#and the pokemon being unveiled as they appeared in the show was really cool

[perenlop]

watching japanese pokemon openings again and sorta ranking them in my head, and its kinda insane to me that i think the dub openings for bw are consistently better than the originals

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 10 - Tentacools in the Ocean

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

Rating: General/Teen

Extra Note: this gonna be so long and so plot heavy, ngl. if y’all can get through this, well done :)

Tentacools in the Ocean (but None of Them are You) … … ["If there's something strange in the neighbourhood who ya gonna call?"] … …

It's night-time, and Horace the security guard is making rounds within the depths of Rose's Art Gallery in Wyndon.

The art gallery is not officially open yet; it is a brand new building with many exhibits and displays and the grand unveiling is due to open in a few week's time and many jobs were created thanks to this. Owned by Rose, it houses many ancient and wondrous antiques which his family had gathered for generations. They are finally put on display and will be available to the public after the Macro Cosmos marketing department discovered it could generate further profit considering people were willing to pay to look at old relics of Galar.

He whistles a jovial tune to himself as he patrols the empty halls with his torch shining on the floor, thinking about the TV show he watched yesterday and what he should eat when he returns home. He has a long night ahead of him but he's already into the new job for a week or so and it's been peaceful and quiet.

And it's a regular night as he follows the same route he takes, turning left to exit the butterfly gallery and into the conjoined, long stretch of the hallway where the benches are and that's when the silence and peace is shattered.

A loud banging noise can be heard a short distance away, and Horace pauses to listen but it is not the sound of the plumbing system or whatever noises buildings emits for Horace has a long career of being a security guard in buildings old and new and he knows what is right and what is wrong.

And this is wrong. It comes in twos or threes, and often it comes at random intervals. Perhaps there is someone else in here, he thinks, perhaps a group of rambunctious kids and should he catch them they will be in for a right scolding for there should not be anyone here at all, not at this ungodly hour anyway.

But what is this noise, and he cannot tell as he stops and shines his torch down the hall where the noise persists.

Something is knocking on the walls.

The noise continues, growing louder and louder in volume and as it started at the end of the hall, it seems to be growing closer. As though someone's palm is placed flat upon the wall and repeatedly pounding on the surface, he hears it all over as it travels from the end of the hall, moving closer to him, and the posters stuck on the walls begin to tremble and shake.

Confused, he moves the torch left and right but he sees nothing, feels nothing.

"Who's there?" he says, and he thinks it's a mistake for the noises stop as soon as he's spoken. He's informed it that he is here, that he is aware of it, and that he is alone.

Horace waits and the stillness returns and he's about to brush it off, perhaps he needs more sleep, yes, and his ears were playing tricks on him, but then one of the chairs begins moving, the legs forcibly scraping across the linoleum before it is lifted in the air and hurled halfway across the floor.

...

Oleana is the only person still working at Rose Tower at this hour.

She reads through the entries of your blog on her laptop quietly; Rose is too busy to look at it himself so he's designated his secretary to do the work and weed out the minor, trivial stuff and sift for the important details. She reads through your excursions in the Wild Area, the old house in the Rolling Fields, Gengar, the ghost of South Lake Miloch and many more until she comes to your first entry which is dated three to four years ago, more or less.

Penning down your contact number and some bullet points in her notepad, she silently collects her findings and is about to leave her desk until the phone rings.

Whilst she wonders who it could be, she picks it up and says, "Hello, this is Oleana speaking."

"Hi, this is - Arceus, I really didn't expect anyone to pick up!" a man squawks on the other end, clearly shaken.

"I'm still in the office, yes. How may I help."

"Ah, thank you, Miss Oleana, this is Horace...you know, from the art gallery? I'm a security guard and I'm on shift tonight...Um, I...I'm not quite sure how to tell you this but....the art gallery is....I think it's...I think it's haunted."

"Haunted, you say?"

"Yes, ma'am. I-I'm terribly sorry, um, I-I know how it sounds..."

"We're already looking into this matter."

"Oh, r-really?"

"Yes, we have received similar complaints. Chairman Rose is coming up with a solution. I'm terribly sorry, but can this wait until the morning?"

"Uh....s-sure...guess I'll pray to Arceus to keep me safe for now...."

"Thank you." Oleana promptly hangs up after exchanging goodbyes with the security guard.

…

Meanwhile, in Postwick, Leon can't sleep.

He's in his room, lying in his old bed, wide-eyed with insomnia and staring at the ceiling in the darkness. He hasn't been home for so long that his bedroom walls appear foreign to him. Having stayed many nights in hotels and inns, usually for his next endorsement or pokemon battle, he's used to the lively hum of the city outside so the quietness of Postwick is wholly welcoming yet sleep continues to eludes him.

Tonight's events keeps replaying in his mind over and over again, ranging from the many instances when he held your hand, the conversations he had with you and the casual glimpses the two of you kept throwing at each other throughout the entire duration. He finds himself smiling widely at thoughts about you.

You've passed the Charizard Test and according to Charizard himself, you had deliberately injured yourself for him that night without a moment of hesitation or lingering thoughts, and he still cannot fathom how you could've have done such a thing for him. In all earnest, Leon would do the same for you.

You had informed him that your family has vanished. Your father and little sister first, followed by your mother. He can't quite get his head around how that may have happened. The enigma of you is slowly being unravelled and Leon, having just managed to put a few pieces together, discovers there's far much more to know about you than he had realised.

He recalls how forlorn you had become once your family was mentioned and although you declined any form of assistance from him, there must be something he can do.

Troubled, Leon tosses and turns for the umpteenth time before he finally pushes the covers off him and sits up in bed, gets up and switches the lights back on and Rotom is snoozing but he gently picks up his phone and checks the screen. He's wondering if you may have messaged him but there is only a reply from Raihan whom he had messaged earlier.

The bedroom door squeaks open and he hears someone enter.

"Lee?"

He looks up from his phone to see Hop at his doorway. "Hop?"

"Are you okay?" his little brother asks, rubbing his eyes. Wooloo is by his feet, also looking rather drowsy.

"I'm fine. What's up?"

"Nothing, I saw your light was still on..."

"Yeah, I'm finding it hard to sleep. You okay?"

Hop shakes his head, "I can't sleep either. I think I ate too much...."

Leon chuckles. "Wanna chat?"

"Okay...I was gonna go downstairs to grab a drink though..."

"Let's make Tapu Cocoa," Leon suggests, and Hop grins widely in agreement.

He exits his room and joins Hop in the hallway with Wooloo trotting beside him and they both make their way quietly down the stairs only to see the light in the kitchen is on and Leon's mum is standing at the sink with rubber gloves, furiously scrubbing at some mould behind the taps.

"Mum!" Hop says, and she turns round, startled before she exhales a sigh of relief as she glances between Hop and Leon.

"Whoo, you scared me, boys."

"Hehe," Hop grins whilst Leon gives her a sheepish smile. "Mum, what are you doing?"

"Oh nothing...just doing some late night cleaning. What're you boys doing up?"

"Lee and I can't sleep!"

"I know what will do the trick; a good, big ol' mug of Gossifleur Camomile Tea."

"We were thinking Tapu Cocoa," Leon replies.

"Oh, that works too," mum says cheerily, and Leon and Hop each slide into the chairs of the kitchen table; Hop also settles Wooloo over one chair but it is so tiny it doesn't even reach the table. Mum adds, "Let me put on the kettle."

"Let me do it," Leon offers, but she shakes her head.

"No, no, dear, you just sit and relax," mum coos as she brings out three mugs from the top shelf. Hop has a white Wooloo mug and Leon has a blue mug with a Charizard on it.

As they sit and mum waits for the kettle to boil, Leon glances at his brother and mother before he says, "It's been a while since we sat down like this."

"You should come home more often, Leo."

"I'll try to. Are you guys okay when I'm gone?"

"Yes, of course we are, dear."

"How's gran and granddad?"

"They're fine, they just sit and watch TV with Purrloin," mum reassures him; as the water finishes boiling, she starts making the cocoa, pouring the hot water into each mug and stirring them with a teaspoon before she finally joins them at the table, settling down their mugs.

"Lovely! Here we are altogether, just like old times. This is nice... if only your dad was here..." mum says with a sigh as she takes a seat in the middle of the table with Hop on her left and Leon to her right. Wooloo hops off the seat and trots to a bowl on the ground, lapping at the water.

"Thanks, mum," Leon says, and Hop echoes him. The drinks are too hot so they leave it to cool down. It grows silent in the kitchen, the only sounds that can be heard are the Ledyba's clicking outside and the clock ticking on the wall.

"So...how is work, dear?" mum asks, breaking the monotony.

"It's good. I'm gonna be busy for the next few weeks or so but today was fun, right?"

"Yeah!!" Hop replies with vigour, grinning widely from ear to ear, "Lee, are you gonna invite your girlfriend over again??"

"Hop, she's not my girlfriend...We're just friends."

"But you kept holding her hand. Me and Gloria are friends but I don't hold her hand. She said only couples do that."

Leon splutters at once whilst mum giggles, taking a small sip of her drink. When did Hop see him holding her hand anyway? Leon begins rubbing the back of his neck, entwining his fingers into his unruly thick hair. "Well...um...That's because..."

"Did she keep trying to hold your hand? Was it the other way around?"

Leon shakes his head. "No, no! No, Hop, it wasn't her...ah, it was that obvious, huh?"

"Leo, you couldn't take your eyes off her," mum says with a giggle, "She's cute."

His cheeks grow pink. "Mum, I…” he leaves his sentence trailing and mum and Hop look at him mutely in response, waiting for him to finish but he doesn't. It's then Leon realises he is talking to his family about a girl...maybe he should've asked Raihan instead...

“What’s the matter?” mum asks, and his face grows warm before he gives her a reassuring smile.

The last thing he wants is his mother to worry about him. “It’s nothing, mum.”

Mum crosses her arms, pondering to herself and Hop imitates her action. Leon watches them wordlessly as mum unfurls her arms and sighs. "Just do what you think is right, what feels right. If she’s the one, then that would be lovely. But if she's not the right one, then…perhaps you shouldn't talk to her or hold her hand so much. She'll get the wrong idea. There's plenty of Tentacools in the ocean, dear. I just want you to be happy."

Plenty of Tentacools in the ocean, Leon thinks to himself.

It grows quiet as mum and Hop take sips from their mugs and Wooloo drinks the bowl of water. It occurs to Leon he hasn't thought about this properly.

There are plenty of Tentacools, but none of them are you.

...

After his grandma passed away and his sister moved to Alola, Jace lives on his own.

When he’s finished his shift at Wyndon stadium, he goes home with Joltik. He wanted to become an electrician and trained for a few years or so but unfortunately was unable to find a job and resorted to being a part-time Ball Guy, a job which he's held down for while now. Jace received an inheritance but avoids using it, concerned that it will run out soon in a few years if he doesn’t get a well-paying job, so he’s doing his best to find a new career.

Little does he know that you’re attempting to train him though he has much to learn. Although you dislike being called an ‘exorcist’, Ezra’s taught you everything he knows and he is recognised by the church as a fully-fledged exorcist and essentially you’re his successor, so you want to pass on everything you know too, and Jace seems like a good candidate.

He isn’t the bravest person you have met but he has good qualities. He’s good with people, he’s friendly (friendlier than Ezra, anyway) and he’s also had a spiritual encounter.

You’ve yet to tell him this so he goes on about his mundane, daily life: he has a microwave dinner whilst sitting in front of his TV, then he spends some time with his pokemon. He is aware of the Giant’s Seat incidence from the news and knew you had solved the case so he messages you to see if you’re alright before he heads to his room to fix the radio.

Jace works with the utmost attention to detail and care, grabbing his goggles with the magnified lens along with his box of tools. Aside from being a part-time Ball Guy, Jace is quite the handyman. The first time when your radio broke, he was able to piece it back together with barely any effort and since then, he’s fixed it for you time and time again.

He’s almost finished; Joltik sits on his shoulder, watching him work whilst Heliolisk sits in his lap. His Eelektross lazes on his bed, curling up to sleep and slobbering over his sheets.

Turning the radio around, Jace uses a small screwdriver to carefully ease some wires together and loop them around each other before he replaces some of the bolts and screws into their proper positions.

Once they’re fixed into their appropriate places, he inserts the case back on and turns the radio around again onto its front and does a test run, pulling out the antenna. The radio only has one dial and he rotates it gently, watching the little tuner move across the screen and the radio splutters into action.

It begins emitting white noise as Jace rotates the dial through all the channels and as he passes eighteen ninety-eight hertz, there is still white noise.

He proceeds to move the dial all the way to the very end. Satisfied that the radio appears to be back in normal working order, he moves the dial to the very beginning and as he passes eighteen ninety eight again, a male’s voice emits from the radio but Jace accidentally rotates the dial past the channel and so he misses what was said.

“What was that?” Jace utters to himself, before he slowly turns the dial back to eighteen ninety-eight and the deep, scratchy voice can be heard far more clearly.

“-a pocket full of posies, a-tishoo, a-tishoo, we all fall down. Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies...”

The mysterious voice unsettles Jace, it is sinister and full of malice.

“Hello, who’s there?” the voice says before it emits a chuckle, and if Jace knew any better it is as though whoever was on the other end was smiling. "Don't be shy. Say something."

Jace instructs his pokemon to keep quiet by placing a finger over his lips and he reaches over to turn the dial to a different channel.

“Jace, Jace, what a disgrace," the voice begins to chant, "Failure to his mother, failure to his father, should just kill himself hereon after.”

Eyes widening, Jace quickly turns the dial all the way to the very end and the room goes silent. He did the right thing by not responding and a sense of security washes over him. He breathes a sigh of relief, swivelling round in his chair only to be greeted with a tall and dark silhouette situated at the door to his room.

He lets out a howl of fright, his heart slamming hard against his ribs. In a blink, the shadowy figure is gone, replaced with the empty space of the doorway.

The silence is broken when the radio switches on with a loud click, sending Jace into another fit of temporary shock, and the dial rotates to eighteen ninety-eight, twisting around on its own accord and when the white noise disperses, the sounds of mocking laughter fills the room.

Reaching for the device with a shaking hand, he switches the radio off once more. When all goes silent, he exhales audibly, grabs his Rotom phone and dials your number.

…

A week has passed since the dinner with Leon.

He has returned to his duties as Champion and he’s left Postwick. You found out when you returned to their house the day after with the Wooloo plushie; his mum opened the door and she told you that he had already left. Then you check your Rotom phone and see that he hadn’t sent a message to let you know beforehand, which would have been nice.

You see him again when he is on the news, issuing his statement about the gym challenge and the Giant Seat’s incidence.

Leon addresses the people’s concerns and voices his empathy towards the deceased. Coupled with his good looks and overflowing charisma and confidence, his words are empowering and incredibly motivating. Just like that, people are returning to the gym challenge with renewed trust and faith.

The Giant’s Seat incidence is more or less forgotten, and Chairman Rose is very happy.

There was a funeral which Leon and Graves attended, but you didn’t go because you had no idea nor were you invited. Speaking about Graves, you're supposed to meet him tomorrow at Wyndon Police Station.

As you watch Leon on the TV screen with Gengar and Mimikyu, you remember watching the movie with him over a video call using Rotom, and afterwards you remember how enthusiastic he was.

You had engaged in lively discussion regarding the true meaning behind ‘Rosebud’ and you could tell how deeply moved he was by the film and he had even told you how much he had enjoyed watching it with you.

You mentioned you should watch another movie together and he agreed but following that, he has ceased to message you.

Out of your control, you messaged him first. Just a simple 'how are you' but unfortunately, you elicited no reply though your message was read and Leon was online which confused you but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise he is talking to everyone else except you.

You can't deny you feel a bit hurt, but you don't take it personal and try not to think about it too much for you assume he’s far too busy to deal with the likes of you any longer and so you should return to your normal schedule as well. After all, he’s the Champion of Galar and you’re a pokemon researcher. Your paths and priorities are bound to diverge.

However, you find yourself unable to stop thinking about him.

Leon occupies your mind day in and day out. When you’re meant to be working, you’re thinking back to the dinner and all the words that were exchanged, the looks he subjected you to and you would replay certain scenes in your mind again and again.

You think about what he said and what you said, and what you could’ve said differently… and you also think about what could happen should you see him again and what you would say to him. You think of all sorts of scenarios in your head: what if you bumped into him at a café, maybe in Wyndon? What if you saw him in the Wild Area again? So many endless possibilities.

These thoughts soon grow unhealthy because you had wanted to study Mimikyu and her origins and how she could speak human language, but then you’d suddenly find yourself recalling those fond moments of Leon’s dreamy eyes gazing into yours and how he held your hand. He held your hand so many times during that dinner.

You find that you are unable to study and with a heavy sigh, you rub your temples and groan. You need to forget about him for now because most likely, you're the only one who's thinking about him. With no new cases and Leon’s match scheduled more than a week away, you’re free to do as you please.

You have a new member on the team (your client did not want to take Mimikyu back so she will be staying with you) and it’s a good idea to head to the Wild Area tonight; you can even attempt some training…

After devising a plan to venture into the Stony Wilderness, you begin packing your bag until you are interrupted when you receive a call from Jace:

“H-hey chuck,” he sounds shaken when you answer, “…I-I-I fixed your radio…can you come over right now, please? Please???”

“Okay, I’ll come over.”

He breathes a huge sigh of relief. “Thanks!”

You abandon packing a full bag and merely bring some essentials with you before you head out and arrive at his place in roughly twenty minutes. You see that he had spent those minutes waiting with all the lights switched on and the TV turned up to a high volume in an effort to drown out the monotony. You ring the doorbell to his apartment and from within, you hear him exclaiming loudly with relief and rapid footsteps rushing over.

A pale-faced Jace greets you along with his Joltik, Heliolisk and Eelektross who cling to his arms and leg. Jace is trembling, holding your fixed radio in hand. His blonde hair is usually styled but he’s left it alone, loose strands flopping untidily over his forehead and eyes.

Before he can say a word, you glance around, looking at his lounge and the conjoined kitchen and utter, “Your house feels off. Let me do a quick sweep...”

He nods in agreement. “Thanks…”

“Good thing I brought holy water today."

“T-thanks, chuck…Your radio is soooo cursed, I hate it so much,” Jace moans as he returns his pokemon into their capsules in case they accidentally interfere with your ritual. As you remove your shoes and enter his lounge, he closes the door then hands you the fixed device and adds, “I heard a new voice: it was a man, not your father either. It knew my name and told me to go kill myself. I switched the radio off, turned round and saw this shadowy figure standing over there.”

He points to his bedroom doorway where the door is wide open and you head over to inspect.

“It went away but it scared me half to death," he says with a shiver. "Are you sure it picks up transmissions from the spirit world only?"

You ponder to yourself, glance at the radio then pocket it into your bag, “I'll check with Ezra. Jace, I'm so sorry…thanks for fixing the radio. I’ll make sure to be more careful and not break it anymore.”

“It’s fine, duck, I know you can’t help it and you know I’m always happy to lend a hand.”

“…Thanks, Jace.”

He gives you a wide grin as you smile weakly at him, then he pats you on the top of your head and shuffles to his kitchen in his flipflops so you can perform the cleansing ritual in peace.

Rolling your sleeves up, you begin murmuring the appropriate chant to bless and purify the house before you take out a bottle of water from your bag, unscrew the lid and empty some on your fingertips. Jace watches as you murmur under your breath and sprinkle some of the water over the doorway.

“Ave Maria, gratia plena, dominus tecum. Amen,” you murmur, and once the dark presence lifts, you nod to yourself; the task is complete. “That should do it.”

He gives you a wide grin as you smile weakly at him; closing the door behind you, you wander to the lounge and Jace gestures for you to take a seat on his grey couch. “Thanks. All good, right?"

"Yeah."

Whatever it was, it's gone now.

"Let’s have a nice cuppa tea and catch up.”

The décor of his apartment used to be old-fashioned and full of Purrloin plates on the wall or photos and calendars of Snubbulls in various costumes courtesy of his grandmother, but now it’s become more of a typical bachelor’s pad with the casual grey sofa, glass coffee table, the modern blinds and the high chairs that line the counters that stand in the middle of the kitchen which itself has become more modern; there are no more frills and florals, Jace has replaced the wallpaper with white paint and spotlights embedded in the ceiling.

“I like what you’ve done with the place,” you say and he grins.

“Thanks, it took me a while to get it renovated but I’m glad I got it done.”

“It’s more you.”

He chuckles under his breath. “Thanks, chuck. How’s things anyway?” he asks; he’s putting the kettle to boil for two cups which he’s laid out over the counter, tossing in teabags.

“I have a problem.”

The kettle finishes boiling and Jace pours the water in. “What problem?”

“I think I’m in love with Leon.”

“And so do ninety per cent of the female population of Galar,” he replies flatly as he stirs the tea with a spoon then heads over to the sofa with the mugs in hands.  

It’s piping hot, so you’re extra careful as he hands you your mug of earl grey tea. “I’m serious, Jace.”

He seats himself comfortably on his plushy sofa, then grabs the remote and presses the button and the channel changes to some dancing show called Strictly Come Krumping where a dancer is busting some aggressive-looking moves with her Scraggy on the podium.

He flicks through the available movies and TV shows, passing a popular detective drama called The Killer Sableye and eventually move to the documentary section where Jace stares at the blurb of a comedy docuseries called ‘Hiker Dave’s Adventures in Alola with Kiawe’.

“So…Leon, huh. I thought someone like Kiawe would be your type. Not Leon.” Jace muses, “I didn’t think Leon would be your type at all.”

“Me either. I can't stop thinking about him, I can’t seem to focus on my work anymore. I noticed I can’t stop smiling whenever he’s mentioned or if I'm around him, my heart thumps like a Spoink on steroids and I get so nervous, it’s driving me bonkers and – is that a documentary about Leon?? Put that on, quick.”

Jace raises a brow and rolls his eyes but clicks on the program anyway.

“This is so exciting.”

He sighs and you deadpan all of a sudden.

“Dear lord," you mutter, "What’s happening to me?”

“Relax. You just have a crush on him, that’s all. It’s totally normal for girls your age. It’ll go away and you’ll realise it was just a phase and you’ll return to normal,” Jace mutters before he grabs a biscuit and dabs it into the tea.

What if you don’t want it to pass though?

And what if you want Leon to return these feelings?

“...You’re right," you end up uttering, shaking your head to clear such ridiculous thoughts, "this is just a phase. I need to snap out of it. I need to maintain a distance from him and I need to stop thinking about him because he sure as hell isn't thinking about me.”

“There are plenty of Tentacools in the ocean,” he adds. “Plenty of Tentacools.”

Yes, there are plenty of Tentacools in the ocean, but none of them are Leon.

…

In Hulbury, Leon is faithfully carrying out one of his Champion duties, which is to help out at a soup kitchen for the homeless.

He usually attends the one in Stow-on-Side, but on this occasion, the soup kitchen in Hulbury requires his assistance.

It’s wholly voluntary and the amount of people who turn up is staggering, ranging from up to thirty to three hundred so Leon has a busy half-day ahead of him.

Swapping his champion uniform and cloak for a t-shirt, overalls, apron and hairnet, the people of Galar probably wouldn’t recognize him nor would they find this hardly fitting for the Champion of Galar, but Leon is happy to lend a hand to the charity and they are extremely grateful for his assistance.

Leon enjoys working with the homeless; they are a lively bunch though most people would be repulsed by the foul stench due to living on the streets and their unsightly looks. They line up one by one in front of the tables that have been set up with Tupperware boxes full of food and cutlery, and Leon assists with the handouts.

“Arceus bless you, Mr Leon,” says a man with a toothy smile and an equally toothy Growlithe by his side.

“And you, sir,” Leon replies with a grin, as the man waddles away with his food for the night. “Enjoy your meal!”

The next individual steps up in line; it is an old man dressed in black with a mop of messy black hair and eyes that are entirely white and glazed over. He slowly shuffles over whilst coughing harshly, balancing an unlit cigarette between the cracked corners of his dry lips.

An Absol trots beside him, carrying a silver flask fastened to a harness that’s looped around her body.

“Here you are, sir,” Leon says, handing him a cutlery set and a plastic box full of hot rice, curry, potatoes and mushrooms, and the man blindly grasps for the box. Leon notices immediately and places the plastic tub into the old man’s palm, his long and gnarled fingers curling over the plastic.

“Thank you,” the man grunts out with gratitude, “C’mon, Absol, let’s go.”

The blind man begins to wander away with Absol plodding silently beside him until another homeless man comes rushing over in a hurry to join the queue and slams into his side none too gently, causing the blind man to topple over and the box’s contents to spill everywhere as it clatters to the ground.

“Oof,” the blind man grunts as he lands on the floor, cigarette falling out of his lips.

“Watch where you’re going, old geezer!” yells the other man before he sprints away, and Absol hisses angrily at him, her eyes glowing a bright blue. She attempts to chase him down but her owner stops her in time.

Having witnessed the entire scene, Leon hastily grabs a new food box and heads over. The blind man attempts to get up though he is helplessly sprawled over the ground, trying to locate his cigarette by patting the space around him with his hand.

Once he’s arrived, Leon lowers himself to his knees and helps the blind man up by grabbing the back of his elbow firmly. “Are you alright, sir?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” he grunts, rubbing his aching hip.

“Can you stand?”

The blind man nods and on the count of three, Leon helps him up though his knees shake and his legs wobble. Leon glances around the floor with all the spilled food and calls for some of the volunteers from the soup kitchen to help clean up; they acknowledge with a nod and arrive at the scene with a mop and long-handled brush.

“Where’s my cigarette?” the blind man growls under his breath, and Leon quickly picks up the little stick and hands it to him.

“There you go.”

“Thanks, kid,” the blind man proceeds to place it between his lips, “You new here? You don’t sound like the regulars.”

“I’m assisting the Hulbury soup kitchen for today only.”

“Hm. I see.”

“I brought you a new box of food.”

“That’s very kind of you, new guy. Usually if I cock up and rejoin the queue, they tell me to scram.”

“I couldn’t possibly do that. That’s not fair on you.”

The blind man lets out a huff of agreement. “They need to be more like you, new guy. You’re a good ‘un. Now, uh… I need to siddown …”

“I’ll help you,” Leon grasps his elbow and helps the man hobble over to an empty space near one of the stalls whilst Absol purrs with appreciation at Leon for his help.

Her owner pats her on the head and turning to Leon, he looks up at the Champion with his empty white eyes and says, “I can manage from here, new guy. Don’t mind me, I’m just a blind and useless old man.”

“I need to make sure you’ll be okay,” Leon replies, and he helps the blind man sit down on an overturned plastic box, allowing him to sigh and smack a clenched fist over his knees.

Another volunteer hurries over with a batch of paper towels. “Ezra, are you alright? That was a nasty fall.”

Leon blinks at sound of the name. “Ezra?”

“He’s one of our regulars,” the volunteer proceeds to inform him in a hushed whisper. “He’s an ex-convict…he was jailed for the murder of his wife and kid.”

“I may be blind but I ain’t deaf,” Ezra barks and the volunteer goes red in the face.

Leon glances at Ezra wide-eyed, unsure if he is willing to believe what his ears just heard. However, he chooses to stay put and asks, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright…” Ezra grumbles, before he throws his empty gaze to Leon’s direction, then jabs a finger at the volunteer, “Hey, you should hire more people like this new guy. You can learn a lot from him.”

“This is Leon, the Champion of Galar!” the volunteer exclaims.

“Champion, eh?”

“Yes!"

Ezra nods to himself. “New guy. You remind me of my disciple. You got a big heart, just like her.”

“I know your disciple,” Leon says excitedly before he can help himself. At the mere mention of you, his face has lit up and a huge grin has appeared. Reaching for Ezra’s ragged hand, he shakes it firmly and Ezra raises a brow, “She found me when I got taken by a Froslass and I went with her to a haunted house with Charizard and she deducted that it was actually a Zorua-“

“Whoa, hold it right there, champ. Slow down, have a seat,” the man replies, and Leon eagerly moves to sit beside him whilst the volunteer decides to saunter away. Emitting a wheezy laugh, Ezra rests a hand on his knee and says, “So, you’ve met my disciple?”

“Yes, Mr Ezra.”

He chuckles at Leon's formality. “Saved you from a Froslass, huh? You were one of the missing folk at the Giant's Seat?"

"Not exactly, but she still saved my life."

Ezra chuckles louder. "She tell you much about me?”

“Not much, only that you’re frightening and that you taught her everything she knows.”

“Hehe, that’s right,” the old man says with a smirk, “I used to be the pastor for the Church of Circhester. Decided it really wasn’t for me. I stay in Greyson’s Cemetery now. I’m the caretaker. Come visit when you have time."

“Thank you, sir. How did you meet her?”

Ezra snickers in response before he rubs his chin, “Huh, now you’re testin’ my memory…She tried an Ouija board in the cemetery and summoned a demon. Ended up possessin’ her. I found her and performed an exorcism, woke up in hospital and she was there. She kept apologizin’ and started cryin’ too, thought she’d gotten me killed… and I told her it’d take more than that to kill this old man. Think she was kinda…traumatized or somethin’ after that ordeal…but then she turned up to the graveyard one day and kept comin’ back every night and askin’ me if I could teach her stuff."

Leon nods in response as Ezra opens his flask and takes a brief swig. It smells of strong beer.

“She’s a good kid, Leon. A poor kid, too,” Ezra adds, wiping his chin.

“She told me her family are missing.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” the old man says with a sigh, “she says nobody believed her and that’s why she came to me for help. I was the only one who did. Now you’re best not to get tied up with our affairs, you know? It’s dangerous.”

“Yes, sir."

"And uh, could you do me a favour? If you see her...give her this, please?" Ezra lifts out a strange stone with a fissure in the middle and Leon recognises it as the Odd Keystone. "Tell her it needs one more spirit. She'll understand."

"Sure. Thank you, Mr Ezra. Take care.” Leon replies and he pockets the keystone and before they depart, they shake hands and he returns to his station, pulling on a new pair of gloves and begins serving the next few individuals in line.

When he’s finished with the soup kitchen, Ezra heads to the cemetery, waving to Leon. It’s growing dark and following a message from Chairman Rose, Leon returns to Rose Tower.

The journey to Wyndon is a short one and when he has arrived at the penthouse with Charizard's help, he knocks on the door and waits patiently. It’s been a long day but he still has many tasks ahead of him. Leon hasn’t even begun his training with his team yet. He hears the door click open and Oleana appears.

With a stoic expression, she greets him with a polite bow of her head. “Hello Mr Champion.”

“Hi Ms Oleana.”

“Thank you for coming,” she utters and she opens the door for him and he enters the penthouse without further delay to see Rose sitting on his large leather couch, engrossed with the little flashing screen of his Rotom phone which is playing a video.

"Good evening, sir,” Leon says, and he looks up.

“Ah, Leon! You’re here. Please, come over and have a look at this. Tell me what you think," Rose says as Leon joins his side, before he hands him the phone, pressing 'play' on the screen.

A screechy song can be heard, with a violent mix of percussion and bass guitar riffs blasting out in high volume.

"Ghostbunkers, hoooo yeah! Ghostbunkers, ghosts beware!!! GHOSTBUNKERS!!!" a charismatic but deep, gruff voice belts out. It ends in thirty seconds or so and Leon stares as a young man proceeds to appear on screen in the dark. His form is an eerie pale green in colour, his eyes are glowing pools of light due to the night-vision camera. "Hi, hello! Tan here, and welcome back to another exciting episode of Ghostbunkers! Tonight, we're heading to the abandoned Thrifty Megamart in Alola!"

He returns the phone. He's seen enough. “Sir, what is this?”

"An interesting duo who call themselves the ‘Ghostbunkers’," Rose mutters with a small smile gracing his lips.

“Is something wrong, sir?”

“Do you recall the art gallery event?”

“Yes sir. It was due to open but it got postponed for unknown reasons.”

“Indeed. Well, we received a call from one of the night security guards. It was another complaint regarding the art gallery being 'haunted'.”

“Haunted?” Leon says, surprised. This would be the first time he’s heard such a thing.

“Yes, we didn’t want news to spread so kept it secret. Anyway, I was thinking it's time we hired a couple of experts to inspect the building.” Whilst Rose hums under his breath in response, Oleana does not look amused with the direction as to where this conversation is going, “And you have just met a pokemon expert who deals with these sorts of things. It's great timing. If she's available, I'd like to ask her to help....if she's up for the task, that is.”

Leon is uncomfortable. He put in a good word for you and he told Rose about the Giant's Seat incidence but he didn't realise this sort of thing would happen. “Sir, she is a good person. Please do not-“

“Don’t get me wrong, Leon. I am treating this as a very serious matter…though I'm not inclined to believe in ghosts but what choice do I have? The art gallery’s opening has been delayed for far too long."

“I understand, sir.”

With that, Rose steeples his fingers together and nods to himself, "Excellent. Then it's decided, we'll ask this pokemon researcher and these...'Ghostbunkers' for help. Oleana. please call them at your earliest convenience. Explain to them our circumstances, the art gallery, the hauntings... The fee can be discussed later."

"Very well, sir," Oleana acknowledges with a short bow as she clasps her hands gently together.

"Thank you; I'd also like to meet the pokemon researcher in person. Can you arrange a meeting for me at the hotel tomorrow?"

"Yes sir."

As Oleana begins to exit the penthouse to make the phonecalls, Rose rises from his seat, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Very good. That's another matter off my chest. Leon, let’s go have dinner, shall we? I have a booking at The Captain’s Table. All the gym leaders will be joining us tonight. We're celebrating your smooth recovery.”

“Yes, sir…” Leon utters, as he follows Rose outside; he can’t help but wonder what he’s gotten you involved...

…

You’re on your way home, sitting in the Corviknight taxi whilst checking Rotom; you still have not received any messages from Leon. Suddenly, Rotom's screen changes, indicating to you that an unknown number is calling you. It must be a new client.

“Hello?” you say as you swipe the screen and hold Rotom to your ear.

“Hello,” says a stern voice belonging to a female, “Am I speaking to the ghost-type pokemon researcher of Wedgehurst?”

“Yes, that’s me,” you reply and she mentions your name for further confirmation, “Who’s speaking?”

“My name is Oleana. I work for Chairman Rose of Macro Cosmos.”

“Ah, hello. How may I help you?”

“Chairman Rose would like to meet you to discuss a proposition. Would you be free tomorrow afternoon?”

You remember that you’re supposed to meet Graves tomorrow as well. “Sure, I’m free anytime except one pm.”

“Very good. Please go to the Rose of the Rondelands in Wyndon tomorrow and inform reception you have a meeting with the Chairman at three pm sharp.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“What is this proposition?”

“The Champion has recommended and vouched for you and your credentials, so Chairman Rose would like to personally meet you to enquire about your services. You will find out more when you see him tomorrow.”

You're taken aback. “...Alright, sounds good.”

“Thank you. Have a nice evening.”

…

[theclarkystuff-blog]

E3 opinions ( Nintendo)

Not the last show of E3 but possibly the last big one of the event, Nintendo strut into E3 with their usual pre recorded segment although I have seen people either dead excited for what a future Switch line up or seem to have no faith in Nintendo at all with only a half hour slot, so let’s review and see how it fares.

Opening the show is what appears to new a new advertising campaign maybe for the Switch but indie sensation Rocket League appears to take the opening slot and even showing off Fifa, neither games necessarily interest me but it seems to show a change in Nintendo, where they would usually promote one of their own works first usually it is nice to see them throw a bone to third parties. While Nintendo may not be able to boast having the kinds of support Sony and Microsoft receive at least Nintendo looks like they are trying to garner support now. 

Xenoblade 2 gets a re-introduction with a new trailer in English which showcased some story elements including game-play which shows that it will play similar to the last two entries in the series and also include some incredible looking worlds to explore once again, although it looks like someone turned up the anime inspiration to the max, mind you. The biggest surprise for me being that Nintendo are still aiming to release this Fall, despite earlier rumors stating that it had slipped into early 2018 so that is cool. 

Kirby comes crashing back with his Switch debut looking like follow up on his 2D adventures in the style of the ever classic Kirby’s Dreamland. While I don’t expect this to be a blockbuster seller, Kirby plat-formers are usually a solid experience and with Switch’s multiplayer possibilities which could allow you to play co-op on a single Switch or maybe even over multiple Switch’s via wireless

Yoshi also makes a Switch debut in a new game which appears to be continuing with the Wooly World theme with worlds that appear to be made of cardboard and moving away from the 2D plat-former mold by allowing Yoshi to move in the back and foreground. One of the biggest surprises about this game is that it will be built on the Unreal engine as confirmed by Epic Games spokesperson, Dana Cowley.

Fire Emblem Warriors while looking nice i felt a little disappointed in as the trailer appeared to mostly show cut-scenes over game-play as I would have liked to have seen how the game preformed in action , with the Switch specs in mind and being able to handle hundreds of enemies and big maps and also wondering how the N3DS port will handle, I expect similar results as seen in Hyrule Warriors on Wii U and N3DS respectively but with the game aiming to release this year I get the feeling we may see a dedicated Direct for this later in the year. 

Breath Of The Wild’s DLC was revealed showing some visual for the previously talked about and upcoming content, the first of which is dubbed The Master Trials will add a hard mode and new quest which will enable players to power up the Master Sword to deal out double damage, this DLC will also include some new costumes based on previous entries into the The Legend Of Zelda series such as Tingle’s costume and the infamous Majora’s Mask. This first expansion reminds me a little bit of Dark Souls in some respects but I guess we will get to find out in a matter of weeks The second DLC being dubbed The Champions’ Ballad focuses on the Champions in BOTW which makes me wonder if they have unfinished business after the game concluded or if this is set 1000 years before Calamity Ganon’s appearance or something? 

The big close out of the show was given to Super Mario Odyssey, opening with perhaps the oddest trailer involving a dinosaur but in this short trailer we get to see many of the game-play elements which displayed massive worlds to explore, going into walls playing as an 8 bit Mario in a similar style to The Legend of Zelda : A Link Between Worlds and what appears to be Mario’s gimmick in this game, being able to take control of enemies and NPC like citizens found in New Donk City or a tyrannosaurus-rex by throwing Mario’s hat at them. This game sent me over the top and into hype mode, this game looks fantastic, looks to be amazing fun, looks like it runs at a solid 60fps and oozes a confidence that it isn’t afraid to embrace with its big band styled title song delivered with some beautiful vocals. Super Mario Odyssey looks like it will be the successor that Super Mario Galaxy 2 deserved, having everything you could hope for packed into a Mario game alongside a October release, coming sooner than I expected, this may well be my game of E3.

The other big talking points and announcements I feel I have to address for most part seem to come about after the presentation into the Tree-house broadcasts so let’s address them, Nintendo listened to the uproar over Metroid in recent years and not only talked about giving us one new Metroid game, but 2 of them. Nintendo confirmed that Metroid Prime 4 is in development but having nothing to show for it, not even any concept art or a teaser trailer. While this is a little disappointing I am sure the announcement of the game will bring many tears of joy to fans of Retro Studios trilogy it appears that Retro Studios themselves will not be returning to the series, that ponders the question of who is making it? and what the hell has Retro been working on then for the past 3 years? The other reveal being Metroid : Samus Returns for 3DS, a modern remake of the Game Boy sequel to Metroid being made by Mercury Studios, famous for Castlevania : Lord of Shadow. This reveal looked cool in concept although I felt like it was missing polish despite its launching within months, hopefully the next time we see this game it will be looking better.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle which had its official unveiling at Ubisoft’s event on Monday already looks like one of the strangest concepts with these 2 big franchises coming together for a game which plays like X-Com. The game looks like it could be some massive fun although I may hold out until I see some reviews to help decide if and when i will buy into this.

Mario and Luigi - Super Star Saga DX was another remade gem for the 3DS which looks to be running on the modern M&L engine as seen in Dream Team and Paper Jam, this remake will include a new mode based around a trio of Bowsers Minions which I guess will add a humorous alternative view of the story that many maybe familiar with. Being a big fan of the original Game Boy Advance version I look forward to trying this remake out soon.

I guess I should address Skyrim coming to Switch as well despite it only having a small segment in the presentation but it is cool to see Nintendo willing to allow Bethesda to include BOTW costumes, shields and armors. Despite Skyrim feeling like it is getting ported to anything and everything, including a VR version, the idea of being able to play a grand expansive adventure like Skyrim in a portable form without hopefully getting an entry as bad in performance as the infamous PS3 port, the motion controls looks like they could add some fun interesting ways to play this game but I imagine many will probably default to the regular controls.

I was overall impressed with Nintendo’s presentation despite the short presentation, although they did not waste much time promoting games releasing within the next few months like Arms or Splatoon 2 but they are being given special competition events at E3 to act as promotion there, it is nice to see we wasn’t bogged down with more info about it at the presentation. While I am confident Yoshi and Kirby will be good games they hardly seemed like big announcements I was expecting for the Switch at its first E3 but with Metroid Pime 4 and a new RPG Pokemon being confirmed in development I would only wish Nintendo had more to show really, many have been hoping for ports of Mario Maker, Super Smash Bros 4 or Bayonetta 2 to Switch or even talk of the Virtual Console service coming to Switch but it feels like we are getting small servings for this year. While Nintendo has it’s Directs to spread awareness of upcoming titles which they can use any time of the year I can see why Nintendo maybe holding back some announcements for a later date, similar to how I feel Sony may have been holding back on announcing new stuff for its PSX expo later this year but overall I was happy with what I saw Nintendo seem to employ an unusual method of unveiling games as a few were presented through the Tree-house segments instead of the presentation which strikes me as weird as some of these would have been more than welcome during this brief conference.

This years E3 I felt was only mediocre for most part this year, while we got some interesting updates to games announced in previous years I felt like there was a lack of anything really new or fresh at least for most part throughout the whole show. I feel Microsoft while having an impressive new console had a serious lack of impressive software to make it stand out like BOTW did for Switch or Uncharted 4 did for the PS4, Forza 7 could well be that game for all I know, but I get the feeling it won’t be. Sony and Nintendo had good presentations but neither really felt like they ignited a fuse, while not every E3 can be an amazing one, this one certainly wasn’t a bad one, until next year I guess, have fun.