#also in my heart he has a sobble that never sees battle. it's his secret crybaby friend

[blindmagdalena]

i got distracted and made homelander a pokemon team. his pikachu is mean as fuck btw.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Applin Of My Eye Ch1 The Apple Shaped Heart Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree (plus story summary)

Part 5 of the Galar Soulmate Series spin off of Love Doesn't Do Encores/A Champion Time For The Heart and side parody of Dragon's Treasure/Diamond In The Rough (This story will be much shorter than the others but I didn't want to leave out the last guy. This will also be the final installment of the Galar Soulmate Series.) Everything was fine now. Eternatus was defeated. The bad guys caught. No more things to worry about...Or at least for Y/n. A small encounter with a certain farmer has made him realize that he never apologized for bowling her over with a wooloo. So when the woman who helped save Galar shows up on his doorstep with an injured wooloo he may realize that maybe he had some secret feelings he never expressed to her in the beginning.

(Before we begin keep in mind that I do not know the actual name of Milo's little brother so his name is only cannon for this story, and his backstory is also not cannon and just for the story.)

It was a funny thing how crushes often worked you see.

You couldn't really control when cupid would shoot you with his arsenal of arrows through your heart and piercing your brain with that fuzzy feeling that made you all warm inside. However he felt as if he might've been hit with a whole sledgehammer. He still remembered the first time he saw her there. Last year pretty early in the year too actually. It was when he was getting his wooloo ready for the Gym Challenge but unfortunately one of the little rascals had slipped out and started running all over the gym with him chasing right after. Eventually it was able to escape right out of the gym and rolled faster than a tumble weed in a tornado out of his gym and right up the dirt road leading right out of town. Well he went chasing right after it one hand holding his sun hat. To his horror the pokemon was heading right towards two women walking their way down the dirt road chatting oblivious to the danger. Unfortunately speed was never his strong point, he was more of a strength guy himself.

Gloria smiled and pointed to it as the two of you walked down hill on the path. "Look! See? I told ya it was a good idea to take the short cut."

You looked down at her deadpanned, the baaing becoming louder the farther you two walked. "Uh huh. And those people chasing us in the beginning was part of the 'good idea'?"

You two didn't see the thing coming towards you from down the path or the man giving chase to it. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad. We got here faster and now we can rest up and see 'bout that gym.

"Oh yes. And battling someone inside a mine is a good idea too-"

"Nonono! Miss! Watch out-''

Something hard rammed into your legs and they went flying back, sending your front shooting forward and in an instant you faceplanted the dirt road hard. A resounding 'THUMP!' sound echoing out as whatever rammed into you just as suddenly disappeared. It was like a your legs were pins and you just got ran over by a bowling ball. Stunned your body just sat there face first on the ground with your sobble thrown from your shoulder a couple feet away. You didn't move even as a gasp reached your ears, along with baaing and running footsteps. Your sobble chirping in annoyance upon being flung sat itself up and shook itself off, but scurried away and burried itself under your limp noodle of an arm when someone bigger nearly ran it over. Still you laid there stunned.

"OH NO! OH NO!!" A man's worried voice reached your ears just as your brain finally started to register you had been knocked over. "I AM SO SORRY!! MISS!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

"Y/N!!" Gloria shouted and you felt her shake you frantically. "NO! This can't be how you die! Bowled over by a wooloo isn't a good way to die so please get up!!"

....You coughed. And groaned. Your vision blurry as your now dirty face slowly lifted itself from the ground and looked up. Blinking at the two faces before you. Gloria who was obviously concerned, but the other was a man one hand clutching a hat on his head as he looked you over with worry. "What was-"

"I am SO sorry, Ma'am!" The man you assumed kneeled down letting you get a better look at his freckled face. "My...Are you ok!? You took that tackle head on!"

"What happened?," you mumbled and your answer was being easily lifted by the man by strong hands grabbing your shoulders.

"One of my wooloo! I'm so very, very sorry! She keeps running away everytime someone leaves a door open and I need her for the gym so I keep having to chase her down and bring her back!," the man quickly stated holding you up on wobbly legs as you shook your head as your poor sobble refused to let go of your arm. Hanging onto it like a koala bear would. Hands dusted you off. "Oh no. You're all a mess because of me. I hope you're not hurt, Ma'am."

You waved him off. "It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time I had to deal with troublesome wooloo," you grumbled remembering the Slumbering Weild incident. "I feel fine. Just a few dirt stains aren't gonna hurt."

The man sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was really worried when you fell so suddenly." His face quickly snapped with a frown to the wooloo who baaed at him. "And you! What did I tell you about running off like that!? This time you did hurt someone!" It baaed louder at him. "Don't you talk back to me! You're in big trouble young lady!......Hm?" He looked to Gloria who was currently staring at him in surprise before he suddenly smiled at her. "Oh. You must be one of the Gym Challengers, right?"

"I- W-Who me!?" She sputtered before nodding quickly. "Y-Yes, Sir! I am!"

"Ah! I thought so." His polite smile widened. "I saw you at the Opening Ceremony earlier this week! My name's Milo. It's nice to meet you."

"I know! AH! I mean!" Gloria sputtered holding up her hands. "I s-saw you too with everyone else! I'm so sorry!"

held up his hands. "Oh no. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you and your friend here for the trouble I put you through."

"Milo?," you asked confused gaining his attention.

He nodded. "I'm a Gym leader here and partial to Grass Type pokemon. And if I'm not mistaken your friend here is one of the ones Leon keeps going on about. I've been itching to see just how good the Champion endorsed Gym Challengers are..." he sighed moving his hands to his hips. "But I'm afraid you might have to wait your turn."

"Huh?" Gloria blinked.

"I know usually my gym's the first one trainers pass by on their trip, but I didn't expect so so many to come here right after the ceremony. I've been completely swamped and I still have three trainers waiting for their turns with me right now. And it doesn't help this one keeps running off the first chance she gets."

You mean I gotta wait until you have more time off just to fight me?" She groaned with a pout. "Maybe we should've taken the train to get here faster after all."

"Hey. The man's busy" You patted her back with a frown. "And obviously he's having a hard time right now. You said we had what?....A whole year until those finals come up? It hasn't even been a whole week yet. We can wait a lil bit longer and let Mr. Milo here sort himself out."

Milo gave you a surprised look and Gloria sighed before nodding. "You're right. We're here and that's the most important thing! I can wait a few more days if I have too."

You smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Even Milo eventually smiled. "Well then. Let me find out at the Gym Stadium when you're ready." He pointed behind him. "Just head on down this route and you'll run right into my stadium. See you there!" He then turned to the wooloo. "Come on now. Back to the stadium with you too. We can't keep the Gym Challengers waiting." It baaed at him in protest but didn't give too much of a fight when it started to follow him as he turned and gave one wave back to you two. "Again sorry for the trouble! Hope to see you soon!"

With a sigh you brought your arm up and your sobble blinked at you...before grabbing your cheek with a questioning chirp. "I'm fine. Just a little sore."

He thought that would've been it. You see he wasn't expecting to see her again. He thought he saw her the next day when he battled her friend in the stadium, but that was that. He lost, congratulated the young girl who looked about the same age as his little brother and off she went. He thought that would be it until he saw the next challenger. But he was surprised when night fell and he stepped out for a few moments to himself.

The night was peaceful. The night was quiet. It was one of the times he could actually get a bit of breathing room to himself and he always gave one last look around anyways. The wooloo were all snug back in their barn. The gym was cleaned up and closed. And most of the farm's chores were already done. All that was left was to do one last look around before bed. The night was pretty. The sun had just started going down over the horizon leaving sn assortment of yellows and oranges and pinks to be chased away by a dark blanket of black filled with millions of tiny stars. It was beautiful among the silent fields. Although he was never expecting to run into another person. Quite literally. He was just walking around the side of his barn when he almost ran face first into a woman. A woman with a sobble clinging to her shoulder. The sudden face to face encounter had her jumping back with a yelp jumping back and the sobble terrified ducking behind her head with a chirp. He himself took a step or two back from the sight as the two of them just...blinked at one another for a good second. Who was-

"Milo?," The woman asked with a blink. "What are you doing out here?"

He blinked. Why did she look familiar? "I...I own this farm? And who are you?"

"I'm Y/n." He still stared. "Your wooloo bowled me over the other day."

It all clicked in an instant. "Oh! You're that woman!" He remembered now. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"Camping." She gestured behind her towards the back fields and when looked over her, he noticed there was two tents set up right in the middle of one of his fields. "My friends and I are camping out here before we leave tomorrow morning, but we had no idea this place belonged to you. I heard someone walking around out here so I came to check it out." It was then she held up her hands and apologized. "But we don't want to cause any trouble. If it's a bother, I'll have them move our tents somewhere else. I'm sorry."

"Oh no. It's no trouble at all," he insisted with a smile. "As long as you all don't litter, I don't mind at all. "

"Oh. That's actually really nice of you. Thank you so much. That battle you had with Gloria today was great!"

He paused all of a sudden caught off guard by what she had said. "Pardon me?"

She smiled at him. "I said your battle with Gloria was really fun to watch. You put up a good fight out there today. No wonder you're a gym leader!"

And in that moment he paused. She was complimenting him? HIM?! He had to look around real quick to make sure that there wasn't anyone else there for her to speak too even though he knew there really. He then looked back to her with that perplexed took. By now the small sobble had timidly poked his head from behind hers.

He pointed at himself. "You mean me?"

"Of course I mean you! You're the only gym leader in Turrffield. Who else would I be talking to?" She rose a brow.

"Oh. I-I meant no offense, Ma'am. It's just...well I'm not used to compliments actually." A hand reached up as an embarrassed smile graced his features. "I don't get a whole lot of them outside my friends and little brother."

"Really? I'm surprised. You put up such a good fight against Gloria." Ah. That must be her friend's name. The young girl who he battled today in fact. "You're also the first official gym leader I've met so far."

He blinked in surprise. "Really?"

She nodded. "You see. I'm uh... Visiting Galar. It's my first time ever being in this region. So today was my first time ever seeing a live gym battle and you're the first ever gym leader I've spoken too....Ever actually."

"Huh? You mean you've literally never met another gym leader before me? Like ever?" 

"Nope! First time ever today. Or night as it happens to be now." ...She smiled again. "But I'm glad it was you. You're really kind, I could tell by how you treated your Pokemon during the battle." She then turned and waved a hand good bye. "Well it was nice meeting you Mr. Milo. Sorry again for the trespassing. Have a good night."

"Uh...Good night."

That was it. He didn't see the strange woman again when he went to inspect the fields the next morning. The tents and people were gone, if he didn't find the small holes in the ground from the tent spikes, he would've believed he'd just dreamt up the whole thing. Oh well. She was kind though! It made him happy to be complimented for once but he soon forgotten about the whole thing when he just got on with his life. A lot of wool was harvested from him wooloo and so many crops were harvested from the fields this year! In fact this might've been the most plentiful harvest Turrffield has ever had. 

His little brother was making his way through the gym challenge as well! He was so proud of him! He really grew from a bud to a giant blossom this year. He was so proud watching Felix battle his way through the gym leaders one after another and make his way through the gym challenge. He always knew Felix was a much more stronger and capable trainer than he ever was. He'd grown so much than he'd ever could, one day when he was older he'd make an even better gym leader! If Ma and Pa could see him now, they'd think the same thing he was sure of it! So it came to no surprise when months passed and he saw Felix again sometime in August. The biggest smile on his face when he busted through the door of their home, almost scaring Milo into dropping the giant sake of potatoes he was handling,  and with a confident smile presented his full badge circle with all eight badges. 

"Milo! I'm competing in the semifinals this year!"

He  was then given the biggest hug and welcome Milo could ever give. His own little brother was going to be in the semifinals this December.  And it was then that he saw her again. When he and his brother traveled down to Wyndon city near Christmas time. Felix was getting ready to battle the other three finalists and he was patiently waiting for it all to start from the V.I.P lounge with most of the other gym leaders. But they couldn't until Leon showed back up, which was sooner than he expected when the door opened and the smiling Champion came walking in-

With one mighty push, Leon pushed the door open and walked right in. "Hey, Everyone." He called back into the room. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Leon. Don't tell me you got lost again! I thought one of us were gonna have to rescue you like last time.," came a woman's voice that sounded familiar from the inside, "I swear sometimes you're more confusing than a spinda."

You both slowly shuffled in as Leon chuckled a bit embarrassed. "C'mon, Nessa. That's a bit harsh." Shaking his head he smiled behind him as you brought up the rear. "I got a bit distracted on the way here and invited some friends over."

You stepped in and blinked at what you saw. The room you were all in was almost as big as Gloria's hotel room but less fancy. Warm thankfully, with some couches, a table with a few chairs, a big flat screen TV, and over in one corner was some kitchen stuff. By kitchen stuff there was a counter with a few cabinets, a sink, full sized fridge, microwave, and a coffee maker. And within the room around you was all ten gym leaders!! Ms. Opal was sitting at the table with a cup of presumed tea with Kabu who seemed to be meditating or asleep by the way he was just sitting there eyes closed and arms crossed. Gordie had been standing by the fridge leaning against the wall, but looked up from his drink when the door opened. Melony standing with him. Nessa sitting on the couch next to Bea, and across from them on the other couch was Raihan glancing at you with a surprised look with Alister sitting next to him on the opposite side of the couch. Milo was the closest one standing to you all looking to have been in the middle of eating some kind of doughnut in his hand when you walked in, and last but not least there was Piers. He had been the only one visibly standing and looking out the window as the stadium was filling up with people, but had side glanced over his shoulder just seeing Leon before turning back to the window before he could see you walk in behind him. Disinterested in whoever Leon brought with him. Oh if only he knew. And...HEY! It was the three trainers of Raihans. Sebastian, Camilla, and Aria. The triplets were encircled around the fridge most likely getting something to eat also.

Good morning," Victor greeted politely and a bit more confidently than you as he waved. "It's really nice to meet all of you."

You were going to say hi as well. Most probably to Nessa since you've spoken to her before or maybe Ms. Opal and ask how Bede was doing. Or....maybe Raihan if you were feeling a bit more brave. But it was one soft voice that interrupted all thoughts.

"Y-Y/n."

A lot of everyone around you (you included-) looked surprised as ALLISTER of all people spoke out and you watched in surprise as he slowly scooted himself off the couch until his feet hit the floor. With a turn of his head towards you he slowly walked towards you...and you smiled. 'y/n. Milo instantly paused, His emerald green eyes going wide all of sudden, and the doughnut he was holding nearly dropped. And his brows instantly shot up upon seeing YOU of all people standing there next to Leon.....YOU!? HERE!? WHAT WERE YOU DOING BACK HERE?! WITH LEON!? HUH-

"Hey, Allister." You greeted and to everyone's surprise you instantly lowered yourself to sit on your knees finally placing Silver down to your side to be eye to eye with Allister. This seemed to make him more comfortable to talk with you as he slowly walked up to you now being closer to his height. "Wow. You look great! Did you grow taller from the last time I saw you?"

He instantly nodded his hands into fists in front of his chest. "Uh huh. L-Leon s-s-said I grew three inches this year!"

You gave a small gasp. "No! That's so cool! You're growing up fast. Soon you're going to be even taller than him."

"Y-You think so?"

You nodded again smiling wide. "Oh yeah. A big strong person like you? I bet you'll be the tallest person I know!"

That seemed to make him happy as he smiled from behind his mask at you before reaching around to his pokeballs. You watched patiently as he fumbled before holding up a pokeball. "I-I made a new f-f-f-friend! W-Would you like to meet him?"

Still smiling you nodded. "I would love to meet your friend, Allister." You gestured to Silver next to you who chirped when you acknowledged him. "I want you to meet my friend too. Allister this is Silver. He's been with me for a while now. Say hello, Sil."

In response Silver have off some kind of noise towards Allister who stared for a moment. "H-Hello..." Before turning back excitedly to you. "H-Here! Y-You're gonna really like him!" You knew that you would either way. Everyone was now staring at you two in surprise. Even Kabu had opened his eyes to peer over at what was going on. A flash of bright light from Allister gave way to something white, floating, and very pretty. And you smiled wider realizing what exactly what it was. Floating there by Allister in all it's white glory, was a Froslass. "I m-m-met him w-w-when it snowed by the stadium. He really likes playing hide and s-seek with us."

"Ooh. He's absolutely beautiful." You turned to the pokemon, and as if he was another human, you greeted him. "How do you do? It's very nice to meet you, Sir."

The pokemon blinked at you seeming to be taken a back a bit but made some noises while smiling proudly at itself. Allister slowly pointed at him. "H-He s-says you're v-very polite and i-it's n-nice to see s-s-someone recognize h-h-his looks."

You chuckled. "Well thank you! I'm glad he thinks so." Slowly you stood back up to stretch your legs still smiling. "I'm glad to see you're making new friends to play with. Are you here to watch the semifinals too?"

Allister nodded again before pointing over to the couch. "B-Bea's going to take me to the h-h-haunted houses in the c-c-city for Christmas."

You glanced from him to her and smiled. "Well doesn't that sound great!" You waved to her. "Hi. I don't think we've met. Or seen each other really."

Bea seemed to still be staring at you totally bewildered but it was nessa who spoke up next. "Oh yeah. I remember you." More surprised glances were sent between her and you as she gestured towards you. "You were Sonia's friend with the sobble! Er.." She glanced between you and Silver who shook off snowflakes. "Well, it looks like he's not too much of a sobble anymore."

You gave couple laughs before reaching over to pat Silver's head. "Nope. My lil guy's practically all grown up now. Takes a lot of love and care and food, but Silver's worth it." You waved a hand to her. "But it's good to see you too Nessa. Hope things been well. My friend showed me your new line in the ads." You added remembering Gloria showing you a magazine with an article of her. "I really like the 'Sea Emerald Delight' dress."

She smiled your way before turning her gaze to Raihan who blinked at her. "I told you. Green dresses will look good on anyone all year round." the Dragon Gym leader rolled his eyes in response and stood up.

You also shook your head...but paused feelings eyes on you. And it wasn't just the others around the room. Your head turned over towards the windows and you paused seeing Milo staring right back at you cheeks stuffed with a doughnut , brows raised at you. You both stared at one another for a moment before you went back to smiling, crossed your arms, and rose a brow back.

"Hello there Milo! It's nice to see you again too!" Finally a familiar friendly face besides Lee. "You're here to cheer on your brother right? I believe he's going to be competing against my friends."

He still stared at you as you smiled back patiently before swallowing down the food in his mouth and forcing a smile. "Y-Yeah! Felix is going to be fighting out there an-and I don't want to miss it when it happens."

Ah." You nodded. "I'd expect nothing less from you all. It's real sweet of you to be here to support him!" You smiled wider. That just makes you a good big brother! I knew you were sweet !"

He nearly choked on his doughnut as his face blossomed a bright pink.

You chuckled and you would've said something back if a voice didn't startle you. "Nice to see you too.~" You jumped with a yelp and backed away from the taller guy that walked up to you two. Raihan smiled that fanged grin of his as you blinked at him. "You didn't even say hi to me.~ I'm wounded.~" His gaze shifted from Milo to you as you blinked. "Hey there, Sassy.~ Wasn't expecting you to come rolling up here with Lee! You have a knack for hanging out with famous people?"

You blinked a moment before raising a brow. "Not really. Leon just offered to be nice and I didn't want my water type out in the freezing weather."

"Aw. And here I thought you came all the way to see me.~" He faked sadness making you roll your eyes. Milo glancing between you both. "Y'know if you're free sometime that dinner date's still up for the taking!"

"No thanks."

You never really gave it a thought? Really?" Raihan asked blinking surprised for a moment as you shook your head no before he smiled and leaned down closer to you making you lean back. "Well that's a first I've heard. Usually I'm something people can't get off their minds.~ You've certainly been on my mind for a while.~"

.......You reached for a nearby magazine. "Uh huh. I'm ....flattered I guess but dude. You might as well be flirting with a rock."

Behind you all Nessa gave a small snort which Bea slapped her shoulder. "Aw. I guess you're right. But you are cute.~" He gave that smirk that could've made anyone swoon. You raised your magazine. "You're like a short cute firecracker making my heart explo-HMPH!?"

Milo yelped when you all of a sudden you grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of you. With you now half hiding behind him now, you brandished your rolled up magazine like a sword....A harmless sword but something to ward him off non the less. Raiham blinked having been bonked harmlessly by you. You scowled using your Milo-Shield and Magazine-Sword to swing at him a couple times. Piers blinked wide eyed at you not sure what was going on. The doughnut all but forgotten about, what was left of the poor food dropping to the floor as his face blossomed an even thicker red.

"Bad Gym Leader! Down!,'' you firmly said scowling swinging at him, "Go to h0rny jail!"

"Wha- Jail??" He asked but held up his arms from your harmless magazine attack. "H-Hey! I was joking, Sassy! Seize fire there!"

"Silver help!!"

Raihan's eyes suddenly went wide before snapping his head when he heard a loud chirp and stumbled back when Silver eye narrowed starting walking towards you. "Hold it hold it hold it!!" Raihan held up his hands to Silver and ended up having to literally jump over the couch he was previously sitting on and stood in front of the lady gym leaders to avoid Silver who now stood between you and Milo and the couch. He narrowed his eyes at Raihan and gave a loud chirp. "Geez. You weren't kidding when you said he was protective."

Piers ended up giving a loud bout of rare laughter at the sight of the display and Leon was able to pry her off of him to let him recover from the sudden jolt. If he wasn't so flustered by the sudden action. Oh well. They parted ways and he soon forgot about it when the semifinals actually started. Felix sadly lost first round but that was ok. He was proud of him and he came farther than so many other people in the gym challenge. He didn't really think he'd see her again after that but again he was sadly mistaken when Christmas came around. It was that wonderful time of year when the spirits were high and the laughter was everywhere. And after all what better way to spend time with his little brother on Christmas than to take him to the Festival? Milo wasn't expecting to see her yet again but here he was, just waiting for his little brother to get off a ride when she just walked right up to him.

The park was actually beautiful this time of year. A slightly frosty patch mostly cleared went through the quiet parts of the park lit up by the faint lights of the festival and a perfect full moon above you. It was starting to snow again now, not too much, only enough for it to look really pretty and fluffy falling from the otherwise clear skies. The smells of the parks pine trees filled the air with the faint scents of foods from the festival, giving it a balanced mixture of nature and dinner time. The snow on the ground shined reflecting the moon light from the darkened sky making it look like a forest of glitter against the cold. 

He shivered from the cold, rubbing his hands together from the cold and sinking further into his coat. It was always chilly out this season. He'd be glad when he was able to get back to their hotel room. It would just be after the parade after all. The gym leader was so wrapped up in his own worlds he didn't notice the woman walk up to him or the footsteps crunching through the snow until they were right next to him.

"Hey."

"Gah!" He practically jumped out of his skin and whirled around to the woman next to him who blinked and held a few objects in her hands. "Wha-...Oh. I -Its you. *Sigh* Please don't do that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you...Again. That's just another thing I need to apologize to you for while I'm here."

"Huh?"

Her answer was to just hold up the objects in her hands. Which was two small bags and a cardboard cup holder holding two cups of hot chocolate, he could tell from how they smelt. "Seeing you the other day made me realize that I didn't apologize for all the inconveniences I gave you. So I'm sorry we trespassed on your farm. And I'm sorry for scaring you..Twice. And I'm sorry for using you to get away from Raihan. And I'm also sorry for making you drop your food. Here." You held out the food at him. "I got you and your little brother some replacement food as an apology gift." He opened stared at her, before looking at the food, then back to her, then opening his mouth- "Take it. My drizzlie would only eat it if I took it with me. And I have no place for it anyways."

....He slowly took the objects handed over to him with an unsure expression on his face...before giving a small smile. "I-...Thank you. Wow. Doughnuts and hot coco. Heh. Not a bad Christmas gift."

"Oh. That reminds me. I do have something for you." He again looked surprised when she dug into her coat pocket and pulled out two small metal keychains shaped like wooloo. They shined in the light as she held them out with a smile. "Here. Merry Christmas."

He could only stare at them. "A...gift? For me?"

"And your little brother. I got all my friends some and I figured you'd guys like one too."

...He took a moment longer to stare at them more before shifting the food into one arm to reach a free hand over to take them from her. A... Christmas gift? For him? But...he never got any Christmas gifts except from his few friends and little brother. He certainly didn't have that many fans so all the unexpected kindness was...So sudden. But...not unpleasant. In fact..the gesture struck something in his which made his heart pick up a beat and his face turned a darker pink than his hair.

"Well I'll see you later. Good luck in the Champion Cup tomorrow,  Milo. Merry Christmas."

And then she turned and left, leaving him to look on after her red faced as her eyes glittered in the Christmas lights, the snow gathering prettily on her f/c hair, and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on her face.

BU-BUMP!!

He nearly crushed the cups of coco as he felt his heart place a beat and his face burnt.

"O-O sweet wooloo knitted sweaters."

[echantedtoon]

Applin Of My Eye Ch1 The Apple Shaped Heart Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Everything was fine now. Eternatus was defeated. The bad guys caught. No more things to worry about...Or at least for Y/n. A small encounter with a certain farmer has made him realize that he never apologized for bowling her over with a wooloo. So when the woman who helped save Galar shows up on his doorstep with an injured wooloo he may realize that maybe he had some secret feelings he never expressed to her in the beginning.

(Before we begin keep in mind that I do not know the actual name of Milo's little brother so his name is only cannon for this story, and his backstory is also not cannon and just for the story.)

It was a funny thing how crushes often worked you see.

You couldn't really control when cupid would shoot you with his arsenal of arrows through your heart and piercing your brain with that fuzzy feeling that made you all warm inside. However he felt as if he might've been hit with a whole sledgehammer. He still remembered the first time he saw her there. Last year pretty early in the year too actually. It was when he was getting his wooloo ready for the Gym Challenge but unfortunately one of the little rascals had slipped out and started running all over the gym with him chasing right after. Eventually it was able to escape right out of the gym and rolled faster than a tumble weed in a tornado out of his gym and right up the dirt road leading right out of town. Well he went chasing right after it one hand holding his sun hat. To his horror the pokemon was heading right towards two women walking their way down the dirt road chatting oblivious to the danger. Unfortunately speed was never his strong point, he was more of a strength guy himself.

Gloria smiled and pointed to it as the two of you walked down hill on the path. "Look! See? I told ya it was a good idea to take the short cut."

You looked down at her deadpanned, the baaing becoming louder the farther you two walked. "Uh huh. And those people chasing us in the beginning was part of the 'good idea'?"

You two didn't see the thing coming towards you from down the path or the man giving chase to it. "Oh come on! It wasn't that bad. We got here faster and now we can rest up and see 'bout that gym.

"Oh yes. And battling someone inside a mine is a good idea too-"

"Nonono! Miss! Watch out-''

Something hard rammed into your legs and they went flying back, sending your front shooting forward and in an instant you faceplanted the dirt road hard. A resounding 'THUMP!' sound echoing out as whatever rammed into you just as suddenly disappeared. It was like a your legs were pins and you just got ran over by a bowling ball. Stunned your body just sat there face first on the ground with your sobble thrown from your shoulder a couple feet away. You didn't move even as a gasp reached your ears, along with baaing and running footsteps. Your sobble chirping in annoyance upon being flung sat itself up and shook itself off, but scurried away and burried itself under your limp noodle of an arm when someone bigger nearly ran it over. Still you laid there stunned.

"OH NO! OH NO!!" A man's worried voice reached your ears just as your brain finally started to register you had been knocked over. "I AM SO SORRY!! MISS!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

"Y/N!!" Gloria shouted and you felt her shake you frantically. "NO! This can't be how you die! Bowled over by a wooloo isn't a good way to die so please get up!!"

....You coughed. And groaned. Your vision blurry as your now dirty face slowly lifted itself from the ground and looked up. Blinking at the two faces before you. Gloria who was obviously concerned, but the other was a man one hand clutching a hat on his head as he looked you over with worry. "What was-"

"I am SO sorry, Ma'am!" The man you assumed kneeled down letting you get a better look at his freckled face. "My...Are you ok!? You took that tackle head on!"

"What happened?," you mumbled and your answer was being easily lifted by the man by strong hands grabbing your shoulders.

"One of my wooloo! I'm so very, very sorry! She keeps running away everytime someone leaves a door open and I need her for the gym so I keep having to chase her down and bring her back!," the man quickly stated holding you up on wobbly legs as you shook your head as your poor sobble refused to let go of your arm. Hanging onto it like a koala bear would. Hands dusted you off. "Oh no. You're all a mess because of me. I hope you're not hurt, Ma'am."

You waved him off. "It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time I had to deal with troublesome wooloo," you grumbled remembering the Slumbering Weild incident. "I feel fine. Just a few dirt stains aren't gonna hurt."

The man sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was really worried when you fell so suddenly." His face quickly snapped with a frown to the wooloo who baaed at him. "And you! What did I tell you about running off like that!? This time you did hurt someone!" It baaed louder at him. "Don't you talk back to me! You're in big trouble young lady!......Hm?" He looked to Gloria who was currently staring at him in surprise before he suddenly smiled at her. "Oh. You must be one of the Gym Challengers, right?"

"I- W-Who me!?" She sputtered before nodding quickly. "Y-Yes, Sir! I am!"

"Ah! I thought so." His polite smile widened. "I saw you at the Opening Ceremony earlier this week! My name's Milo. It's nice to meet you."

"I know! AH! I mean!" Gloria sputtered holding up her hands. "I s-saw you too with everyone else! I'm so sorry!"

held up his hands. "Oh no. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you and your friend here for the trouble I put you through."

"Milo?," you asked confused gaining his attention.

He nodded. "I'm a Gym leader here and partial to Grass Type pokemon. And if I'm not mistaken your friend here is one of the ones Leon keeps going on about. I've been itching to see just how good the Champion endorsed Gym Challengers are..." he sighed moving his hands to his hips. "But I'm afraid you might have to wait your turn."

"Huh?" Gloria blinked.

"I know usually my gym's the first one trainers pass by on their trip, but I didn't expect so so many to come here right after the ceremony. I've been completely swamped and I still have three trainers waiting for their turns with me right now. And it doesn't help this one keeps running off the first chance she gets."

You mean I gotta wait until you have more time off just to fight me?" She groaned with a pout. "Maybe we should've taken the train to get here faster after all."

"Hey. The man's busy" You patted her back with a frown. "And obviously he's having a hard time right now. You said we had what?....A whole year until those finals come up? It hasn't even been a whole week yet. We can wait a lil bit longer and let Mr. Milo here sort himself out."

Milo gave you a surprised look and Gloria sighed before nodding. "You're right. We're here and that's the most important thing! I can wait a few more days if I have too."

You smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Even Milo eventually smiled. "Well then. Let me find out at the Gym Stadium when you're ready." He pointed behind him. "Just head on down this route and you'll run right into my stadium. See you there!" He then turned to the wooloo. "Come on now. Back to the stadium with you too. We can't keep the Gym Challengers waiting." It baaed at him in protest but didn't give too much of a fight when it started to follow him as he turned and gave one wave back to you two. "Again sorry for the trouble! Hope to see you soon!"

With a sigh you brought your arm up and your sobble blinked at you...before grabbing your cheek with a questioning chirp. "I'm fine. Just a little sore."

He thought that would've been it. You see he wasn't expecting to see her again. He thought he saw her the next day when he battled her friend in the stadium, but that was that. He lost, congratulated the young girl who looked about the same age as his little brother and off she went. He thought that would be it until he saw the next challenger. But he was surprised when night fell and he stepped out for a few moments to himself.

The night was peaceful. The night was quiet. It was one of the times he could actually get a bit of breathing room to himself and he always gave one last look around anyways. The wooloo were all snug back in their barn. The gym was cleaned up and closed. And most of the farm's chores were already done. All that was left was to do one last look around before bed. The night was pretty. The sun had just started going down over the horizon leaving sn assortment of yellows and oranges and pinks to be chased away by a dark blanket of black filled with millions of tiny stars. It was beautiful among the silent fields. Although he was never expecting to run into another person. Quite literally. He was just walking around the side of his barn when he almost ran face first into a woman. A woman with a sobble clinging to her shoulder. The sudden face to face encounter had her jumping back with a yelp jumping back and the sobble terrified ducking behind her head with a chirp. He himself took a step or two back from the sight as the two of them just...blinked at one another for a good second. Who was-

"Milo?," The woman asked with a blink. "What are you doing out here?"

He blinked. Why did she look familiar? "I...I own this farm? And who are you?"

"I'm Y/n." He still stared. "Your wooloo bowled me over the other day."

It all clicked in an instant. "Oh! You're that woman!" He remembered now. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"Camping." She gestured behind her towards the back fields and when looked over her, he noticed there was two tents set up right in the middle of one of his fields. "My friends and I are camping out here before we leave tomorrow morning, but we had no idea this place belonged to you. I heard someone walking around out here so I came to check it out." It was then she held up her hands and apologized. "But we don't want to cause any trouble. If it's a bother, I'll have them move our tents somewhere else. I'm sorry."

"Oh no. It's no trouble at all," he insisted with a smile. "As long as you all don't litter, I don't mind at all. "

"Oh. That's actually really nice of you. Thank you so much. That battle you had with Gloria today was great!"

He paused all of a sudden caught off guard by what she had said. "Pardon me?"

She smiled at him. "I said your battle with Gloria was really fun to watch. You put up a good fight out there today. No wonder you're a gym leader!"

And in that moment he paused. She was complimenting him? HIM?! He had to look around real quick to make sure that there wasn't anyone else there for her to speak too even though he knew there really. He then looked back to her with that perplexed took. By now the small sobble had timidly poked his head from behind hers.

He pointed at himself. "You mean me?"

"Of course I mean you! You're the only gym leader in Turrffield. Who else would I be talking to?" She rose a brow.

"Oh. I-I meant no offense, Ma'am. It's just...well I'm not used to compliments actually." A hand reached up as an embarrassed smile graced his features. "I don't get a whole lot of them outside my friends and little brother."

"Really? I'm surprised. You put up such a good fight against Gloria." Ah. That must be her friend's name. The young girl who he battled today in fact. "You're also the first official gym leader I've met so far."

He blinked in surprise. "Really?"

She nodded. "You see. I'm uh... Visiting Galar. It's my first time ever being in this region. So today was my first time ever seeing a live gym battle and you're the first ever gym leader I've spoken too....Ever actually."

"Huh? You mean you've literally never met another gym leader before me? Like ever?" 

"Nope! First time ever today. Or night as it happens to be now." ...She smiled again. "But I'm glad it was you. You're really kind, I could tell by how you treated your Pokemon during the battle." She then turned and waved a hand good bye. "Well it was nice meeting you Mr. Milo. Sorry again for the trespassing. Have a good night."

"Uh...Good night."

That was it. He didn't see the strange woman again when he went to inspect the fields the next morning. The tents and people were gone, if he didn't find the small holes in the ground from the tent spikes, he would've believed he'd just dreamt up the whole thing. Oh well. She was kind though! It made him happy to be complimented for once but he soon forgotten about the whole thing when he just got on with his life. A lot of wool was harvested from him wooloo and so many crops were harvested from the fields this year! In fact this might've been the most plentiful harvest Turrffield has ever had. 

His little brother was making his way through the gym challenge as well! He was so proud of him! He really grew from a bud to a giant blossom this year. He was so proud watching Felix battle his way through the gym leaders one after another and make his way through the gym challenge. He always knew Felix was a much more stronger and capable trainer than he ever was. He'd grown so much than he'd ever could, one day when he was older he'd make an even better gym leader! If Ma and Pa could see him now, they'd think the same thing he was sure of it! So it came to no surprise when months passed and he saw Felix again sometime in August. The biggest smile on his face when he busted through the door of their home, almost scaring Milo into dropping the giant sake of potatoes he was handling,  and with a confident smile presented his full badge circle with all eight badges. 

"Milo! I'm competing in the semifinals this year!"

He  was then given the biggest hug and welcome Milo could ever give. His own little brother was going to be in the semifinals this December.  And it was then that he saw her again. When he and his brother traveled down to Wyndon city near Christmas time. Felix was getting ready to battle the other three finalists and he was patiently waiting for it all to start from the V.I.P lounge with most of the other gym leaders. But they couldn't until Leon showed back up, which was sooner than he expected when the door opened and the smiling Champion came walking in-

With one mighty push, Leon pushed the door open and walked right in. "Hey, Everyone." He called back into the room. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Leon. Don't tell me you got lost again! I thought one of us were gonna have to rescue you like last time.," came a woman's voice that sounded familiar from the inside, "I swear sometimes you're more confusing than a spinda."

You both slowly shuffled in as Leon chuckled a bit embarrassed. "C'mon, Nessa. That's a bit harsh." Shaking his head he smiled behind him as you brought up the rear. "I got a bit distracted on the way here and invited some friends over."

You stepped in and blinked at what you saw. The room you were all in was almost as big as Gloria's hotel room but less fancy. Warm thankfully, with some couches, a table with a few chairs, a big flat screen TV, and over in one corner was some kitchen stuff. By kitchen stuff there was a counter with a few cabinets, a sink, full sized fridge, microwave, and a coffee maker. And within the room around you was all ten gym leaders!! Ms. Opal was sitting at the table with a cup of presumed tea with Kabu who seemed to be meditating or asleep by the way he was just sitting there eyes closed and arms crossed. Gordie had been standing by the fridge leaning against the wall, but looked up from his drink when the door opened. Melony standing with him. Nessa sitting on the couch next to Bea, and across from them on the other couch was Raihan glancing at you with a surprised look with Alister sitting next to him on the opposite side of the couch. Milo was the closest one standing to you all looking to have been in the middle of eating some kind of doughnut in his hand when you walked in, and last but not least there was Piers. He had been the only one visibly standing and looking out the window as the stadium was filling up with people, but had side glanced over his shoulder just seeing Leon before turning back to the window before he could see you walk in behind him. Disinterested in whoever Leon brought with him. Oh if only he knew. And...HEY! It was the three trainers of Raihans. Sebastian, Camilla, and Aria. The triplets were encircled around the fridge most likely getting something to eat also.

Good morning," Victor greeted politely and a bit more confidently than you as he waved. "It's really nice to meet all of you."

You were going to say hi as well. Most probably to Nessa since you've spoken to her before or maybe Ms. Opal and ask how Bede was doing. Or....maybe Raihan if you were feeling a bit more brave. But it was one soft voice that interrupted all thoughts.

"Y-Y/n."

A lot of everyone around you (you included-) looked surprised as ALLISTER of all people spoke out and you watched in surprise as he slowly scooted himself off the couch until his feet hit the floor. With a turn of his head towards you he slowly walked towards you...and you smiled. 'y/n. Milo instantly paused, His emerald green eyes going wide all of sudden, and the doughnut he was holding nearly dropped. And his brows instantly shot up upon seeing YOU of all people standing there next to Leon.....YOU!? HERE!? WHAT WERE YOU DOING BACK HERE?! WITH LEON!? HUH-

"Hey, Allister." You greeted and to everyone's surprise you instantly lowered yourself to sit on your knees finally placing Silver down to your side to be eye to eye with Allister. This seemed to make him more comfortable to talk with you as he slowly walked up to you now being closer to his height. "Wow. You look great! Did you grow taller from the last time I saw you?"

He instantly nodded his hands into fists in front of his chest. "Uh huh. L-Leon s-s-said I grew three inches this year!"

You gave a small gasp. "No! That's so cool! You're growing up fast. Soon you're going to be even taller than him."

"Y-You think so?"

You nodded again smiling wide. "Oh yeah. A big strong person like you? I bet you'll be the tallest person I know!"

That seemed to make him happy as he smiled from behind his mask at you before reaching around to his pokeballs. You watched patiently as he fumbled before holding up a pokeball. "I-I made a new f-f-f-friend! W-Would you like to meet him?"

Still smiling you nodded. "I would love to meet your friend, Allister." You gestured to Silver next to you who chirped when you acknowledged him. "I want you to meet my friend too. Allister this is Silver. He's been with me for a while now. Say hello, Sil."

In response Silver have off some kind of noise towards Allister who stared for a moment. "H-Hello..." Before turning back excitedly to you. "H-Here! Y-You're gonna really like him!" You knew that you would either way. Everyone was now staring at you two in surprise. Even Kabu had opened his eyes to peer over at what was going on. A flash of bright light from Allister gave way to something white, floating, and very pretty. And you smiled wider realizing what exactly what it was. Floating there by Allister in all it's white glory, was a Froslass. "I m-m-met him w-w-when it snowed by the stadium. He really likes playing hide and s-seek with us."

"Ooh. He's absolutely beautiful." You turned to the pokemon, and as if he was another human, you greeted him. "How do you do? It's very nice to meet you, Sir."

The pokemon blinked at you seeming to be taken a back a bit but made some noises while smiling proudly at itself. Allister slowly pointed at him. "H-He s-says you're v-very polite and i-it's n-nice to see s-s-someone recognize h-h-his looks."

You chuckled. "Well thank you! I'm glad he thinks so." Slowly you stood back up to stretch your legs still smiling. "I'm glad to see you're making new friends to play with. Are you here to watch the semifinals too?"

Allister nodded again before pointing over to the couch. "B-Bea's going to take me to the h-h-haunted houses in the c-c-city for Christmas."

You glanced from him to her and smiled. "Well doesn't that sound great!" You waved to her. "Hi. I don't think we've met. Or seen each other really."

Bea seemed to still be staring at you totally bewildered but it was nessa who spoke up next. "Oh yeah. I remember you." More surprised glances were sent between her and you as she gestured towards you. "You were Sonia's friend with the sobble! Er.." She glanced between you and Silver who shook off snowflakes. "Well, it looks like he's not too much of a sobble anymore."

You gave couple laughs before reaching over to pat Silver's head. "Nope. My lil guy's practically all grown up now. Takes a lot of love and care and food, but Silver's worth it." You waved a hand to her. "But it's good to see you too Nessa. Hope things been well. My friend showed me your new line in the ads." You added remembering Gloria showing you a magazine with an article of her. "I really like the 'Sea Emerald Delight' dress."

She smiled your way before turning her gaze to Raihan who blinked at her. "I told you. Green dresses will look good on anyone all year round." the Dragon Gym leader rolled his eyes in response and stood up.

You also shook your head...but paused feelings eyes on you. And it wasn't just the others around the room. Your head turned over towards the windows and you paused seeing Milo staring right back at you cheeks stuffed with a doughnut , brows raised at you. You both stared at one another for a moment before you went back to smiling, crossed your arms, and rose a brow back.

"Hello there Milo! It's nice to see you again too!" Finally a familiar friendly face besides Lee. "You're here to cheer on your brother right? I believe he's going to be competing against my friends."

He still stared at you as you smiled back patiently before swallowing down the food in his mouth and forcing a smile. "Y-Yeah! Felix is going to be fighting out there an-and I don't want to miss it when it happens."

Ah." You nodded. "I'd expect nothing less from you all. It's real sweet of you to be here to support him!" You smiled wider. That just makes you a good big brother! I knew you were sweet !"

He nearly choked on his doughnut as his face blossomed a bright pink.

You chuckled and you would've said something back if a voice didn't startle you. "Nice to see you too.~" You jumped with a yelp and backed away from the taller guy that walked up to you two. Raihan smiled that fanged grin of his as you blinked at him. "You didn't even say hi to me.~ I'm wounded.~" His gaze shifted from Milo to you as you blinked. "Hey there, Sassy.~ Wasn't expecting you to come rolling up here with Lee! You have a knack for hanging out with famous people?"

You blinked a moment before raising a brow. "Not really. Leon just offered to be nice and I didn't want my water type out in the freezing weather."

"Aw. And here I thought you came all the way to see me.~" He faked sadness making you roll your eyes. Milo glancing between you both. "Y'know if you're free sometime that dinner date's still up for the taking!"

"No thanks."

You never really gave it a thought? Really?" Raihan asked blinking surprised for a moment as you shook your head no before he smiled and leaned down closer to you making you lean back. "Well that's a first I've heard. Usually I'm something people can't get off their minds.~ You've certainly been on my mind for a while.~"

.......You reached for a nearby magazine. "Uh huh. I'm ....flattered I guess but dude. You might as well be flirting with a rock."

Behind you all Nessa gave a small snort which Bea slapped her shoulder. "Aw. I guess you're right. But you are cute.~" He gave that smirk that could've made anyone swoon. You raised your magazine. "You're like a short cute firecracker making my heart explo-HMPH!?"

Milo yelped when you all of a sudden you grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of you. With you now half hiding behind him now, you brandished your rolled up magazine like a sword....A harmless sword but something to ward him off non the less. Raiham blinked having been bonked harmlessly by you. You scowled using your Milo-Shield and Magazine-Sword to swing at him a couple times. Piers blinked wide eyed at you not sure what was going on. The doughnut all but forgotten about, what was left of the poor food dropping to the floor as his face blossomed an even thicker red.

"Bad Gym Leader! Down!,'' you firmly said scowling swinging at him, "Go to h0rny jail!"

"Wha- Jail??" He asked but held up his arms from your harmless magazine attack. "H-Hey! I was joking, Sassy! Seize fire there!"

"Silver help!!"

Raihan's eyes suddenly went wide before snapping his head when he heard a loud chirp and stumbled back when Silver eye narrowed starting walking towards you. "Hold it hold it hold it!!" Raihan held up his hands to Silver and ended up having to literally jump over the couch he was previously sitting on and stood in front of the lady gym leaders to avoid Silver who now stood between you and Milo and the couch. He narrowed his eyes at Raihan and gave a loud chirp. "Geez. You weren't kidding when you said he was protective."

Piers ended up giving a loud bout of rare laughter at the sight of the display and Leon was able to pry her off of him to let him recover from the sudden jolt. If he wasn't so flustered by the sudden action. Oh well. They parted ways and he soon forgot about it when the semifinals actually started. Felix sadly lost first round but that was ok. He was proud of him and he came farther than so many other people in the gym challenge. He didn't really think he'd see her again after that but again he was sadly mistaken when Christmas came around. It was that wonderful time of year when the spirits were high and the laughter was everywhere. And after all what better way to spend time with his little brother on Christmas than to take him to the Festival? Milo wasn't expecting to see her yet again but here he was, just waiting for his little brother to get off a ride when she just walked right up to him.

The park was actually beautiful this time of year. A slightly frosty patch mostly cleared went through the quiet parts of the park lit up by the faint lights of the festival and a perfect full moon above you. It was starting to snow again now, not too much, only enough for it to look really pretty and fluffy falling from the otherwise clear skies. The smells of the parks pine trees filled the air with the faint scents of foods from the festival, giving it a balanced mixture of nature and dinner time. The snow on the ground shined reflecting the moon light from the darkened sky making it look like a forest of glitter against the cold. 

He shivered from the cold, rubbing his hands together from the cold and sinking further into his coat. It was always chilly out this season. He'd be glad when he was able to get back to their hotel room. It would just be after the parade after all. The gym leader was so wrapped up in his own worlds he didn't notice the woman walk up to him or the footsteps crunching through the snow until they were right next to him.

"Hey."

"Gah!" He practically jumped out of his skin and whirled around to the woman next to him who blinked and held a few objects in her hands. "Wha-...Oh. I -Its you. *Sigh* Please don't do that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you...Again. That's just another thing I need to apologize to you for while I'm here."

"Huh?"

Her answer was to just hold up the objects in her hands. Which was two small bags and a cardboard cup holder holding two cups of hot chocolate, he could tell from how they smelt. "Seeing you the other day made me realize that I didn't apologize for all the inconveniences I gave you. So I'm sorry we trespassed on your farm. And I'm sorry for scaring you..Twice. And I'm sorry for using you to get away from Raihan. And I'm also sorry for making you drop your food. Here." You held out the food at him. "I got you and your little brother some replacement food as an apology gift." He opened stared at her, before looking at the food, then back to her, then opening his mouth- "Take it. My drizzlie would only eat it if I took it with me. And I have no place for it anyways."

....He slowly took the objects handed over to him with an unsure expression on his face...before giving a small smile. "I-...Thank you. Wow. Doughnuts and hot coco. Heh. Not a bad Christmas gift."

"Oh. That reminds me. I do have something for you." He again looked surprised when she dug into her coat pocket and pulled out two small metal keychains shaped like wooloo. They shined in the light as she held them out with a smile. "Here. Merry Christmas."

He could only stare at them. "A...gift? For me?"

"And your little brother. I got all my friends some and I figured you'd guys like one too."

...He took a moment longer to stare at them more before shifting the food into one arm to reach a free hand over to take them from her. A... Christmas gift? For him? But...he never got any Christmas gifts except from his few friends and little brother. He certainly didn't have that many fans so all the unexpected kindness was...So sudden. But...not unpleasant. In fact..the gesture struck something in his which made his heart pick up a beat and his face turned a darker pink than his hair.

"Well I'll see you later. Good luck in the Champion Cup tomorrow,  Milo. Merry Christmas."

And then she turned and left, leaving him to look on after her red faced as her eyes glittered in the Christmas lights, the snow gathering prettily on her f/c hair, and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on her face.

BU-BUMP!!

He nearly crushed the cups of coco as he felt his heart place a beat and his face burnt.

"O-O sweet wooloo knitted sweaters."

[myselfinserts]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I think it likes you," Regi said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More than that, Étienne needed a good swim. 

“Alright,” he said. “Come on now.” 

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

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

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

Sobble was gone. 

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

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

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

“You?!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luckily, he had an idea. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He took that as a yes.

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

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

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

He wished he’d gone straight home. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lickilicky started to glow again. 

Shit!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“That’s just what I want to hear.”