't have to."

"I'm alright, I really am. I'm tired...I just want to go home."

He observes you for a few moments before he releases you. Slowly, he lifts his hand to your face, his fingers skimming over the curve of your cheek before he brushes the tip of his thumb over your bottom lip.

The crowd grows quiet, watching the both of you with anticipation.

Raihan begins to lean forwards, his face nearing yours before he tilts his head ever-so-slightly, your noses touching. You inwardly hold your breath as your eyelids slide to a close, heartbeat speeding up as Raihan finally closes the gap between you, firmly planting his lips against yours.

...

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