#last time I got one was during a trip to the kanto region

[espurr-expert]

Day 1 of trying to catch an Abra:

I don't think there are a whole bunch in my area, or frankly the region as a whole. I mean I've seen some here and there, but most of them belonged to trainers that passed through town.

If anyone is aware of Abra catching spots in Kalos, please let me know.

[answers-of-a-pokemon-researcher]

Professor, what pokemon did you originally go on your first journey with?

Oh, those are some fond memories. When I was growing up my birth region of Johto was recovering some substantial wildfire damage, so I was sent to Kanto for my own journey when I was ten. All the Pokémon who were with me are all still alive and well, though most of them have dropped out of the battling circuit. Not that I battle much at all anymore!

My first Pokémon was Bulbasaur, on the entire boat ride to Kanto I made sure to stay wide awake so sleep wouldn’t hold me back from picking first, just to make sure I got a Bulbasaur. Turns out it probably wouldn’t have mattered as that species wasn’t as popular back then, but I wanted one bad. That Bulbasaur was old Maxwell, my first Pokémon. I thankfully have a small country home in Johto out by the Ilex Forest, but with a rather large yard so I don’t have to worry about space, and most of my Pokémon who aren’t active teammates anymore have that as a base to linger around and roam, including him. Maxwell’s a big lug and he’s really slowed down with his age now, but he’s fiercely loyal. We’ve had good fights together. The window in my study faces my yard, and old Max comes by periodically to rest his face on the windowsill and watch me write reports. He’s near the end of his life, near 70 years, but that old Venusaur has lived a good one and I’m making sure his golden years are comfortable. And that some of the... younger upstart Pokémon I took in give the old man some peace once in a while.

While camping in the Viridian Forest on my first night on the road, a Weedle crawled into my sleeping bag! I was honestly lucky to not get stung by accident thanks to the close quarters, but I figured it was a sign and took him with me. That was Hubert, my now-Beedrill, and though bug types are generally not long lived, Hubert is going on 20 now. Beedrill at their oldest tend to reach mid-thirties, so I have plenty of time with him. Hubert is my ambassador for the greatness of the bug type! Quick evolving bugs like him are often disregarded as beginner species, but he remained on my team as I collected all eight gym badges and contributed a lot. He’s pretty friendly for a Beedrill, but I’ve always made sure he was well socialized. He’s made his nest on the top of my wardrobe and always freaks out visitors because he’s so possessive of me.

In Mt Moon I got lost a lot, like, a LOT thanks to all the twists and turns, but I found a Paras on one dead end I hit. I’d always loved bugs and was in love with those big, cute eyes, so he came with. That was France, the now Parasect still wandering around my house. He’s pretty docile and usually stays inside, but as I warned before, it’s important to watch out for spores with a Parasect in the house. He was a pretty formidable battler for his calm nature, but I think he was happy to leave the battling scene. A lot of trainers who see him get concerned if he’s even alive thanks to all the misinformation about Parasect, but make no mistake, he is alive and fully alert! Lethargy is just part of the symbiotic relationship Parasect share with the mushrooms they carry thanks to a mixture of energy sharing, but most importantly, consistent exposure to sleep-inducing fungal spores.

I remember trading with a boy who was desperate for an Abra because he hated the psychic type he was given and thought it was scary. A Mr Mime! That was Marcel, and he was only 10 when I got him, not to mention most psychic types are super long-lived, so Marcel will be around for a very long time. He might not have liked Marcel, heck, most other trainers my age didn’t like him either when we were around, but Mr Mime has always been my type of Pokémon. I did contests and most prominently theater for a long time, and still do, and have been trained in clowning a lot, so I appreciate such a silly clown Pokémon! Mr Mime are great friends, they’re radically intelligent, you just have to be ready to manage such a smart and often mischievous Pokémon. Marcel has toned down the pranks now since I’ve established countless times I don’t have an appreciation for being tripped over invisible walls, but that doesn’t stop him from pestering other Pokémon sometimes. For all his troublesome behavior and a bit of a rough start with an unappreciative trainer, Marcel was a hard worker during my first journey and he never fails to make me laugh at least once a day.

Then there was Jane, an Elekid I found who washed up on the river by Rock Tunnel, probably from the nearby Power Plant. She was and still is quite the spitfire! Jane isn’t really used on the occasions I do battle, but she hasn’t been dropped from the battling circuit quite yet. I can’t bring myself to evolve her into an Electivire, though. She’s very content as an Electabuzz and I don’t see much of a reason to. Her and Marcel are a bit of a troublemaking duo but I love them both dearly. I do occasionally loan Jane out to people in need of a temporary Pokémon companion for things like trips through treacherous terrain with unfriendly wildlife. It’s good enrichment for her, which she constantly needs. I don’t think I would ever want to raise another Electabuzz, they’re far too high energy for my liking, but Jane is my special exception.

The last of my first Pokémon is actually the only one who’s still in the team I now regularly use for battling on the rare occasions I do it, but mostly for the sake of outings. Post is my Dragonite, which is probably the only Dragon type species I consider myself capable of handling. He‘s a retired mailworker, if you couldn’t guess by the name, haha! That was back when Dragonite were used much more commonly as postal service Pokemon, before breeders from Hoenn helped make the much more efficient Pokemon Pelipper more widely available outside its native region. He’s a kind and gentle soul, as most Dragonite are. There really aren’t many other dragons (besides the lovely Drampa or perhaps some Altaria) that can match Dragonite for its inherent friendly and loving nature. I use him for travel, as he does miss his delivery days, so we both win in that situation. I get a way to travel quickly for my research, and Post gets his exercise!

[ayma-nidiot]

Dawn of the Dark Chapter 8 - Satogou mpreg fanfic

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 8 – Smarter Than Us

“Giovanni, sir! We have returned!” Jessie and James spoke upon return to their base under Rose Tower. During the course of their mission that day, they had scuba dived, flown, dug, and ran. Cold mud dampened their clothes, displaying the toil they put into their experiments. When they knelt before their boss, their boots became even more torn.

“And? What have you to report?” Giovanni asked, sitting in his rotating chair while petting Persian’s head.

“We have planted five Power Spots today,” James responded. “The last two were in the open sea by Galar Mine, and in Galar Mine itself.”

“I regret to inform you that the one in the open sea has been shut down already,” Rose spoke, standing in front of a wide computer behind Giovanni. “Someone is hampering our efforts to spread Galar Particles. If we don’t dispatch them soon, then they could easily find their way here.”

“Hmph…” Jessie grumbled, whispering to her husband. “I bet my bottom dollar that the twerps did it.”

“I think so too,” answered James. “Now if only we knew where they were… Those two are always on the run!”

“Have you something to say?” Rose asked, not quite making out what Jessie and James were saying.

“So…” Jessie was the first to speak up. “Do you remember that spiky-black-haired twerp from 11 years ago? The one who hung out with Leon?”

“And the other twerp who caught Eternatus?” spoke James.

“You must be speaking of Ash and Goh. So you’re saying that they might be thwarting our plans again?”

“Yes, sir,” replied Meowth.

“You would think that Ash’s duties as Champion of Galar would bind him to this region, but…” Rose looked at a few maps on the computer. “He seems to be spending most of his time in Kanto. It could be because he’s from there, but maybe there’s more to him than meets the eye.”

“A wise observation, sir!”

“Woooobuffet!” Wobbuffet agreed with his Trainer.

“Ooh ooh!” Damian ran up to Rose. “You wanna know something?”

“H-Hey, Damian!” Jessie got up and grabbed her son. “This man is the boss of a very powerful company. Show some respect!”

“Let him speak.” Rose chuckled. “He’s showing prowess as a Team Rocket member at the tender young age of 5. I’m very curious about this boy.”

“Guess what, guess what?” Damian couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. “I was the one who planted the Power Spot in Galar Mine! And I did it aaaaall by myself!”

“Is that so?” Rose smiled and ruffled Damian’s spiky red hair. “I haven’t been to that place in a while… Brings back memories. Why don’t you take me there and show me where you planted the Power Spot? You can even ride in my limo, if you like.”

“Really? Yay!” Damian skipped excitedly on his way to the obscure parking garage. “Galar Mine, Galar Mine!”

“Chairman!” Oleana didn’t like this idea. “You can’t let a boisterous child like him-”

“What’s the matter, Oleana? Do you not trust me?”

“That’s… That’s not what I meant…” Oleana looked remorseful. “Forgive me, sir. I didn’t mean to question your orders. I will be more than happy to drive you and these Team Rocket members to Galar Mine.”

“All right, buddy, get on in.” When everyone got to the limo, James buckled Damian’s seatbelt. “We’re going to have to drive on a secret and bumpy road, so make sure you hold tight onto Mommy and Daddy, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy!” Damian grabbed Meowth and squeezed him. “Meowth and Morpeko will keep me safe.”

“Y-Yeah…” Meowth felt tired from this trip already, even though it just started. “I’ll be more than happy to do that…”

Indeed, the road was just as turbulent as James had guessed. In the four months since Team Rocket and Macro Cosmos started their partnership, they worked together to build an underground road that wound all the way around the mountains of Route 10. Team Rocket executives kept this route under tight guard at all times, as it was exclusive to high-ranking Team Rocket and Macro Cosmos members only. But even while James and Jessie nearly got carsick, Damian enjoyed the ride, especially the ocean view. “Oooh, look, Mommy! There’s some Lapras and Gyarados out there!”

“That’s pretty cool, honey!” Jessie turned to James. “You know, James… I think our son might be a prodigy. He gets very good grades at school, and he’s able to do a lot without our help.”

“You’re right.” James smiled as he watched Damian dangle a toy in front of Morpeko. “I’m so proud of him.”

“He certainly didn’t inherit either of your guys’ brains, that’s for sure!” Meowth interrupted.

“Gee, thanks a lot.” James flicked one of Meowth’s ears, and would have teased him more, had the limo not come to a complete halt.

“We’re here,” Oleana announced as she put on a disguise. “Chairman, because you’re a highly wanted man, you ought to keep a low profile. I don’t want any harm to come to you.”

“I know, I know.” Rose accepted the giant red-and-black cloak Oleana gave him. “When I’m in public, Oleana, remember this: I am Weenus Peenus, a Poke Mart owner. And what are you called when you’re in public?”

“Sigh… I am Anita Phart.” Oleana didn’t appreciate these gag names at all. “And I’m a Pokemon Breeder.”

“Pfft… Bahahaha!” James, along with the rest of his family, burst out in laughter. “I didn’t know Chairman Rose- I mean, Weenus Peenus – could be such a funny guy!”

“Thank you, you two, for these disguises,” Rose spoke directly to Jessie and James. “Giovanni tells me that you excel in the art of disguise.”

“It’s our pleasure, sir!” Jessie exclaimed.

“Hey, when do we get to go to the mine?” Damian asked.

“Ah, yes, the mine. No time to waste, then. Follow me.” With that, Rose led everyone into Route 3. Other than the occasional need to stop Morpeko from eating Trainers’ and other Pokemon’s food, the party experienced few delays. He knew just what to say when they reached the mine entrance. “Good afternoon, sir,” he spoke to the foreman of the mine.

“I’m sorry, but the mine is currently closed for a special excavation project, as well as taking care of strong Pokemon that took up residence here. It should be open tomorrow.”

“I’m the owner of the Poke Mart in Motostoke, and I’m here to collect Charcoal to sell.” Rose presented an official-looking document. “I have clearance from Gym Leader Kabu himself. My name is Weenus Peenus.”

“Hmm…” The foreman scanned this clearance paperwork. “Looks authentic… Very well, you may enter.”

When everyone had passed through the entrance and into the mine, Damian laughed. “Hahaha! That guy’s an idiot! I can’t believe he fell for it!”

“Shhh… A good member of Team Rocket has to keep a good poker face,” Jessie advised. “It helps you be sneaky!”

“Tee hee… Okay.” Damian tiptoed behind Rose. “Sneeeaaaaky.”

“That’s my boy!” James beamed. “Isn’t he adorable?”

“What he is is more suspicious,” Meowth remarked.

“Come on, old chum, nobody cares about that except you.”

“Point taken. He’s done more in five years than you’ve done in eleven. I trust him-”

Jessie karate-chopped the top of Meowth’s head to shut him up. “Let’s just do our job, okay?”

“Y-Yes ma’am…”

“Wobbuffet!” Wobbuffet seemed eager to work.

While the Team Rocket quartet squabbled, Rose took the time to admire the mine; after all, this was his first public appearance in 11 years. The last time he had visited this mine, eleven years ago, a Coalossal had nearly destroyed the place and the people working in it. He certainly appreciated enjoying the scintillating gems in peace for once, and with little human traffic, at that.

“Hey, Mr. Rose?” Damian tugged on Rose’s cloak, interrupting the Macro Cosmos president from his daze.

“Yes, son, what is it?”

“I wanna show you where I planted the Power Spot! Come see, come see!” Damian pulled Rose by the hand.

“Oh?” Rose pondered the spot – one rich in rare gems - that Damian had led him to. “And what made you pick this spot in particular?”

“Hehehe!” Damian grabbed a bunch of gems from a pile, scattering them like sand. “Because it’s sooooo pretty! A-And you know what else? I hid the Wishing Star under these gems! That way, nobody will ever find it!”

“Hmm…” Rose began to dig at the pile.

“Hey, I worked hard on that!” Damian huffed.

“Don’t worry, young man, I’ll put it back. I just want to see what a good job you did.”

“Ooh. Okay.” Damian remained quiet, holding onto Morpeko nervously.

“Ah…” Rose smiled at the Wishing Star he uncovered. “Gorgeous… Absolutely gorgeous.”

“Th-Thanks a bunch!” Damian flashed a toothy grin that faded once he noticed the dubious look on Rose’s face. “Um… Mr. Rose? Are you okay?”

“Finally…” Rose cackled softly. “With these fools doing my bidding, and without that damned Leon in my way, I can finish what I started all those years ago… Hahaha… Hahahahaha!”

“Mr. Rose?” Damian trembled as Rose touched the Wishing Star. “You’re scaring me…”

“Morpeeeeko!” Morpeko dug her way into Damian’s coat.

“Hmm? What’s this?” Before Rose could truly behold the Wishing Star, it began to glow red, attracting the attention of the mine employees.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” The foreman came onto the scene just then. “Is that… a Wishing Star? I thought that they all had been hidden away! All these years, I had no idea that they existed in Galar Mine!”

“Ggh…” Despite the Dynamax energy that rapidly overflowed from the Wishing Star, and despite the immense pain in his arm, Rose couldn’t let go. “Such… power…”

“Foreman! This is bad! There is a Gigantamax Coalossal and a Dynamax Steelix wreaking havoc just outside the mine!” one of the mine workers alerted the foreman.

“Then evacuate everyone! I’m not going to let history repeat itself! I’ll take care of this situation myself!”

“But sir… All by yourself?”

“That’s an order!” The foreman tried not to panic as pebbles spilled from the mine ceiling. He released three of his own Coalossal to mitigate the collapse of the mine and ordered his two Gigalith to fight the rampaging Pokemon. “Now go!”

“Yes, sir! Godspeed!”

It was just then that Oleana caught up with Rose. “Chairman Rose! The mine is going to collapse! We need to leave, now!”

“Ugh…” Rose suddenly felt a headache coming on and was finally able to let go of the Wishing Star.

“Holy Arceus…” Jessie covered her mouth as she observed their surroundings, now covered to the brim with Dynamax energy.

“Damian!” James panicked when he saw his son in major distress.

“Daddy! Waaaah!” Damian jumped into James’ arms. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… Hic…”

“Don’t worry your pretty head about it, son. You didn’t do anything wrong. All we need to worry about is getting out of here!”

“Right!” Meowth swiftly led everyone out of the mine – everyone, that is, except for Oleana, Rose, and a couple of Macro Cosmos grunts.

“Chairman…” Oleana’s eyes opened wide when Rose passed out. She spoke to the two grunts, “Help me get the chairman back to the limo. Hurry!”

“Right away, ma’am!”

At Oleana’s order, the Team Rocket and Macro Cosmos members dodged the violent exchange of attacks, barely making it to the limo unscathed.

 “Maaaan…” Jessie whined as she and James put Rose in a bed back at headquarters. While Rose and Giovanni weren’t around, she had no problem voicing her disapproval of Oleana. “You have your own employees. Why did we have to carry this Snorlax all the way out of the limo?”

“You be quiet, scum, and show some respect for the Chairman,” Oleana spoke through gritted teeth.

“A ‘thank you’ would have been nice…” James mumbled.

“Now go fetch the chairman some water and wet towels,” Oleana ordered.

“You got it, bro…” Meowth sighed.

When she was all alone with Rose, Oleana’s façade of stringency came off. “Rose… Please…” she begged while she gently took hold of his hand. “If… If anything bad ever happened to you, I… My heart would completely rip apart.”

“Is that so?” Rose had awakened while Oleana wasn’t paying attention.

“Ch-Chairman!” Oleana exclaimed, flustered. “I… um, pretend you didn’t hear any of that.”

“Hello?” Jessie called out, returning with towels.

“Everything okay in here?” James asked as he handed Rose a glass of water.

“Oh, it’s you guys. I’ll take that.” Oleana spoke in her usual angry tone, snatching the towels from Jessie.

“Hmph. You’re welcome.” Jessie huffed.

“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” Meowth whispered to Wobbuffet. “I swear, there ain’t no pleasin’ this lady!”

“Wobba wobba…” Wobbuffet concurred.

“Now now, have some peace,” spoke a deep voice from the room’s door. “Team Rocket and Macro Cosmos are allies, remember?”

“Giovanni!” Jessie and James turned around and bowed. “Sir!”

“Rose…” Giovanni walked up to the bed. “What happened out there? Are you all right?”

Putting on his fake smile, Rose spoke while Oleana tended to him, “Thank you, but I’m fine. As for what happened… I can’t say for sure. Damian showed me the Wishing Star he planted in Galar Mine. When I touched it, the entire mine became saturated in Galar Particles. I wonder…” Rose held up his hand to the ceiling, staring at it. “Did I just awaken a hidden power? Do I have the ability to amplify the power of Wishing Stars just by touching them?”

“I believe it’s even more serious than that,” replied Giovanni. “As you’re aware, in order for Wishing Stars to become fully functional Power Spots, tireless experiments have to be performed on-site. But what you’ve done today… There’s got to be more to you than meets the eye. It’s a research topic I’m leaving to you, if you chose to pursue it.”

“I’ll pursue it, all right.” Rose got out of bed.

“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?” Giovanni raised an eyebrow.

“Take me to Leon and I’ll show you.”

“Mommy?” Damian clung onto Jessie for dear life while everyone followed Giovanni to the incubator. “What’s going on? Why is Mr. Rose being so creepy?”

“I don’t know, honey. Just stay away from him for now.”

Hah. On the entire walk, Giovanni began to plot in his mind. If Rose can generate Galar Particles, then surely he can Dynamax Pokemon too. If I can use his power to my advantage, then I can use Dynamaxed Shadow Pokemon to do my bidding! I think I see where you’re going with this, Rose…

 “Hello, Leon.” Rose knocked on the incubator. “How are you and your son doing?”

At 16 weeks pregnant, Leon sported quite the baby bump. When he awakened, and the first thing he saw was Rose’s ugly mug, he protectively cradled his baby bump. “What do you want, Rose? If it’s about my unborn son, you will not touch him.”

“Hmm…” Rose twirled a lock of hair. “And to think, I thought of releasing you today. Maybe not, with that attitude.”

“…” Leon didn’t like it, but he tried to show at least a somewhat amicable tone. He would do anything if it meant returning to his family and getting his son to safety. “Thank you. But why now?”

“Leon, I think I might have figured out how you were able to get pregnant in the first place. Tell me, have you heard about the shapeshifter phenomenon?”

“I have.”

“It is said that when Pokemon impart their DNA to humans, and said humans gain that Pokemon’s shapeshifting abilities, another biological change happens… All people who are able to shapeshift into Pokemon are also able to get pregnant, no matter what their biological sex is.”

“Wh-Where are you getting at?” Leon could feel his amicable tone slipping.

“I believe you are a shapeshifter, Leon. And considering that you are a former Champion of Galar, I’d be willing to hazard a guess that you are a formidable Pokemon. Care to tell me what you shift into?”

It was then and there that Leon decided he would be escaping – but not on Rose’s terms. Feeling a powerful energy in his heart, he started to shift. His long, light silver wings shattered the incubator’s glass. “How about I show you instead?”

“Oh, dearest Leon… Why don’t you let me do the honours? You can thank me later.” Rose smirked before he grabbed Leon’s face; when he did, his entire arm glowed a bright red.

“Mmff!!” Leon remained in a half-shifted state as he struggled against Rose, but to no avail.

“Take it…” Rose’s grip became tighter, and he bellowed, “Take the Galar Particles… and Dynamax!”

“Rrr… Raaaaaaaaaah!” Leon couldn’t fight back against the Dynamax energy flowing into him. The second Rose let go of him, he not only fully shifted into a Lugia, but grew so large that he tore a hole in the ceiling.

“Aiiiee!” Jessie and James were nearly blown off their feet in Leon’s escape.

“Raaah!” Leon aimed an Aeroblast that completely tore off the dome of Rose Tower, even from ground level.

“Chairman! He’s getting away!” Oleana helped Rose off of the ground.

“Grr… Men! After him! We’re going to the hangar, now!” Rose ordered.

“Yes, sir!” Several Macro Cosmos employees scattered.

“Sounds like you’ve got quite the situation on your hands… Mind if Team Rocket tags along too?” Giovanni asked. “I’ll even be kind enough to provide the transportation.”

“I’d be honoured. A Dynamax Lugia isn’t going to be an easy Pokemon to take care of…”

Jessie reluctantly began to follower her boss on the way to the secret hangar. “Oh… my… Arceus. Whatever just happened, it took ten years off my life.”

“All this time, Leon was an almighty Lugia… Argh!” James kicked a nearby post. “We could have caught him! He was right under our noses!”

Just before they entered the hangar, Damian jumped in front of his parents. “But we still can!”

“Huh?” Jessie looked up from the floor.

“I know my parents never give up! Not even after being blasted away by the twerps hundreds of times! You’re not gonna give up now… Right?”

“Damian…” James picked Damian off the ground and held him until they mounted the Team Rocket chopper. “Oh, my sweet, sweet boy.”

“You little…” Jessie pinched Damian’s cheek. “Is there nothing you can’t do?”

“No, but there’s something we can do… Let’s catch that Lugia!”

[voids-colourful-creations]

Ships Passing in the Night and Sailing Together Until Morning - Chapter 3

Between the Two of Us

Summary: Satoshi visits his family. Goh gets some advice. Kaki does what he knows how to, and it's more helpful than one would expect.

[Read on Ao3!]

[<Prev. Chapter] [Next Chapter>]

It was relatively quiet in the plane’s cabin, save for the steady hum of it’s engine. It was an odd sort of noise, reminiscent of a vacuum, but surrounding them on all sides.

Night had fallen over the plane, or rather the plane was gently gliding through night, and would inevitably part ways with it soon. But for the moment, at least, it was night.

Most were silent, with the few exceptions being a flight attendant here or there whispering to one another or the odd still awake passenger with a request.

Most were asleep.

Satoshi and Goh were not most.

Satoshi had gotten the seat by the window, Goh the one on the aisle, Satoshi having won rock paper scissors for the right to the view.

Arguably there wasn’t much of a view at the moment, though at least the deep blue sky had sprawling clouds drifting across it, obscuring the landscape beneath. The light from the regions below shone bright enough to reflect against those clouds, casting the sky in a brighter hue than the pure shadow inside the plane.

The plane’s seat felt huge, Goh made smaller just by sitting in it. His head tipped to one side, leaning against the too-large head rest. Though his eyes were shut, he could not sleep. It might’ve been the hum of the plane, but then again he had never been quite able to sleep on car or train rides, so maybe that carried over to planes as well.

He had tried to sleep, the flight was to be a long stretch across the globe after all. Alola took nine hours to travel to via plane, with their flight scheduled to land sometime in the morning.

Normally Goh preferred to travel during the day, but this was a last minute trip, and he was grateful for what he could get.

Keeping his eyes shut as though opening them would somehow make him more awake, Goh rubbed his thumb against his palm.

He was excited to go to Alola, he knew this. That was why his heart was racing, that was why he couldn’t fall asleep. It was exciting. There would be new things to see, new pokemon to catch, new people to meet.

Well, new to Goh. Because to Satoshi, they were family.

Perhaps Goh wasn’t being entirely truthful to himself. Meeting someone’s family was a big deal after all, and when they lived in an entirely different region…

Satoshi had explained to Goh throughout their long trip through the airport all about his trip turned residency in Alola. Admittedly, Goh hadn’t followed all of it, there was a lot of confusing talk of wormholes and star candies and bug racing for some reason, and Goh had been more focused on getting them through the airport without issue. One thing he was sure of though, was that Satoshi loved Alola.

Not just because he could spend the entire forty minute trip through the airport check in and subsequent two hour wait at the gate talking about how interesting it was that in Alola, people said “Alola” as both hello and the region name, but because of just how happy he had seemed to share any little tidbit about the place. Even as they boarded the plane, Satoshi happily rambled about the time he almost died via Nemush while camping. Goh listened intently to that one, concerned more so at how nonchalantly Satoshi recounted the whole affair. Now that the plane’s internal lights had been turned off for the night, he had fallen silent.

Or… as silent as Satoshi could be. He wasn’t a very quiet person. Goh could hear how kept pushing at the button on his phone, a rhythmic sort of clicking sound.

Click. Clicky-click. Click-

The rotom inside let out an angry buzz, seemingly unhappy at being fidgeted with.

“Ah… sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.” Satoshi’s voice came hushed from Goh’s right.

Goh let his eyes peek open. His vision came blurred at first, eyes squinting as they took in his surroundings. The seat in front of him sat imposingly, still seeming impossibly large, though he supposed he was just short in comparison. Messon had opted to curl up asleep on Goh’s lap, it’s fin gently twitching as it let out a sigh in it’s sleep. Goh wondered what it was dreaming about. He let his hand rest on Messon’s back, the pokemon feeling somehow both scaly and soft.

He glanced to where Satoshi sat.

Similarly, Pikachu had curled up in Satoshi’s lap, his head leaning against the window. Satoshi’s fingers combed through Pikachu’s fur ever so gently, though Goh thought he could spot Satoshi's phone poking out of his vest pocket, likely having been shoved there a few moments earlier.

It was a bit hard to make out the exact objects and shapes, the inside of the plane being dark enough to turn Satoshi into a silhouette with a few features if Goh squinted enough. The only lights came from the tiny walkway in the centre, and the lights bouncing off the clouds out the window.

“Satoshi,” Goh whispered, his voice coming out breathy.

“Goh,” Satoshi replied equally quiet, though his surprise still came through. “You’re still awake?”

“So are you,” Goh answered, though it wasn’t really the response Satoshi was asking for.

Satoshi let out a light laugh.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”

Something about his voice made Goh let out a contented sigh as he smiled, equally as soft.

“Too excited?” He asked, on the verge of teasing.

“Yeah…” Satoshi said, “I just… I can’t wait for you to see everything and meet everyone, it’s all so amazing and bright and… it’s great. You’ll love it. I hope you love it at least.”

Goh let one hand rest on the chair’s arm between them.

“I’m sure I will.”

The drone of the plane’s engine filled the gap in their conversation.

“What about you? Are you excited?”

Goh smiled into the darkness.

“Of course… I just hope they like me.”

Which is more than Goh probably would’ve shared had this been anyone else, but things were different when he was with Satoshi.

“They will, I know it. My family in Alola are some of the sweetest people in the whole world.”

And Goh knew he could take that as truth, Satoshi had seen most of it.

Though he could not sleep, the exhaustion from the travel so far was setting in.

“Mm… tell me about them?’

A ring of light shone around Satoshi, illuminating him from behind.

“Of course.”

Goh tried to listen, but something about the dull roar of the engines and Satoshi’s hushed voice was the perfect lullaby.

“I went to school in Alola with five other students, all around the same age as us. The school was all about pokemon, it was way way better than the schools I had to go to back in Kanto.”

A flight attendant walked by, the clicking of their shoes growing as they grew closer and fading as they continued to walk along.

“I’ll start with the tallest person in class, Kaki.”

Goh idly wondered why Satoshi decided height mattered in this context, then remembered it was Satoshi, and it probably made perfect sense to him, which was good enough for Goh.

“He’s so cool. He knows all these amazing things about Alola, and especially Akala Island, which is where he lives. Alola has four main islands, and I guess Aether Paradise kind of counts? Not as one of the main islands, it doesn’t have a deity or anything but it is floating there, so maybe it’s an island? Suiren said it was a ‘large floating structure’ once, but I don’t know if that was a joke or the official name for it. I wonder if it’s the same for the stadium...”

Satoshi’s head slid down as he whispered, eventually coming to rest on Goh’s shoulder. Goh lost track of what Satoshi was saying momentarily, becoming hyper aware of Satoshi’s jaw moving slightly as he spoke, his mouth dangerously close to Goh’s shoulder.

“-really the kindest guy though, he cares about his sister so much and is really dedicated to the whole region, he’s got so much pride for it all and I really love him for it, yanno? Some people say he looks intimidating but I just don't see it.”

Goh let his head drift downward in kind until it rested against the top of Satoshi’s. A strand of Satoshi’s hair brushed against Goh’s cheek. He ignored it. For now, he would listen silently, happily.

“Next is Lillie, I think, no wait- Mao was taller wasn’t she? Why did I think Lillie was tall- oh it's the hat. Never realized how much shorter than my classmates I was. Huh. Mao’s really cool and also really nice, we don’t have a class leader but if we did it would be Mao-“

The plane drifted across the sky lazily, set to reach Alola in the morning and slowly making its way there overnight. Whether Goh or Satoshi fell asleep first, neither could say, but by the time they woke up, the Alolan sunrise was greeting them through the window.

--

Despite Satoshi mainly using onomatopoeia and wild hand gestures to explain his friends in Alola, when Goh met them he understood exactly what Satoshi had meant.

Professor Kukui had come to pick them up at the airport, and had asked friendly questions about Goh’s pokemon and Satoshi’s battles the whole ride there. While Goh couldn’t muster up the confidence to reply in anything more than simple answers, there was something so genuine about how Kukui spoke to him that he appreciated more than he could say. It wasn’t too much to worry about anyway, Satoshi was more than happy to answer on behalf of the both of them.

Satoshi just sprung to life in that way he did when talking about his passions, and Goh was more than content to watch and chime in when needed. Despite the fact he was sure Satoshi had to have filled his friends in Alola in about at least some of these things— they had to have known about the research fellowship and Goh’s existence in advance, right?— Kukui replied with genuine interest to everything Satoshi said. And, if Goh was reading him correctly, fondness as well.

Kukui himself was a bit of an enigma, at least in how he related to Satoshi. He was a pokemon professor, the class’s teacher, and Satoshi’s roommate as well, though looking at the way they interacted and how Satoshi described him, Goh didn’t think ‘roommates’ was the best word to describe it.

Satoshi’s words from the plane rang in his ears.

He started to understand what he meant by family.

Goh didn’t quite know how to feel about that, but he took comfort in Satoshi and Kukui’s happiness around each other.

Professor Burnet was similar to Kukui in many ways, passionate and excitable, yet much more dialed back. He supposed that had something to do with being a mother and all. Though, by the way she looked and acted around Satoshi made it seem as though Lei wasn’t her first child. The way she smiled at him, asked him about how training had been coming along, told him about Mokuroh falling asleep on a pile of laundry the other day, all of it was so gentle.

Goh kept thinking about how she had smiled when she had opened the door, how she sounded as she called Satoshi Lei’s brother.

Awkwardly, he stood there, feeling as though he was interrupting a family reunion. No, not feeling. He was fairly certain he was.

But Satoshi was too kind, and the professors were too welcoming, so he was ushered inside the house to greet all sorts of affectionate, Satoshi-like pokemon.

It was all a bit overwhelming, though not necessarily in a bad way.

Thankfully, Satoshi was as excited to show Goh the beach and the rest of the island as he was to show him the house, and they soon waved the professors goodbye, at least until they returned there that night.

With boundless energy, Satoshi dragged Goh across the island, eager to point out every little crack and crevice where anything remotely interesting had happened.

“This is where I talked to Gladio on the beach the first time, and a little bit further down the beach is where I talked to him and he told me he was starting his trial but more importantly where we held the wedding- oh and even further down the beach is the place where I almost got poisoned by Hidoide on a class beach trip, and over there-“

His mouth ran like a broken faucet, but Goh was glad for it. Something about hearing the retellings of Satoshi’s past adventures made him feel closer to Satoshi, even if it could never compare to actually being there. In fairness, he probably rambled on about Alolan pokemon Satoshi had come to see as commonplace, but never once did Satoshi utter a word of complaint.

Goh liked that about them, how Satoshi just got him, like that. He wondered if Satoshi thought the same, vice versa.

Then he got distracted in his pokemon hunting and fell off of a cliff.

Admittedly, it took Goh far too long to realize that this was the same Suiren that Satoshi had been telling him about only hours prior, but in all fairness he had just fallen off of a cliff and that can shock a person.

Suiren explained something or other about schools or parties while she drove him back to dry land, though Goh was more focused on admiring the ride pokemon that carried them across the crystal blue waters. Thankfully, she seemed to have some experience with easily distracted people, and somehow managed to get them to the Pokemon School without incident.

The Pokemon School was in the running for one of the coolest structures Goh had ever seen. It was massive and yet so open that in some places he hardly felt like he was indoors at all. In Alola he supposed that was the point, with the warm sun and fresh breeze carrying into the classroom. Goh agreed with Satoshi, he would enjoy school much more if he went here instead. Maybe then, he would go to school every day, and not just for tests. Goh pictured it for a moment, going to this school and learning about Pokémon every day, Satoshi by his side.

Goh wondered when Satoshi became part of this daydream.

He was ushered through the hallways by an excited Suiren, pushed until he was sitting at an open desk and swarmed by what were presumably the rest of Satoshi’s school friends.

Satoshi’s friends were... loud. That was the first word that came to mind. Loud and excitable, and very very curious. He didn’t really blame them, from their perspective he was probably just some strange guy who their old friend had hauled back here with him. Of course they’d be curious.

But Goh could feel his anxiety growing with all the watching eyes. Mentally, he prayed for Satoshi to hurry up and get here already before he ended up yelling or crying.

Still, even with all the shoving and questions and attempts to fish his phone out of his pocket to experiment on, Goh could see it.

That passion and excitement that Satoshi had so fondly recalled.

Still, he was relieved for a moment when Kaki showed up and pulled the rest of the class's attention for a moment.

Of course that relief was subsided a bit by Kaki’s incredulous reaction to finding out he was exactly a huge battler, but he’d take what he could get.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry for long, as soon enough Satoshi returned, a strange, floating sort of Rotom Index accompanying him.

Goh felt his entire body relax as Satoshi entered the room, a smile rising to his face subconsciously.

Pulled again, taken from room to room in a blur that didn’t quite make sense, but wasn’t as unpleasant with Satoshi alongside him.

Soon enough, he was sitting for lunch with Satoshi sitting next to him, a buffer between him and Mao.

This was nice. The food was good, the conversation was much easier with Satoshi next to him. It was wonderful, truly, to hear about all Satoshi’s classmates' dreams.

But though he cursed himself for it, when he glanced around at the table he felt his stomach tie in knots.

Satoshi looked so comfortable with these people, so happy here. Even when jealousy would begin to bubble up, Goh could never really find it lasting longer than a fleeting moment.

Satoshi was so happy, he wouldn’t dare take that away. It was everything, seeing his face alight like that.

The only thing Goh had to be upset over was his own selfishness. His wish that he could be the thing to make Satoshi smile like that.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though.

Kaki was firmer in his request to battle than Goh had initially given him credit for. And despite the rest of the class's gentle urges to back down, Kaki stood with purpose. Goh could respect that. More importantly, Satoshi could respect that, and Goh knew he’d want to see.

So for the sake of his so-called pride, Goh agreed.

This was a fight he never could have won. Even without the Z-Moves— which Goh thought were incredibly interesting, he’d have to bother Kikuna and Renji about them later— Kaki was stronger than him, more experienced, just better than him.

This was not Kaki’s fault, Goh had agreed to this, so it didn’t feel in any way unfair. Only… uneven.

If anything, he regretted dragging Rabbifoot into this, a flame on flame battle was a poor choice when he knew he was the weaker competitor in nearly every aspect. Still, Namakobushi had been caught only a few hours ago and surely it was rude to toss it into a match just like that. Messon was never even an option, and he hadn’t brought any other pokemon with him.

Despite Rabbifoot’s best efforts, they never stood a chance.

A flaming inferno was staring him right in the face, and Goh was frozen, powerless to do anything.

Something in the back of his mind registered the flames as beautiful, and while certainly true, likely not the thing that should be going through his mind at that moment.

He wondered what Satoshi was thinking, if he was disappointed. Would he fear for Goh? Pity him?

Satoshi’s words from the plane spoke out to Goh again. Satoshi trusted Kaki, he knew Kaki.

So Goh decided to trust him too.

Goh blinked.

He wasn’t sure exactly when he had grabbed onto Rabbifoot, but seeing as he and pokemon were decidedly not burnt to crisps, nor flecks of ash blowing in the breeze, it would appear as though his trust had paid off.

Garagara waved and cheered, and Goh realized dimly that Kaki had tasked Garagara with rescuing them from the hell flames.

Good. That was good.

Even if Goh felt the tiniest bit bitter he lost, it was a fruitless endeavour anyway. Still, part of him wished he could’ve won. If for no other reason than to see the look on Satoshi’s face.

Kaki wasn’t about to let him sulk for long though.

Standing in front of him, arm outstretched, Kaki met Goh’s eye with a smile. Not one of superiority or condescension, but of friendship.

“Look after Satoshi for me, alright?”

It clicked in Goh’s head that this was part of a challenge, to see if he was good enough for Satoshi. And that the challenge may not have started and ended at his battling skills. With the way Kaki was smiling at him at least, it didn’t feel like a failure at all. A new, refreshing feeling.

Perhaps with too much force, perhaps on purpose, Goh took Kaki’s hand and pulled himself to standing.

“I may not be his rival, but I can certainly look after him for you!”

It wasn’t until after the words had passed through his lips, and with such confidence too, that it registered that this was the second time he had made this exact promise. Third, if he counted Pikachu.

Kaki threw his arm around Goh's shoulder, pulling him close. As Satoshi had said, he truly was a kind guy. The embrace was firm, and in contrast to the near inferno, comfortably warm. Kaki simply ran hot, in the same way Satoshi did. Maybe that's why they were 'rivals', something Goh wasn't sure he'd ever really understand.

Then again, maybe he didn’t really have to. Satoshi didn’t need another rival, Kaki was already doing a great job of that.

But Goh thought that perhaps he could do with another friend. Or at least, he hoped so.

--

They had bickered back and forth, in the friendly manner Goh found they so often did, over who would sleep on the floor and who would sleep on the couch bed. Satoshi insisted that Goh should take the couch since he was the guest, while Goh argued that he slept in Satoshi’s bed at his house in Kanto, so it was only fair that it was Satoshi’s turn to sleep on the closest thing to a bed in Alola.

After a heated but ultimately light hearted battle, Goh emerged victorious with the argument that he refused to sleep on the couch because being directly under the skylight would bother him. A blatant lie, but Satoshi either decided to take that as proof that Goh was serious, or didn’t notice. Either way, Goh found himself lying against the wooden floor with a futon and some spare sheets. It was admittedly quite comfortable.

That night, Goh had bid Satoshi a quick good night before passing out almost immediately, Rabbitfoot and Messon curled up with the blankets with him. The exhaustion of the travel, the new surroundings and social interaction had caught up with him all at once, and he promptly slipped into uneasy dreams. When his eyes blinked open, the light shining through the skylight was the soft starlight of night, much to his dismay.

Goh groaned quietly, trying not to wake Satoshi. He gently patted the blankets around him in an attempt to find his phone. He was tempted to just sit up and look for it, but that risked accidentally knocking over Rabbifoot, which was the last thing Goh wanted.

After a few attempts resulting in nothing but a handful of pillows, Goh finally managed to retrieve it. The screen was cool to the touch as Goh unlocked it.

Digital numbers reflected back at him. It was early, too early to be awake. At least for Goh’s tastes. Beneath the numbers was a small line of text.

“Sunrise in twenty minutes.” He read to himself, voice so quiet it was closer to mouthing them.

Sunrise, huh? That sounded pretty nice. And it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

So minding the sleeping pokemon and sleeping Satoshi, Goh slipped out from under the blankets, tiptoeing across the wooden floor and without bothering to put on his shoes, wandered out of the house.

The sand was squishy beneath his feet, yet dry. It hadn’t rained last night. Without the sun's warmth, the ground was cool beneath him.

The ocean was quiet, as still as something as alive as it could be. The growing light trickled across its surface in flowing patterns, colours and shades that shifted imperceptibly. The water stretched out endlessly in front of him, incomprehensibly vast. The water breathed steadily, the tiny waves greeting the shoreline in a taunt, being pulled away just as fast.

Goh let his eyes drift upwards. Cloudy, not enough to block out the sky, but enough to make shapes out of. The stars had already faded out of view by then, a disappointment.

He let his feet guide him as he walked without looking where he was going. He stumbled for a moment, foot slipping into a small hole. Goh attempted to catch his balance but ultimately tipped over, ending up having fallen on his back.

He could see the sky better this way, watching the stream of pink begin to flood the horizon.

It was calming, the gentle breeze, the rush of the waves, the motion of it all. It was though the very island itself was breathing deeply, slowly, alive.

Goh closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in, trying to match the breaths of the island. He was here. Here was nice.

His attention was caught by the sound of flapping wings in the distance, breaking his concentration.

His eyes snapped open, scanning the skies for the sign of a flying pokemon. Fruitless, considering he hadn’t brought anything to catch them with, he realized a few moments later. Still, he kept looking, past the clouds, against the sky slowly growing in its pink hue.

There, between a cloud that looked vaguely like a Denjimushi and one that looked like an Amamaiko on it’s side. A Lizardon, no- someone was riding a Lizardon.

They were surprisingly close actually, and at an odd angle. Goh would’ve expected them to face the direction they were flying, but instead it almost appeared that Lizardon was staring directly at him.

Hold on. Goh blinked, his eyes tricking him into thinking Lizardon was growing bigger.

No. Not bigger. Closer. And closer. And closer.

And before Goh had fully gotten it through his head, a strong gust of wind sent sand scattering into his face as Lizardon and it’s rider landed on the sand beside him.

“Augh!”

Goh sat up spluttering, trying to get the sand out of his mouth. One hand propped him up, the other being used to try and swipe the sand away from his face.

“Ehh, what was that for?!” He asked, still brushing sand away from his eyes, unable to see who he was speaking to.

“Ahh, sorry! I didn’t realize how much sand we would kick up. Are you alright?”

Goh instantly recognized the voice. Being mindful of stray sand particles, Goh blinked his eyes open to a familiar sight. For the second time in twenty-four hours, Kaki was standing above him, offering a helping hand.

Goh accepted it, gentler this time, either out of embarrassment or reluctant acceptance.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Goh replied as he stood.

Kaki breathed a visible sigh of relief.

“Oh, good. I saw you lying on the beach so I had Lizardon fly down here, but it seems I only made things worse.”

Goh shook his head.

“It’s not a problem, really.”

Kaki nodded, though he didn’t quite seem to believe Goh.

“What are you doing out here this early then?”

Straight to the point.

Goh shifted slightly.

“Well, I could ask you the same thing,” He replied defensively.

Kaki raised an eyebrow.

“I’m doing deliveries for my family’s farm. I do them every morning.”

He gestured back towards Lizardon, holding the aforementioned cargo.

Goh kicked at the sand a bit with his heel.

“Ah. Sorry. I- I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to come watch the sun rise.”

Kaki nodded, turning to face the ocean. The waves lapped up at the edge of the beach, rushing away just as fast, taunting the shoreline.

“It really is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Goh nodded, breath catching in his throat just a tad at the sight of the sun spilling onto the horizon.

“Listen,” Kaki began, “I’m sorry I scared you with dynamic full flame yesterday.”

He offered a gentle smile, turning to meet Goh’s eye.

“I-I wasn’t scared!” Goh stuttered as he looked away.

“Sure.”

Still looking out at the ocean, Goh responded tentatively, letting the words sit on his tongue for a moment beforehand.

“So… you don’t hate me. Right?”

Kaki looked genuinely bewildered.

“What? Of course not.”

Goh nodded, shoulders relaxing.

“Good, I’m glad.”

Kaki shook his head.

“I never meant to scare you. Intimidate a little, maybe, but more…” He trailed off, seemingly frustrated as he stumbled to find the right words.

Goh sighed, the sun’s soft light bouncing off the water and shining across his face.

“I think I get it, kind of? Like… you wanted to protect him, right?”

Kaki nodded, evidently relieved.

“Satoshi’s important to me- to us. All of us-“

“Care about him a lot.” Goh finished.

“Yeah.”

Goh smiled just slightly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“So. It was a test, right?”

Kaki looked taken aback, though he quickly covered the surprise on his face.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Goh’s smile grew.

“How’d I do then? Did I pass?”

His tone was lighthearted, clearly having fun joking with Kaki. As soon as Kaki registered this, he relaxed in kind.

“Yeah, yeah, you passed. Flying colours and all that.”

Goh raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? How so?”

Kaki rolled his eyes, but there was something soft about the motion.

“You stood your ground, even when you were outmatched. You stood for your ideals, you made it clear you were willing to work hard. I admire that in a person. Ambition, dedication, drive.”

Goh hadn’t been expecting a proper response, but nonetheless listened intently to Kaki’s words.

“Not to mention your little outburst there. I mean, I don’t take too kindly to the implication that Satoshi isn’t my friend, but the rest of it had heart. More importantly, all that stuff you said, about dreams being within your own power and all. It just reminded me of him. You looked a lot like Satoshi.”

Goh tilted his head to the side.

“Looked like Satoshi…?”

Despite the rest of Kaki’s face staying the same as before, something in his eyes gave Goh the distinct feeling he was being laughed at.

“Listen, Satoshi’s my rival and my friend. We can be both. He’s my friend along with all our other classmates, because of all the things we’ve done together. He’s fun to be around, I’m sure you know that by now.”

Goh nodded, unsure of where this was going.

“But he’s my rival too. A strong fighter- strongest in Alola if you ask some people, someone I truly have to work hard to fight against. It’s an exhilarating feeling, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Kaki paused, looking Goh up and down.

“But you… you don’t have that. And I don’t think you need to either.”

Kaki met Goh’s eyes directly as he spoke, though Goh got the feeling that he was looking further than that, speaking to something deeper inside him.

“I see how you look at each other, how you act around each other. It’s different, and I think it’s good too. Don’t go proving me wrong, alright? He cares about you, and you better not screw it up.”

Though his expression was stern, that of someone emotionless, Goh could feel the emotions that sat behind those words as if they were tangibly in front of him.

Goh cleared his throat, trying to hide his surprise at what Kaki had just said.

“I know, I won’t. Satoshi hasn’t told me everything about his time here, but if there’s one thing he made clear, it was how much he loves you all, and how much you all love him.”

“Yeah. Satoshi means a lot to all of us.” Kaki said, stone faced. However, to Goh’s surprise, a smirk spread across his face. “Though, not in the way he means to you.”

Goh felt the blood rush to his cheeks and quickly attempted to cover for himself.

“W-wh-what’s that supposed to mean!?”

Kaki laughed, reaching a hand to playfully slap Goh’s back.

“That’s not my place to say. You’ll figure it out soon enough, I’m sure.”

Goh glared.

“How is that of any help?!”

The grin on Kaki’s face persisted.

“Who said it was supposed to be?”

Deciding that was apparently enough explanation, Kaki walked across the sand, returning to Lizardon’s side as he waved goodbye.

“I’ve gotta get going, can’t let the deliveries be late!”

He called, climbing up onto Lizardon’s back. Goh waved back, though Kaki’s words were still bubbling in his brain.

“Don’t forget what you promised!”

And Kaki flew off past the clouds before Goh could even respond.

Promises, promises, he’d been making a lot of them recently, and all of the same nature. The question was if they would hold weight. And what on earth had Kaki meant by all that?

Taking a deep breath, Goh took in the smell of the ocean, the sand, the Alolan breeze. And then, he shook himself violently, sending tiny specks of sand scattering across the beach.

Enough thinking about all this for now, he decided. With confident strides, Goh headed up the beach to wake Satoshi so they could inevitably argue over what they would eat for breakfast, and soon enough, fly home again.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Dusk Time Evolution

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

1802 words

For: @alumort

Edited by: @mireleth

Kakashi had only been back in the Kanto region for a day, and he had already returned to his regular training regime. Well, the training regime that Gai made him keep up with whenever he would find time to visit him at his gym. Something that Kakashi had not been keeping up with during his visit to the Alola region, resulting in his current situation.

Flat on his back in the middle of Gai’s gym, staring up at the ceiling as it slowly opened above him. Apparently Gai had decided they needed to do some stargazing in his gym while Kakashi was gone, because he didn’t remember his boyfriend having a gym with a roof that could open before. 

“You like it?” Gai’s face showed up above his, a bright smile on his face. “I thought it would be a nice change. The gym was starting to feel boring.”

Boring was the last word Kakashi would use to describe Gai’s gym. The place had been set up as an obstacle course that trainers had to navigate their pokemon around in order to even have a chance at fighting Gai. The whole gym screamed ‘extra’, and with an opening rooftop it only became more obvious how much extra Gai thought he had to be.

Kakashi loved it. 

Reaching his hands over his head, he smiled up at Gai and waited patiently for him to understand what he was trying to do. It took a moment, but when it finally dawned on him Gai chuckled and got down on his knees, lowering himself to press a gentle kiss against Kakashi’s forehead. 

“I love it.” He smiled, resting his hands on the back of Gai’s neck so that he couldn’t pull away anytime soon. “The view is beautiful. Especially when you’re in it.”

Seeing the light tinge of a blush, Kakashi chuckled. He loved embarrassing Gai because no-one else in the world expected that of him. The hardened tactician that no pokemon trainer could beat and receive a badge from, being adorable? Unheard of. 

A heavy weight came to rest across his waist, pulling his attention downwards so that he could see the small Rockruff that had now decided to make him its bed. A perfectly acceptable way for him to find himself pinned to the ground for the rest of the night, in his opinion.

“She seems to like you.” Gai beamed, reaching out to pat Rockruff on the head. “How long into your journey did you find her?”

Thinking back, Kakashi couldn’t help but smile as he recalled the playful Rockruff that had come charging up to him on his second day in Alola, bumping her head against his leg until he finally got up and started to play with her.

She had even gone so far as to bump her nose against a luxury ball that Kakashi dropped while they were playing, allowing herself to be caught without any fuss. A happy accident that Kakashi didn’t have any repeats of during the rest of his visit. 

“Two days,” he responded after realizing that he had never actually answered Gai’s question. “I was two days into my trip when she decided to join me.”

“Impressive. Is she always so…” Gai made a gesture with his hand, the descriptor that he was searching for clearly not coming to mind.

Playful would work in most cases, as Rockruff was quite the playful pup. But Kakashi didn’t think that was what Gai meant since he had quite a few playful pokemon of his own. No, instead he was probably trying to address the fact that Rockruff had gotten quite aggressive during their battle, biting Gai’s Hitmonchan in the leg even when Kakashi hadn’t ordered her to.

That was a much newer personality trait that Kakashi was trying to deal with.

“I asked professor Mabui about her aggressiveness a few days before we came home,” he explained, glancing back down at Rockruff as she relaxed on top of his stomach and looked up at the sky. “She was starting to get a bit more aggressive during battles a week before we were due to leave. The professor said it was perfectly normal for a Rockruff, and that in most cases it meant that they might be ready to evolve soon.”

During the plane ride home Kakashi had done a bit of research on Rockruff’s evolutions, wanting to know as much as possible about the pokemon that he might end up with. It had been quite an interesting read and Kakashi had found himself stuck trying to decide which form he would prefer. The midday form looked cool and the rock typing was certainly a new addition to his team, but he always had a certain fondness for a dark type pokemon as well. He didn’t have many of those either, since he was mostly an electric type trainer.

“It’s about what, 5:30 pm? If Rockruff were to evolve right now I think she would end up taking the midnight form. It’s really quite a sight, with beautiful red eyes and a dark typing that would compliment my team nicely I think.”

Gai laughed above him. 

“As long as it’s a dog, do you really care what type it is?” He smiled back down at Kakashi. “Either way you’re going to spoil her rotten and play with her all the time, regardless of how much the rocks around her neck bruise you.”

He certainly wasn’t wrong about that. Kakashi loved all of his pokemon, and even though his dogs didn’t really fit into the electrical theme of his teams he still loved to play with them and spoil them as much as possible. The type of pokemon they were had never really mattered to him.

Still, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t love a dark type pokemon, or even a rock type. Most of the dog pokemon were normal type and keeping Growlithe from Obito’s greedy fire-loving hands was difficult most days. 

“Hmm, someone’s excited.” Coming out of his thoughts, Kakashi frowned when he saw Gai staring down at Rockruff, who had only just started to move again. Following his boyfriend’s line of sight, Kakashi stared at the pokemon as she sat up on his stomach and looked up towards the setting sun over Gai’s gym. “What do you think she’s looking at?”

“The sun, maybe?” Kakashi suggested, watching as Rockruff stood up on all four paws, her body starting to give off a faint glow. “Oh… oh!”

Was it really that time already? 

Sitting up, Kakashi watched as the faint glow slowly grew stronger until it covered Rockruff's whole body. “What are you going to be, hm?” He was tempted to reach out and pet Rockruff, but that really wasn’t a good idea when she was in the middle of evolving. Especially given her more aggressive nature over the last week. 

“Beautiful.” Gai’s hand came down to rest on his shoulder. “She’s going to be beautiful.”

That he couldn’t disagree with.

As Rockruff’s body started to grow, Kakashi felt the pressure of her heavier weight pushing down on his abdomen. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to be able to let Lycanroc put all of her weight on him anymore or he’d be crushed under her body weight. 

He was already threatened with death by cuddles whenever he shared a bed with Gai. He didn’t need to take that risk with his pokemon as well. 

“Oh…” His eyes widened when the glow started to fade away, Rockruff’s blue tinted fur now a darker hue with spikes of fur all around her neck. When she looked back at him she had brilliant green eyes, and an extra long spike of rock that arced over her head sort of like the midnight form. “That’s… uh…”

“Not what you were expecting?” Gai finished for himself, reaching out once again to pet Lycanroc’s head. “What form is this?” 

“That I do not have an answer to,” Kakashi admitted. “This doesn’t look like either of the forms that I read about. It’s something new.”

Gai looked back down at him, confusion etched on his face. “You’re telling me your Rockruff just evolved into a completely unknown form?” The only response that Kakashi could give was a short quick nod of his head. Taking in Kakashi’s answer, a small smile started to pull at Gai’s lips. “Does that mean you get to name it?”

Thinking about it for a second, Kakashi reached out and gave Lycanroc a gentle pat on the head, ignoring the slight pain in his chest from the increased weight now on top of his body. “What do you think, hm?” He smiled up at her. “What kind of name suits such a beautiful pokemon?”

Lycanroc responded by leaning in close and licking a long stripe up the side of Kakashi’s face. “Right, you don’t care what it’s called,” he chuckled. Wrapping his arms around the pokemon, Kakashi hugged her close to his body and turned his attention back up to the sky. “Well, the other two forms are named after the time of day since that’s what determines the Rockruff’s form when it evolves, so how about ‘Dusk form’?” 

“It’s perfect.” When he glanced back at Gai he couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the way his boyfriend was gazing back at him. “What?”

“Sometimes I forget how adorable you are.” His eyes widened while a blush started to creep its way up the back of his neck. “It’s true, Kakashi.”

Throwing a hand over his face, Kakashi glared up at Gai from between his fingers. “Stop it,” he grunted as Lycanroc laid down over his chest. “Stop it right now. I am not adorable. I am a scary ruthless gym leader that no one likes.”

“A scary ruthless gym leader that lets his pokemon cuddle up on his chest and asks them if they like the name he’s trying to give their new form.” Gai reached out and poked Kakashi in the nose, laughing when the electric type user glared up at him. “But if it’ll make you feel better, I could join the cuddles.”

Turning his head away from Gai, Kakashi dropped one arm to the ground beside him and waited for his boyfriend to take the hint. With no further commentary Gai laid down on the floor beside Kakashi and cuddled up to his side, laughing when Kakashi brought his arm back up around his waist and turned to look back at him.

“So, is it a good name?”

“Perfect.” Gai beamed. “Just as I would expect from my eternal rival.”

Gai in his arms, a newly evolved Lycanroc resting on his chest, and a beautiful sunset in the sky above. Kakashi really couldn’t think of anywhere he would rather be at this moment.

[ckret2]

Toxic Genes

SPOILERS for Detective Pikachu below!! Even the summary has spoilers, avert thine eyes.

Fandom: Pokémon, Detective Pikachu movie Characters: Harry Goodman, Mewtwo, and Detective Pikachu Words: 5000 Summary: Three weeks after regaining his body, Harry and Pikachu come home to find Mewtwo crouched under a furniture fort in a way that reminds Harry far too much of how Tim used to hide when he was a scared child. Harry crawls in to see what’s wrong. They talk about nature and nurture, about murder, about friendship, about guilt, about hugs—and make the first steps toward processing the nightmare they went through. Notes: Vaguely a sequel to “Medical Research”, which is available on my ao3 linked in my description or on my blog in the #my writing tag, and I’d link it here except if I included a link then tumblr would hide this post from search results. If you don’t want to read "Medical Research”, all you need to know is that pre-movie Harry asked Mewtwo to voluntarily come to PCL, because he’d been told that PCL was doing totally harmless medical research.

"What the...?"

Harry's gaze was first caught by the streetlight coming through his inexplicably broken window blinds; then by the shattered glass beneath the window; and then, as his gaze moved across the floor, by upturned books and papers, smashed mugs, a broken TV, and half his furniture—desk, upturned couch, coffee table, and a bookcase from his bedroom—piled haphazardly in one corner.

"Oh, god." Who? He'd investigated a couple of criminal organizations over the last few years, he'd helped a thug with a Geodude get arrested only a couple of days before he'd been Pikafied— "Tim? Tim!" Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and darted for the pile of furniture while Harry rushed to the door to Tim's room. The bed frame was overturned and dragged halfway to the door, the mattress was missing—

"He is not home."

Mewtwo's appearance always came with what felt like an atmospheric change inside Harry's head, like a low pressure front heralding a coming storm. Its voice was a rumble of thunder: booming, inescapable, everywhere. Harry could clearly feel Mewtwo's pressure on his mind now; had he been too distracted when he came in to notice it sooner? "Mewtwo? Where are..."

Pikachu squeaked to get Harry's attention. He turned back to the living room just in time to see Pikachu's crooked tail disappear under the furniture pile.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered.

Harry knelt in front of his desk. (Hoo boy, his old knee injury did not like that; maybe Mewtwo really did change atmospheric pressure wherever it went.) He bent down, peering under the desk, deeper into the furniture pile—

And there, in the dark, was Mewtwo. Sheltered beneath a fort made of upturned furniture, the couch and bookcase propped precariously over its head, sitting in a nest made with Tim's mattress and the couch cushions, huddled with arms and legs crossed in a way disturbingly reminiscent of how Harry had seen it curled up while in containment at PCL.

"Uhh... hi?"

"Hello."

Harry tried to shuffle on all four under the desk. "What's—ow." His back had banged into the bottom of the desk. He dropped down to army crawl in instead. "What's up?" He stopped when his forearms bumped into Tim's mattress and looked up at Mewtwo.

Mewtwo looked down on Harry like an alien surveying an Earthling for the first time, with vast violet eyes that seemingly held all the vast space and potential of a distant star-birthing nebula. It was humbling and terrifying, the profoundly powerful mind that could be glimpsed through those eyes.

And with that unearthly mind shining through its massive eyes, Mewtwo gazed down upon Harry—and with a voice like the thunderous warning of an inexorably advancing storm, it spoke—

"I wanted company," it mumbled.

"Oh," Harry said. "Under—under my furniture?"

Mewtwo adverted its gaze, like any embarrassed human would. "I—wanted a cave," it said. "But not to be alone in one."

"Oh," Harry said again. "Got it."

Pikachu had already climbed into Mewtwo's lap and settled there, nuzzling its crossed arms.

"I apologize for the mess," Mewtwo said. "I did not intend..." It started to trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished; but before it could truly leave the thought behind, it finished, "... to turn your home upside-down." It hadn't needed to finish the thought. Maybe, Harry speculated, a telepathically-transmitted thought came all in a package, and you couldn't just... stop one in the middle? That made sense to Harry, at least.

"Ahhh, this place has looked worse," Harry said, although it wasn't really true. He'd had a hell of a time getting his files reorganized after he got his memories—and his body—back; but he hadn't needed to worry about straightening out pieces of furniture that were precariously propping each other upright. But he'd worry about that later. He wasn't about to scold the most powerful Pokémon on the planet for making a mess.

Especially since, Harry figured, right now, Mewtwo probably needed its "cave" more than Harry needed a neat apartment. Harry wasn't as good at reading Mewtwo's body language as Pokémon he was more familiar with, like Pikachu or Ludicolo. But from what little Mewtwo had said so far, and from what Harry could see in the dark of its eyes, curled shoulders, and drooping tail, Harry got the impression that it was tired. Tired, and more than a little shellshocked.

When Tim had been four or five, he'd gotten a cheap blue toy tent, kept up with plastic white rods, with a big swirly Polywag face on the side. They'd set it up in a corner of the dining room for him. He'd loved to play in the tent. But when he'd started school, or when a babysitter was coming over, the tent gained a new purpose: it was a hiding place, where more mornings than not he'd run to hide when his parents looked for him to get dressed for school, or when the doorbell rang indicating the babysitter's arrival.

The phase hadn't lasted long. He soon got to know the kids and had fun at school. He always remained suspicious and distrustful of his babysitters, but when his grandma had retired and taken over babysitting duties he'd happily latched on to her. He outgrew the tent.

But Harry still remembered when his little boy had used it—how he'd curled up under the tent, crying tears of anger and fear, terrified to be taken to a strange place or left with a strange person.

Mewtwo was calm, quiet, subdued—almost abashed at its own behavior—but Harry was reminded so much of Tim in his Poliwag tent.

So he said what he'd always said when he found Tim hiding: "Do you wanna hang out?"

Mewtwo hesitated. "Yes."

Climbing into Tim's child-sized tent had been hard enough, and that had been when Harry was fifteen years younger. The furniture cave was a little roomier, but the underside of his tilted bookcase was a lot less forgiving than a vinyl tent when he bonked his head on it. Mewtwo hovered a few inches to the side to give him more space, tilting its head under the slope of the upturned couch, and Harry eventually managed to squeeze into the space beside it, turn around, and sit. At this close range, he was uncomfortably aware of Mewtwo's scent, which was something between "urban alley overrun with wild Meowth" and "Machoke that missed a shower after a good work out." He tried to breathe shallow breaths and told himself he would get used to it. He'd gotten used to a Pikachu in the apartment. Granted, Pikachu wasn't nearly seven feet tall and taking up half the space in a poorly-ventilated furniture fort.

Now that he was properly situated, he moved on to the second question he'd asked whenever he'd been permitted to enter Tim's tent: "You wanna talk?"

Tim had usually shaken his head and hid his tearful face in his crossed arms. So he wasn't surprised when Mewtwo replied, "I do not know that there is anything for us to discuss."

It was wrong, of course.

They could talk about Howard Clifford's pending trial, and whether or not Mewtwo was willing to appear as a witness. It was rare for Pokémon to provide testimony in trials, but it did happen, more frequently when the Pokémon was a telepath that could directly speak for itself, or when the Pokémon didn't have a trainer or partner who was involved in the trial and so couldn't be suspected of having been coached in its answers by a human—both of which circumstances applied to Mewtwo. But Mewtwo might not want to go to the trial, where it would be the center of astronomical attention and possibly a target. Having suddenly burst out of the tabloid pages into the streets of Ryme City, already tourists, scientists, and collectors were flocking to the city with hopes of catching a glimpse—or more—of the hitherto-unproven Manmade Miracle, The World's Only Clone Of The Mythical Mew, The Most Powerful Pokémon In The World.

Or they could talk about where Mewtwo was going to go now. Did it want to go back to Kanto, where Harry had found it and persuaded it to come to PCL? If so, did it want to fly all the way back itself, or would it be willing to ride? Harry would be happy to pay for whatever means of transportation Mewtwo was happiest taking—hell, Harry would buy a used car and drive it all the way back to Kanto himself, it sounded like a great road trip anyway—if Mewtwo even suggested that it was nervous about traveling, visible and exposed, all by itself, all the way home. It would be a valid fear, now that it had made international news. Or did it not want to go to Kanto? Did it plan to hang around a while longer? Or maybe go traveling, see some other regions, perhaps find somewhere new to live?

Or they could talk about the phantom pains Harry still had. They'd improved steadily during his first few days back in his own body, but the recovery had hit a plateau, and he felt like he'd been basically the same for the past couple of weeks. Even though Mewtwo had restored his body in perfect health—even reducing a few (but not all) old aches and pains he'd picked up in the course of his detective work—at times he still faintly felt the burns, the injuries, the broken bones, that he'd had when he'd dissolved into Pikachu. Like a second body, ghostly, superimposed over his own, still carrying his fatal wounds. Would these psychic hurts fade over time? Or otherwise heal? Was there something Mewtwo could do about them? Not that Harry wasn't grateful beyond words for everything Mewtwo had already done to save him; but it was exhausting to keep waking up feeling fire on his back and broken glass under his cheek and hands, to realize that the fire was his comforter and the glass was his mattress.

Or they could talk about what plans Mewtwo had now to protect itself. Early on, after Mewtwo had come to PCL but before they scientists had discovered the treasures hiding in its genes and demoted it from "volunteer research participant/consulting geneticist" to "harvestable cache of R," it had mentioned—and downplayed—its concerns about the organized crime syndicate that had pursued it before discovering its new location. Surely that fear had been multiplied tenfold, now that every eye in the world was peeled for a sign of Mewtwo. Anybody who spotted it would know what it was; any information about its location would spread much faster and farther without being dismissed as a hoax or urban legend. Was it going to withdraw from civilization completely again, find another cave or a deep jungle to hide in? Harry had been approached by an agent of the International Police a few days after the whole incident, interviewed, given a card in case he thought of or found any information to share with her, and told he might be contacted again later for more details. He could pass on Anabel's contact info to Mewtwo. She'd said she had experience with incredibly powerful and nearly unknown Pokémon, and that where Mewtwo was concerned, her top priority, above all else, was to ensure that it was safe and not about to end up in another lab. Harry felt like they could trust her; and if Mewtwo really did fear some crime syndicate coming after it, it could find few better allies and defenders than the International Police.

Or they could talk about whatever internal turmoil had driven Mewtwo to break into Harry's apartment, to trash the place in its frantic efforts to make a safe "cave," and to huddle there all alone for however long it took Harry and Pikachu to get home.

But Mewtwo said there was nothing to discuss.

So Harry said, "Okay. We can just sit for a while. How's that?"

"Very well."

And so they sat. Harry doubted the silence would last long. It rarely had with Tim.

Pikachu had been looking back and forth between them as they spoke, but now that things were settled, he returned to nuzzling. In the dark under the furniture, Harry could see tiny sparks where he rubbed his cheeks against Mewtwo's arm; and then faint spectral psychic light rippling through Pikachu's fur. Was Mewtwo petting Pikachu telekinetically? Pikachu started making that faint, high pitched, whispery "piiiii~" he always made when Harry found just the right spot to scratch under his chin, so apparently so. Wow. That was a new one.

Mewtwo held out longer than five-year-old Tim ever had. But eventually, it said, as quietly as a fleeting reminder of a subconscious memory, "My genes are toxic."

It was so quiet that it took Harry a moment to recognize the absurd statement as a rumble of thunder rather than some strange flicker of his own brain. "What?"

"The R," Mewtwo said. "It was derived from one of my own genes. Did the doctor tell you what she named the gene?"

"The doctor" always meant "Dr. Ann Laurent." Harry found that Mewtwo had difficulty telepathically conveying human names if they weren't also words with definitions. It had called him "Hairy"—which sounded the same as "Harry," but he could feel the difference in the way Mewtwo thought the word—until he'd persuaded it to stick to "Good Man" or "detective" instead. "Ann" or "Laurent" were far beyond its communicative capabilities.

"No, she didn't say."

"The Berserk Gene," Mewtwo said morosely. "It makes Pokémon vastly more powerful, but—confuses them. It makes them lose their minds with fury."

Harry nodded. He knew all that, of course—far too well. He and Pikachu had seen R at work in the streets, and they'd tracked it back to the source. His stomach had filled with lead every time they'd uncovered another clue suggesting the drug came from PCL, where he'd thought he'd left Mewtwo to safely work on developing medicine. But if Mewtwo felt the need to re-explain all that, even though it knew Harry knew—

"And this gene is inside me. This gene, that makes Pokémon powerful, but dangerous. And I, the carrier of the gene, the most powerful Pokémon..." Mewtwo could have trailed off there; but it again went on anyway, shame and regret tinging its thoughts: "I have been very dangerous." During the car wreck, Harry's nose had been clogged and singed by hot ashes, and he'd felt them coat the back of his tongue; carried on Mewtwo's thoughts, he tasted ashes now, but he didn't think Mewtwo was remembering the wreck. "After everything—is that, then, my nature? Is that what is foundational to me? To what I am? Danger, and an inborn incapacity to control my own anger?"

"No!" Harry said immediately. "No, no, that can't be— Look, you saved my life, didn't you? And the whole city. All while not destroying PCL in a fit of fury, or—or snapping Howard's neck." Harry had called him "Howard" the whole time he'd been working for him, back when Howard had been claiming that his work at PCL with Mewtwo would be used to create medicine for Pokémon and humans based on Mew's genes; now, after everything, the name felt wrong coming out of Harry's mouth. It sounded too familiar.

Even now, Harry still wondered if Howard Clifford had been lying, if he'd always planned to use Mewtwo to forcibly fuse people and Pokémon together; or if at one point he really had been planning to make medicine, and only zealously seized upon his new plan when the lab accidentally stumbled upon R and started working out what it and Mewtwo's powers were capable of.

"There's a whole lot of people you have some really good reasons to be furious at—even me, I'm the one who got you into this mess—but you never lashed out. You didn't punish—you saved. That's your nature."

"No, that's my nurture," Mewtwo said. "My nature is—destruction. My first conscious act was a massacre." It flinched, tail twisting and thumping against the wall, and it jerked its head to look away from Harry again, as though it hadn't meant to spill that revelation out. Pikachu hopped back at the suddenness of Mewtwo's motion, landing on the mattress in front of its crossed ankles.

And Harry was suddenly aware, once again, of Mewtwo's scent, of the weight of a thunderstorm pressing down on his mind, of the way the tilting furniture seemed to trap them together, of how thickly Mewtwo's presence filled the air surrounding Harry.

Mewtwo had killed people.

Harry swallowed hard; and asked, with a twitchy crooked smile, like he was trying to make it a joke: "Well—well, did—they deserve it?"

Mewtwo still didn't look at him. That was answer enough. But still Mewtwo replied: "No."

Harry tried to process this. He tried to lean back a little, to get some space to think; his head thunked against the bookcase again. "Ow."

Mewtwo flinched again, then shifted, and the furniture shifted with it. "I shouldn't have intruded."

And once again Mewtwo wasn't a killer but a self-conscious child. "No, no wait, hold on—" Harry automatically reached out and grabbed its arm. Mewtwo went still, and so did the furniture. "Hey, you came here because you needed company, right? What kind of friend would I be if I turned you out just like that?" ... Were they friends?

"Are we friends?" Somehow, when Mewtwo asked the question, it came across like a Pokémon one fifth its height.

Which sealed the deal for Harry. "If we weren't, we are now. How's that sound?"

"Even though I've killed humans?"

"What's a couple of murders between friends?" Harry asked, unconvincingly. "Hey. I'm a detective. I've worked with the police more times than I can count. You're far from the first murderer I've met."

Although it was the most terrifying murderer he'd met. And honestly, he wasn't sure how he was going to get over that knowledge.

Mewtwo didn't leave, but it did shrink back from Harry's touch, pulling its arms and legs in closer to its body. Pikachu scooched closer to it, but didn't try to get on its lap again. Harry wondered if Mewtwo could feel his doubts.

"Okay—it's scary," he admitted. "You said you killed a bunch of people who didn't deserve it, that's scary. But you know what's scarier? The killers who say their victims did deserve it. That's—I don't know if it's possible for people or Pokémon to be 'dangerous' in their very nature. I honestly feel like it isn't possible, personally—no matter what genes you happen to have. But, if it is possible to have a dangerous nature—I think the only people with that nature are the ones who'd kill someone else, and then, looking back on it years later, say that they were asking for it. And that's not you. Right?"

Mewtwo lowered its gaze, thinking that over. Pikachu tentatively climbed back into its lap.

"Perhaps," it said grudgingly. Then straightened its back and snarled silently. "This is foolish. I decided years ago that I was not going to let who I was be dictated by how I was created—or what I was created to be. That what I am is determined by what I choose to do, and nothing else."

"Yeah!" Harry nodded encouragingly. "Exactly! That's the exact right attitude."

"But I had hoped that, for once, I could—find something in my nature to be proud of," Mewtwo said. There was an edge of desperation, of grief in its voice. "I wanted to—be something inherently good. The source of medicine. Not merely something inherently bad endlessly striving to try to become good. I thought I could be different. Even after they found the Berserk Gene, I thought—if I stayed long enough, if they kept looking, and found something else... they might find... it."

Mewtwo sounded unsure what "it" was supposed to be. Like it had no idea what, exactly, it had been hoping for.

"I don't know," it said. "I don't know. I wanted something good to come from me. Instead—I—permitted atrocities. Who knows how much R is still out there? Everything that has happened to Rhyme City is my fault."

Harry sat up straighter. (And, for the third time, bumped the sore spot on his head against the bookcase. Ow.) He'd had no idea Mewtwo blamed itself. He'd thought, if anything, Mewtwo would blame him.

(Harry elected not to explain that "Ryme City" didn't have an H, he knew it didn't make a difference to Mewtwo.)

"Hey," he said softly. "You didn't know. How could you have? You were trapped in there, remember? If you'd been able to get out of that tank, you would have."

"But I wasn't contained at the start," it said. "I had a choice. I could have chosen to leave at any time after they discovered what the Berserk Gene did. But I stayed, even while they were experimenting with what would become R, and I saw them losing interest in other avenues of research—because I thought I could make up for it. Until they sealed me up for good." Its tiny nostrils flared. (Harry found itself wondering whether Mewtwo could adequately breathe, seven-ish feet tall with those little holes. Was it getting enough oxygen?)  "I'm not naïve around humans. I should have known better. I allowed myself to be deluded by hope." In Mewtwo's venomous mental voice, "hope" came out like a dirty four-letter word.

Harry didn't know what to say to that. It felt cruel to try to tell Mewtwo it shouldn't have worried so much about proving its DNA was "good" when its actions were what mattered, when Mewtwo itself had clearly already learned that lesson and was disgusted with itself for forgetting it; it felt disingenuous to try to reassure Mewtwo that it was indeed a good person regardless of what weird side effects one or two of its genes held when, suddenly, Harry himself wasn't entirely confident he thought Mewtwo was good after learning just a little bit more about its past; and so he said the only other thing left he could think of to say, the only thing that made sense and that he felt was true.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Everything they did to you, everything they made you feel about yourself—it's my fault. You never would have gone to PCL if I hadn't tracked you down and talked up all the great research they were doing. Whatever you blame yourself for—I don't blame you. I've never blamed you. The experiments they did on you, the R, the—the weird Poké-fusions—all of it, every bit, was my fault."

He paused.

"Okay, that's—that's not true, it's Howard Clifford's fault, and I can't wait to see his trial, but—that's not the point! I was the middle-man! I let you fool yourself into thinking that PCL was gonna do great things by playing around with your genetics, because—because I thought they were, too. I fooled myself. I—I really, really wanted to be doing something good."

He'd wanted, so much, to think he was doing something right with his life. He hadn't been able to somehow miraculously save his wife from a slow, declining death. He hadn't been there for his son when he'd needed a dad—not when he was grieving, not when he was struggling through puberty, not when he was trying to figure out how to be an adult. Even as a detective, he felt like half of his jobs were jealous spouses asking him to follow around their partners and see what secrets they were keeping—that wasn't fighting crime or helping people, it was just paid stalking.

And then Howard Clifford had asked him if he wanted to do something revolutionary for both human- and Pokémon-kind.

And Harry had gone and proudly asked Mewtwo the same question.

"You know—murdering aside," Harry said, "from what I've seen, I think, overall, you've been a much better person than me."

Mewtwo tilted its head, considering that.

"If you consider yourself responsible for everything I did because you brought me to PCL," it said, "then you must also consider yourself responsible for everything I did because you rescued me. I could not have saved myself, much less Rhyme City, if not for you."

"Well," he said grudgingly. "When you put it that way." Now he was the one avoiding eye contact. He could feel Mewtwo's gaze on the side of his head.

"You find that difficult to accept."

"Well, I mean—I guess."

"Feeling guilt is easier than feeling anything else. If multiple emotions are in competition, guilt wins." Mewtwo spoke with the authority of someone who had decades of experience and careful study to draw upon. "Is that true for humans, too?"

A lump formed in Harry's throat.

Howard Clifford had said Mewtwo had been made about twenty years ago—it might be younger than Tim, even if only by a few months.

Harry thought again to Tim crying in a tent by himself because he was scared to go to school, and tried to imagine someone younger than that being a murderer.

Surely, Mewtwo hadn't been responsible. How could it have been? It might have been its fault, but that didn't mean it was responsible.

Harry said, "Do you do hugs?"

"What?"

"Is that—is that a thing that Mewtwo do? Or that Mew do? I don't know where that behavioral instinct would come from. You, do you do hugs?"

"I—don't know," Mewtwo said. "Nobody has ever tried to hug me before."

"Oh, that's heartbreaking."

"I have been cuddled," Mewtwo offered. And dropped its gaze demonstratively to Pikachu, who was still snuggled up in its lap.

"Yeah? Cuddles are good, then?"

"I suppose."

"Great, then we're trying out hugs. C'mere. If anyone needs a hug, you do." He scooted over, looked Mewtwo up and down, tried to figure out the least awkward way to manage this—after a pause, Mewtwo helpfully leaned a few inches away from the couch—and at last, he slid one arm around Mewtwo's upper back, and another just below its crossed arms, so he wouldn't pin its arms in place. He'd pet a hairless Delcatty once. The texture wasn't quite the same, but it was close. "There. Good?"

For a moment, Mewtwo tensed; and then after another moment, it started to relax. It didn't uncross its arms, but Harry did feel a very light telepathic pressure around his torso, which he figured was probably about the same as getting hugged back. It was honestly a little disconcerting, but not bad for a first effort. "Thank you."

"Listen," Harry said. "You've had an incredibly rough time lately. And—throughout life in general, from what little I know about your whole mysterious history, but—especially lately. And I get that you're an independent Pokémon, you don't wanna be tied down by a trainer, that's fine, but—just because you're a loner doesn't mean you have to be alone, you know? You've got friends here—me, and Pikachu—"

"Piiika!"

"—and Tim too, I know he's grateful for all you've done to help us. If you ever need something—company, a safe haven, anything—you're always welcome to do just what you did tonight, and come right back here. I'll leave a window unlatched for you, okay?"

"You would let me take refuge here?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Mewtwo looked at Harry, then at Pikachu, then at Harry again; then finally looked away, and repeated, "Thank you." The words hung heavy with a multitude of conflicted emotions. Harry hazarded a guess that this was what Mewtwo being choked up sounded like.

"Any time."

After a moment, Mewtwo said, "I should tell you—because of the Berserk Gene, I am literally toxic."

"Yeah. That's the first thing you mentioned. It's all right. It doesn't define you. And hey, maybe it isn't even active in you? I mean, I've got the genes for my dad's blue eyes, but they don't show up in—"

"No. I mean I am toxic. At the lab they found a pheromone in my perspiration caused by the Berserk Gene. I sweat diluted R."

Harry jerked his arms off Mewtwo. After a moment, he scooped up Pikachu too. Pikachu squealed in surprise. "Thanks for the head's up."

"I should have mentioned it sooner."

"We'll do hugs with blankets next time, okay?" He wagged a finger at Pikachu. "And you're getting a bath." Pikachu whined.

He could see Mewtwo curling in on itself again. "Hey, c'mon. Don't be like that." He figured if he was mildly infected, it wasn't going to get any worse if he put a reassuring hand on Mewtwo's shoulder. "Vaguely poisonous sweat isn't a death sentence. It's—sure, it's a challenge, but—" Everything about Mewtwo's life seemed like a challenge. Who did it torque off in a past life to end up with such a bad hand in this one? "But now you know about it, and you can adjust. Right? And you've still got friends here."

Mewtwo didn't reply, apparently sunken into its own thoughts again. It was a melancholy thing, wasn't it? 

Well. It had a lot to process. Harry didn't blame it if it had to spend a lot of time just trying to think things through.

They all had a lot to process. Mewtwo, Harry, Tim, Pikachu—the whole city... They'd hardly even started.

Harry was exhausted.

Mewtwo looked exhausted.

"Stay the night," he said. "You can sleep in here. And you should have something to eat. I have poffins, got any flavor preferences?"

"Grepa and occa berries make me sick."

"I'll check the ingredients." He set Pikachu down to let him exit first, and then awkwardly crawled out after him.

As he walked to the kitchen, he pulled out his phone to text Tim a warning about the state of the apartment. Tim could sleep on Harry's bed. Harry was used to roughing it.

He wondered if there was a place nearby where he could buy a small tent to set up indoors.

Comments/reblogs are welcome! If you want to leave a tip or like the fic on AO3, the links are in my description!

[aurorastellarum]

Tongue Tied (Momoshiro/OC)

(This is me, making fanfictions again due to the current lockdown. I have to get my creative juices working. This is inspired from Candy Hearts’ song ‘Tongue Tied’. You might want to check it out.)

“It's not like I ignore you on purpose. I'm afraid that I'll miss some of the words.”  

This is my sacred place. This lone large tree near the tennis courts of Seigaku. Why’d you asked? It is because I always see him smile and play with his teammates. I always take a good break from all the people from the school here, and then there he was, playfully interacting with his teammates. 

My classmates are always asking me why I do like Momoshiro Takeshi. He is not as good as Tezuka-senpai and not as good-looking as Fuji-senpai but there was something about him. There is something about him that my mind can’t seem to capture and make my heart skip a beat. All my thoughts collide whenever he is near me or even when I see a sight of his shadow. 

Seigaku’s School Fair is about to begin and sophomores are assigned to manage designated booths. The committee announced that the partners will be decided via lottery and the results will be posted this morning. I decided to check it out after the class.  I was busy skimming my homework for Math when my seatmate tugged my pigtails. 

“What was that for, Misaki-chan?” I asked. “Hehehe. I know who is your partner in the school fair.” She grinned in delight. “I actually don’t like that tone of your voice.” I stood up slowly from my seat and went outside the classroom to check what she was saying.

I saw that huge crowd hovering over the board where the announcement was posted. I tried my best to squeeze myself inside the crowd to move closer to the board. Being petite and lean has its own advantage after all. 

After being squished and pushed away and to the announcement board, I was able to pass through the crowd. I carefully scanned the rows and columns of the table that was pasted on the board. After a couple of seconds, I saw my name under the column that will manage the takoyaki booth and then… 

….. I saw Momoshiro Takeshi’s name beside my name. 

What on seven hells is going on?? 

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

It was the first meeting for the school fair and the thought that Momoshiro will be sitting beside is giving me a massive heart attack. 

I can hear my own heartbeat getting louder and louder as the time comes closer. Then, I heard this voice that was music to my ears. “Hello there, Eri-chan!” He was waving at me as he entered the room. I gulped. Did he know me? I smiled shyly and gave him a small wave. His eyes were sparkling and it’s blinding me. His smile was so beautiful that it keeps my head above the clouds. His voice was so angelic that my mind is at peace. 

Oh shit. What am I thinking? I was looking at him for a long time when I heard a loud snap in front of my face. “Eh, Eri-chan? Are you okay?” Momoshiro-asked. 

“Ah, y-yes Momoshiro-san. Sorry.” He flashed that big smile again. 

“Our food booth will be number one, right?” I nodded. I can feel my cheeks burning red. 

Oh boy, how am I going to survive this year’s school fair without looking like an idiot? 

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

After the long week of the school fair, I found myself sitting alone again at that lone large tree near the tennis court. As I reminisced the week, being with Momoshiro wasn’t bad at all. He helped me through the tasks and was all up for doing so many things that we should accomplish. He even volunteered to do the egress despite his busy schedule. Kanto Regionals are coming up and I know how important that was for him. Thus, I volunteer to do all the paperworks for him instead. But I noticed that Momoshiro was frustrated all the time during school fair. I don’t know why but it was very obvious that something was bothering him. I wanted to ask, but I don’t know how to approach him. 

I looked at the tennis court with the hopes that I could get a glimpse of him. It might light up some motivation to me since doing all these paperworks requires a lot of my brain cells and doing it after class was a very bad idea. I was about to place my earphones when I felt a weight beside me. I looked up and saw Momoshiro sitting next to me. My eyes widened in awe as he flashed a grin. 

“Why are you here, Eri-chan? You can go to the tennis court bleachers so you can sit properly. I always see you here.” He said. 

“I’m f-fine. Uh, really. Uhm...” Gosh, why am I stuttering again?

Momoshiro titled his head and looked at me closely. He looked so frustrated. I was trying my best to avoid his gaze because I know it’ll get me in trouble (like how I clumsily tripped over his feet during school fair.). Then he sighed. A very long sigh. 

“Eri-chan, are you ignoring me?” 

I gaped as my ears caught his words. Ignoring? Oh no, you got it all wrong. “Of c-course not.” I replied shyly. “Then why do you always become so quiet when I am around? I’ve noticed that you are always quiet whenever we are together in the booth last week. But you are so talkative with your classmates. It makes me feel…” 

I saw that glint of sadness in his eyes. I bit my lip as I felt guilt slowly shredding my heart in pieces. 

“Ah, Momoshiro-san,” I slowly adjusted my sitting position to where we can see each other eye to eye. I was trying my best to gather up all of my confidence and strength to look at him. “...it's just that, I always…” I looked up to him slowly as I saw his face. His eyes were all on me and I felt like I was going to melt any time. He was anticipating a good explanation for my very very weird behavior. He looked like a puppy eager to eat his food. 

So, he did notice. How could he be so dense but cute at the same time?

He noticed the difference in my behavior whenever he was around and when he was not. Yes, I’m talkative. I like being around with people. I may not be the smartest student in our class, but I’m good at approaching people. It was only when he was around. I lost my sense of social cleverness and his presence was restricting me in a very good way. “...I always get tongue tied whenever you are around.” I replied shyly. 

Momoshiro smiled and scratched the nape of his neck. He sighed. But that was a sigh of relief. 

“I guess I was not the only one.” Then he laughed lightly.

My eyes widened. I looked at him and he was starting at the tennis courts with a slight glint of red in his cheeks. 

“You also make me tongue tied, Eri-chan. It seems like it’s not but I always don’t know what to say whenever you're around. It was frustrating, really. It’s like... “ 

Like? Come on, don’t hang up on me like that. “...It’s like my heart always beats faster whenever you are near me.” 

I saw Momoshiro’s ears go red in an instant. His cheeks were blushing and he was trying to hide it from me. Then he looked at me with that earnest gleam on his face.

“I was so excited when I learned that we will be partners during the school fair. I was ready to get to know you better but I just don’t know how to ask the right questions.” 

Oh my. My heart beat faster like 100 beats per minute. My brain can’t even digest what he was saying. All this time he was trying to build up a good talk but we always ended up going for small talks. 

“You are such a good conversationalist that I’m afraid I’ll end up as a very bad talker. I like the way you talk and I wish we can talk the way you usually do. I’m sorry if I make you feel that way.” 

I waved my hand as a sign of no. I cupped my cheeks to make sure that I’m not heating up and then gave out a huge exhale of relief. 

“You are a good talker actually. And, I’m thankful that my stuttering didn’t annoy you. Maybe we can start all over again?” I asked. Momoshiro smiled sweetly. He reached out his hand for a handshake. 

“Momoshiro Takeshi, 2nd year and I love to play tennis and I would love to talk with you more. Maybe I can take you out after our tennis practice?” 

I reached out to his large hand and smiled. I gave him a firm handshake. 

“I’m Ishida Eri, 2nd year. I love speech and literature and would love to go out with you.” 

[zchaotic]

Decent story telling deciphering. Episode 1, Lillie.

I think I got the core of Lillie's character growth figured out. 

From both sets of games to the anime... it is about Lillie learning to make that first step into becoming a braver person.

For most of SM and USUM, Lillie was a timid person who could barely do anything by herself without having second thoughts. This stemmed from Lusamine being so much of a control freak to her and Gladion, making all the decisions for them and telling the two to just listen to the adults around them. (How extreme this was depends on the set... but it doesn’t matter much in the end when it is emotional abuse.)

Some time before the events of the game, Lillie saw what was being done to the Cosmog Nebby and found it so extreme, so wrong that the girl realized that her mother wasn’t sound in the mind.

So she took the Cosmog and ran, the girl wanting to help get Nebby back home and find the means necessary to do it.

That is when the Cosmog teleported Lillie out of Aether.

Out of that toxic environment and to the tropical region of Alola. Where two were cornered. Lillie found proper emotional support in Kukui and Burnet, individuals that allowed her to relax to the newfound freedom she obtained.

When you the player arrived, Lillie was slowly trying to break away from the lingering, over bearing shadow Lusamine had over her. That... is what her old look represented, the resemblance to Nihilego is just a coincidence since in USUM, Lusamine’s goals have nothing to do with that Ultra Beast despite everyone looking the same. The clothes themselves represent a past of a bound childhood.

Every time Lillie was trying to find a new look to suit her, was every time she tries to find the courage towards becoming independent. With you, Hau and everyone Lillie befriended inspiring her towards that.

To become a trainer, to become strong enough to fight her battles.

Then Team Skull came along to get the Cosmog while you were dealing with Guzma.

We the player raided Aether Paradise and through some dialogue from Gladion, figure out that Lusamine was a control freak to her kids... explaining why Gladion is trying to do things in his own way. Whether to stop Lusamine from endangering Alola and the family or to stop her from endangering herself. (USUM and Gladion’s motive to raise Null to its potential and prove that woman wrong.

When we confront Lusamine, we see why Lillie had so much self doubt. Lusamine talks down on Lillie for stealing her stuff and leaving, this woman really thinks that her kids should just shut up and let her take care of things (USUM) or think they are pests getting in her way to what ever she wants (SM).

Then you fight Lusamine for what ever reason. (In SM it was self defense since the crazy bitch was trying to kill you, in USUM... because the crazy bitch wanted to prove to her kids that she can manage Necrozma. “I’ll get to her in another time.”)

Nebby’s power got used in great lengths and it evolved into Cosmoem to survive.

Then the next day happened, after some thinking... Lillie changed her outfit to a more lively Z powered form. Finally making that big step out of her mother’s overbearing shadow, with a goal in mind... rescue Lusamine from her own stupid/ crazy shit.

During your trip to Poni Island, Lillie took more and more steps to facing her insecurities, things that would frighten her before and press forward. (USUM took out Exeggutor Island... BUT the things she said on that island went over to the RR episode in some way or form.)

Eventually reaching the altar and helping you evolve Nebby. Depending on the version, you and Lillie either go into Ultra Space to fight Lusamine... OR Necrozma kicked Lusamine’s (and Guzma’s) butt for you and causes everything to go off the rails.

In SM... Lillie chewed Lusamine out and the crazy bitch latched onto Nihilego in an attempt to kill the both of you. Then Lillie had Nebby blast Nihilego off of  Lusamine, the woman said some sweet words, Lillie forgives her... gives you Nebby right there because she wasn’t a trainer and made it her objective to help Lusamine recover... while saying she is going to become a trainer in Kanto. Yes these scenes are emotional... but it kind of undoes most of Lillie’s development towards the end, her standing up to her mother, only to go back to her in the end. We have no idea if that woman learned anything and for all we know, Lusamine would just go back to abusing Lillie again. No closure and if it was.. it is a pretty gritty ending that soured a good story and goes against the message that Children are not things that belong to their parents.

In USUM... because you the player had to deal with Necrozma... who ate Nebby and was stealing the light from Alola. Lillie’s chew up at Lusamine was off screen, but Lillie told us what she was going tell that woman at around Vast Poni Canyon.

Off screen, she called out a less crazed Lusamine out on her self entitled crap... that people are to help one another instead of trying to do things by themselves. (Like what Lusamine had been doing to her kids.)

We go back to that aftermath and we see Lusamine having a change of heart... knocked off her high horse by Necrozma and lectured by Lillie.

Admitting that her kids were right to go against her. To Lillie’s fortune, she saw her mother make the first big step to repentance... tending to what was the Cosmog. (Lusamine making repentance towards Nebby.)

This isn’t as focused as SM... but this is a good trade off.

Lillie only went back to Aether Paradise to help Nebby recover, while you the player finish up the last grand trial.

Gladion tells you to go to Mahalo trial when you beat him.

Where you find Lillie and Nebby... in the place you all first met. Lillie says her goodbyes to Nebby and promised it that she will become stronger. While Lillie doesn’t go to Kanto, she does stay with Kukui and Burnet. It isn’t as emotional, but it makes me feel happy that she is showing her growth and is in a happier environment.

As well as becoming a trainer and beginning her biggest step towards something. Which is seen in RR when Lillie becomes a trainer, it is a Clefairy and the only reason it is high leveled is because of your point in the game.

Lillie is a support trainer... which fits her character perfectly. Speaking of courage, she was willing to help you fight RR... kick a grunts butt and even help you in battling Faba. She is starting out as a trainer, so of course once that happens... you the player have to manage the rest while Lillie takes the role of healing your pokemon when needed. Some might find this disappointing, but this is reality... she started off as a trainer and she isn’t as tough as you yet.

In addition, after RR she offers to become your partner for the Battle Tree... and is one of the best supporters in that whole place.

Even if USUM isn’t as focused on her or as emotional this is good closure for one of Gamefreak’s best characters and those who said this game butchers, her story, when it really didn’t, can go take a hike.

Now for the anime. Lillie’s backstory is different compared to the games. Lusamine isn’t an abusive control freak and instead is kind of a goofy mother that smoothers Lillie in affection the first chance she gets. Treating her daughter like a baby.

She is pretty god damn neglectful and is way too childish that problems arise between her and her kids.

. In addition, Lillie is still a girl that hasn’t seen much of the outside world... so she comes off as timid and awkward.

Lillie had PTSD from being attacked by a Nihilego and ever since, she had a fear of touching pokemon. For most of the first season, Lillie slowly tries to overcome that trauma and as part of school therapy, she bonds with an Alolan Vulpix that hatched from an egg.

Snowy.

We see Lillie try to overcome that trauma piece by piece, from bonding with that Vulpix, Ash’s Pikachu AND riding on a Stoutland.

Throughout Season 1, we were also giving hints that more was to this trauma and Gladion is trying to take matters into his own hands to protect his sister. This doesn’t get revealed until the Aether Arc. (One of my Favorite Story arcs.)

Unlike the games, where Lillie was scared of Lusamine... in the anime, Lillie wasn’t scared of telling this woman off for doing things her way... like evolving Clefairy without telling anyone.

While the Clefairy Lillie cared about was Lusamine’s... that woman should have asked her kids if it was okay.

In addition, we have a pretty strained relationship between the family... because Lusamine wasn’t never really there for her kids... especially when Lillie got traumatized and that woman never bothered questioning how it happened.

We are drawn into how more of this happened and Gladion explained to Ash how Lillie’s Trauma happened. Then a Cosmog Ash was taking care of (Nebby) teleported Lillie to Type:Null... who was apart of that trauma and it caused a regression that was SO bad that Lillie didn’t even want Snowy with her. In Lillie’s eyes... Type:Full tried to attack her.

Desperate to overcome that regression, Lillie... with Ash and Nebby, retraced her steps bit by bit... to hopefully regain those memories and understand what happened. Now for those with PTSD... this is probably a bad idea if the person suffering from it doesn’t want to remember it, in this case Lillie does want to remember... as scary as it might be.

Eventually the teleporting leads to the Aether Lab... where Faba wanted to keep the incident a secret if to save his own hide. The bastard took Lillie and tried to erase her memories, which resulted in Gladion coming in with his Type:Null... that broke his helmet and kicked butt as a Silvally, to rescue Lillie.

There... she remembers what happened, she remembered what happened... she remembered Silvally pouncing on the Nihilego that caused her so much pain.

With that mystery clicked... Lillie started being more open to touching pokemon and she relished every fun moment now her phobia is gone.

Then Faba came along, took Nebby and caused a chain of events that lead to Lillie and her family meeting Nihilego again. That pokemon... caused Lillie’s fear to surface, through that event... the thing nabbed Lusamine and went into Ultra Space with her.

More trauma and leading to the girl finding a new goal... to rescue her Mother from the Ultra Beast.

That is when she takes on her Z powered form, the meaning behind the clothes is a BIT different, her stepping out of her sheltered world in an attempt to become more braze... instead of taking life into her own hands.

With this courage, she and Gladion went off to Poni Island and the alter to rescue their mother. She also helped her brother over come a Totem Kommo-o during this journey.

Once they reached the alter, Ash and the others came by to lend their supporting hand. The Tapus come and Ash brought Nebby... where the evolution end up happening and they all go into Ultra Deep Sea.

The world of Nihilego... where Lillie and the group found Mother Beast Lusamine... who thanks to the venom now drugging her out of her skull is acting like a child. She shouts out pretty harsh things to her kids and in her rampage, nearly kills them when she tries to run from them.

Along the way, the Mother Beast sends out her Pokemon against the class mates. Most keeping them at bay, with the final pokemon our heroes having to confront, being Clefable... a pokemon Lillie has a close bond with.

Even if it is a pacifist way, Lillie had the guts to try and snap Clefable out of the mother beasts control with... a pretty sappy I love you speech and a hug. (Dangerous as hell... but it worked.)

Then she, Clefable, Ash and Gladion reached the Mother Beast into a corner... where Lillie had a different choice of words to the Mother Beast. A chewing at Lusamine for her neglectful behavior, for treating Lillie like a baby and turning around to act like a bigger one. For letting work and that desire to see a UB take priority over her kids... and becoming a puppet for the UB.

That speech... worked on snapping Lusamine out of the haze... but then Nihilego took control and tried to swat Lillie. Then comes Ash using that 10,000,000 volt Z move out of nowhere and knocking Nihilego off of Lusamine.

The heroes rescue Lusamine, go home and... even if Lillie changed back to her old look, she had pretty good development to where she isn’t the same timid wreck she was. (Remember, Lusamine isn’t a control freak in the anime... the clothes have a different meaning and Lillie doesn’t have a reason to toss it out when there isn’t a symbol of an overbearing shadow.)

While Lillie is a try hard that over does herself from this point forward, she ends up taking more steps to becoming more mature and braver. (Including being part of the Ultra Guardians and dealing with more UB’s...being willing to do that as well.) Like fighting a Tyranitar that was terrorizing a group of Alolan Sandshrew, she and her Vulpix helped the Alpha shrew fight back... drive Tyranitar out and in exchange, got an Icium Z and an ice stone. Showing that more is going to be done.

As of now, she and Gladion want to look for their missing father... Mohn.

That girl is taking another big step in trying to help... by finding a way to restore a Magearna’s soul heart and becoming stronger so she CAN do something to get him back... to give her family that needed closure. This... is becoming something that might surpass the way the games told this families story if it plays its cards right. We just need to wait and see.

Lillie becoming brave enough to face this big obstacle, for the sake of her family.

[thezippingeon]

To be the Best(Kanto): A Pokémon Fanfic Chapter 1: Brother and Sister

“Brrring, Brrring” The ringing of a telephone broke the silence of an otherwise dead quiet building. Not three rings in, and the call was answered by a purple haired woman with fiery red glasses to match her eyes and a mahogany colored business suit.

“You’ve reached Team Rocket headquarters, this is Matori speaking, how may I transfer your call?” She asked into the other line. If one was far enough way, only incoherent babbling could be heard, but Matori, keeping the receiver close to her ear listened to every word and smiled, “I’ll get him on the line as soon as possible.” Matori pressed a button on the intercom next to her and spoke into it, “Sir, you have a call from the Saffron City prison, I’m transferring it to you right now.” In what seemed like nanoseconds, Matori no longer took to the call, instead, a tall man shrouded in shadows took over, his sleek beige cat Pokémon Persian on his lap, napping away and allowing its master to stroke it.

“This is Giovanni speaking, if this is Jessie and James calling, hang up now.” The man said before a few seconds of silence. “Ah, Butch and Cassidy, my favorite cohorts, what is it you need this time? Another bail out of prison? I’d be happy to do so.” The man’s assumption was shot down as the conversation continued, “I see... yes... a marvelous idea... perhaps with that insolent child away at who knows where, we can finally get some things done around here... We’ll follow through with your plan... The Kanto region will never suspect a thing...” Giovanni chuckled darkly as he hung up and continued to pet his Persian.

“Mrrrr... Miaow...” Persian happily cooed as its master pet it affectionately.

“Soon, my pet, we’ll have all of Kanto to ourselves, everyone, that’s EVERYONE will answer to only one name: Team Rocket!”

—————————————————————

The World of Pokémon, a place filled with creatures and people of all shapes and sizes, though it may seem impossible, humans and Pokémon have been together since the dawn of time, and have grown and evolved to share the small world with which they inhabit. Some people use Pokémon to fight each other in hopes of one day becoming Pokémon Masters. Others have them as pets, and some even use them for research purposes. With 18 elemental types and over 800 creatures in the world with more being discovered day by day, the world continues to flourish and adapt to make these two species continue to coexist in harmony even amongst conflict.

In the beautiful Kalos region, a small sleepy town by the name of Vaniville received a special wake up call when a bright red and white bird Pokémon flew in from the sky and landed on the mailbox of one house, reached into its bag-like tail, and pulled out an envelope before finally depositing it into the slot of the mailbox.

A young teenage boy watched the sight in anticipation and wonder from the window on the inside. He had messy dark grey hair, almost black, and lighter grey eyes, as well as a bright yellow sweater, concealing a navy blue t-shirt underneath, which matched his pants, and black shoes to match his hair. As soon as the Pokémon deposited its mail, the boy ran outside and smiled brightly.

“Thanks, Delibird!” He shouted as he waved goodbye to the mail Pokémon

“Deli-Deli!” It cried, waving back before flying off into the horizon.

The boy excitedly opened the mailbox and saw the very same envelope Delibird had delivered, not taking into account any other letters the Pokémon may have dropped off.

“Addressed to: Francois Robin Jr...” He read as he tore open the envelope hastily, praying in his head that what he opened contained what he was so desperately waiting for. He closed his eyes tightly and reached inside. Thin pieces of paper, rectangular shaped, two by four feeling. He narrowly and slowly opened one eye... and the other one shot open in excitement when he finally unveiled the contents: two tickets for a one-way trip to the Kanto region. “Yes!” He shouted before running excitedly back inside, “Maria! Sis! Maria!” He cried as he entered his room, amongst all the Pokémon books that stood tall on his bookshelf next to his bed that had its covers cast aside to the floor, there was another bed in the same room, this one was fluffier and pure white, in contrast to Francois’s maroon red bed sheets. In the bed was a teenage girl, about Francois’s age, but perhaps a month or so younger, unlike her brother, her hair was light brown, which complimented her hazelnut eyes, and her pajamas were light pink, she had her head buried underneath her pillow and groaned.

“Frankie... What time is it...? Can’t it wait til I wake up...?” She complained groggily.

“Yeah, it could, but then we might miss our flight...” Frankie said, this comment piqued Maria’s interest as she lifted the pillow from her head and groggily stared at her brother.

“Flight? What are you talking about?” She asked with a yawn as she rubbed her eyes.

“Only... THIS!” Frankie wasted no time in shoving the tickets to Kanto right in Maria’s face, and just like that, she was wide awake and snatched one from him in awe.

“No way! They came?! For real?!” She asked

“Yeah! I got up at 6:00 just to make sure I got them the moment they arrived!”

“You got up at 6?” Maria scratched her head in confusion, “You went to sleep at 5:00 if I’m not mistaken...”

“I know! I’m really sleepy and I wanna drop dead from exhaustion right now! But I can’t and I won’t! This is too good to disrespect with a fainting spell! Maria! 14 long years of waiting... And today’s the day we finally become Pokémon trainers!”

“No fooling! I need to get ready!” Though Frankie knew Maria well as being laid back and somewhat lazy, he was happy to see her as ecstatic as he was about such an occasion. When both were infants and needed to be occupied for a bit while their parents focused on something, Frankie and Maria were sat down in front of the TV to watch official Pokémon league battles. Maria watched in intrigue, but Frankie couldn’t believe his eyes, the biggest and toughest Pokémon were what piqued his interest the most, as such a small young man, showing off with a huge Charizard or Gyarados would be sure to strike fear into opposing people’s hearts and make them think twice before messing with him.

During summer months, while Maria watched tv, exclusively Pokémon related shows be it mystery or cartoon, Frankie was reading every last bit of information on Pokémon he could. He didn’t know when exactly he would become a trainer, but he wanted to be ready for it, as such, he was able to memorize nearly all known Pokémon’s movesets, typing, evolution lines, and locations to find them, and while catching them all wasn’t a goal of his, he did want to one day stand with the best, no matter how long it took, and as a growing boy, seeing a few pretty faces here and there was a bonus to his eventual travels.

While Maria wasn’t nearly as well versed in Pokémon as her brother, her consistent viewing of Pokémon related shows opened her eyes to all the kinds of moves Pokémon could learn, and whether or not they were good, she just had to see the moves executed in real life for once.

Frankie was in the kitchen making breakfast, bacon sandwiches with fresh Moo Moo Cheese, in anticipation for Maria to make herself presentable, though the smell of delicious food attracted someone else, his father. His father was huge, dark skinned and somewhat squinty eyed, his hair was jet black like his sons, but his eyes were as brown as his daughters, the two take a lot more from their mother, who had moved to the Alola Region in the far South to pursue a more well paying job opportunity, but both sides still keep in touch, and remain loyal to each other even to this day.

“Good morning, son.” Frankie’s father said in his deep rumble voice, not too different from a Charizard’s.

“Hey, Papa, breakfast is ready!” Frankie replied, causing the older man to chuckle

“That’s my boy, ah, if your mother could see you now... and she said getting you involved in the culinary world would be a waste of time!” At this point, Frankie’s father, formally known as Mr. Robin grabbed a sandwich and helped himself to Orange Juice, “I hear Maria in the shower, is today what I think it is?”

“Yeah! I was getting a little worried, but the tickets finally came!” Frankie showed his father the tickets, who let out a booming laugh

“Good! Good! You’ve been waiting too long for this day! If you ever get to Alola, make sure you tell Mom I said Hello, and that I’m ready to cook for her once she gets home.” Mr. Robin tussled his son’s hair, earning a chuckle from him

“I will, Papa... I hope my first Pokémon will grow to be big and tough just like you! I want a Charmander! Getting to fly on the back of a huge hulking Charizard, breathing fire, striking terror into people among the mountains and on the ground, riding into battle—“

“Well, I don’t need to ask if you’re excited, I suppose! Maria must be too if she’s up this early!” At that very moment, Maria came into kitchen

“Morning bro, morning Pop!” She said, rejuvenated from her slumber. Maria donned a mahogany colored sweater with brown leggings and boots and a pair of dark purple suspenders. Her outfit complimented her brown eyes and sharp light brown hair done up in a ponytail well. “Is that breakfast I smell?”

“Sure is, better start eating up, we don’t wanna miss our flight!” Frankie said as Maria grabbed a sandwich

“Wait, you just barely got your tickets today, the day of your flight?” Mr. Robin asked

“If we’re blaming anyone, it should be the mail people” Maria said with her mouth full before swallowing, “Frankie’s been keeping updated on the delivery of the tickets ever since he ordered them.”

“I was crying two nights before thinking they’d never come in” Frankie admitted

“Well, whatever. You two best get a move on in that case. Your old man can guard the fort all by himself well enough.” Mr. Robin glanced at a Poké Ball on a shelf hanging above the kitchen cupboards, right next to it was a photo of him when he was ten years old and a small chubby blueish Pokémon, a Munchlax, and next to that picture was him a little older with his fully evolved Snorlax.

“We know, Papa...” Frankie said as he and Maria hugged their father tightly, “We’ll miss you...”

“Yeah... But you’re gonna do good, ok? Good looks ain’t the only things you took from papa, eh?” Mr. Robin asked his son as he ruffled his hair, earning a chuckle from him. “Same goes for you, Maria, it’ll be good for you to get moving around anyway.”

“Yeah... Moving around...” Maria said with a slight smirk, thinking of the pleasant thought of getting a large flying Pokémon for her to ride on when her feet got tired.

“Now I love you two very much, but you need to get out of here! Quick! Go go go go!”

“You’re right, papa! We love you too! We’ll see you later!” Frankie said as he ran in place in anticipation, followed by Maria saying,

“If we don’t come back, tell our story!”

“Don’t say that!” Frankie yelled as Maria chuckled, both rushing out the door and into town as their father smiled.

“Good luck you too...” He said before looking to the sky, wondering what their mom would say had she been there.

—————————————————————

The plane was a distant walk over to the grand Lumiose City, so Frankie And Maria had to pick up the pace as quick as possible.

“Maria, come on! Get those feet moving!” Frankie cried, his sleeplessness seemingly gone away in exchange for pure excitement, as Maria walked behind him

“I would if you slowed down!” She complained

“If I slow down we’ll miss our flight! And I’m not missing our flight! Cuz if we do, I’ll snap.”

“Still... It’ll be a while ‘til we can see Kalos again... How about we power walk and take everything in one last time?”

“Well... I suppose that’s... not a bad idea.” Frankie then turned to the wilderness that existed beyond his home town, “Don’t worry, Kalos! We’ll be exploring you soon!”

“Well said! Continue to lead the way, bro! At a slower place...”

“Yeah... sure thing...” He said with a slight blush, and with that, the two young siblings were off on their own for the very first time, expecting to see many new things. Whether it be Pokémon not native to Kalos, beautiful women and attractive men, different smells, or even the fresh tasting Kantonian air, both couldn’t be any more excited. However, their anticipation would be met with something much, much more different than anticipated...

[mariposalass]

Pokemon Self Ship AU

Cue in the X & Y era Pokemon Anime Theme Song 

Thanks to a bunch of Pokemon reblogs, memes and posts flying all over Tumblr (and especially those of my little precious PokeBirds and now Scorbunny & the other Galar starter Pokemon with Sword and Shield announced to be released by the end of the year), I’ve gotten the ‘Make a Pokemon self ship AU’ bug that I decided to make some stuff based around the Pokemon series. I tend to suck in mainline games, haven’t touch Pokemon Go beyond seeing videos and my folks playing it at one point, but I’m well aware of the franchise, know most of the Pokemon, and saw the Anime a couple of times. Note this AU won’t include anything related to Gen. 8 as Sword and Shield won’t be here until the end of this year, so hold your horses and watch out for spoilers, people! Here’s the long as heck of post of Pokemon AU headcanons:

Much of the main story here is in Kalos (the Gen. 6 region) and has both game and anime influences all over, though other regions will be featured in one form or the other, however me and my f/os are isolated from the story of both the X &Y game and anime for the most part. And yes, real life animals exist in here as well!

Mari hails from Cyllage City (the location of the Rock Gym in X and Y) in Kalos, but due to her job as a travel writer, she has been on the digital nomad’s life since finishing college. Her adopted siblings Harry and Kairi, her boyfriend Philip, and best friends Issa & Kirby join her in her journey all over the Pokemon world.

How did she met them: Harry and Kairi were adopted into Mari’s family when they were 11 (Harry), 9 (Mari), and 7 (Kairi) respectively after the social services brought the kids over to her family if they want to take them in: The Dursleys here were killed in a flash flood at Amberette Town (and were not nice people from what she has heard) while Kairi’s grandmother died from natural causes whereas her parents died young from unknown causes. The siblings met Issa (moved in from Hoenn) and Philip (moved in from Unova) through the Pokemon Summer Camp, while Kirby flew into the Tan house by accident. No really, that last one isn’t a joke. Issa and Harry have been dating since college and have yet to get engaged at the moment.

Mari works as a full time travel writer, which means she currently spends most of her time away from Cyllage City and sometimes from Kalos; she does write stories on the side as well. In addition, Harry works as a Pokemon Ranger, Issa is a journalist (she’s also Alexa’s co-worker so she does know Viola to an extant), Kairi is honing in her Pokemon Performer capabilities, Philip is now Professor Sycamore's assistant, and Kirby is, well, Kirby, enough said.

Despite the fact that Fennekin, Chespin, and Froakie are the starter Pokemon of Kalos, Mari, Harry, and Kairi ended up getting a Piplup, a Rowlet, and Torchic who’ve stowed in a cargo ship mischievously during the start of their Pokemon journey at 11, 13, and 9. The bird Pokemon sneaked into the Tan house at night, distracted by the scent of the food her mom was cooking then and she in turn panicked upon seeing the stray Pokemon wanting some of the dinner as well. They have since evolved into Empoleon, Decidueye, and Blaziken after years of training and evolving and act as the main leaders of their teams. Had Empoleon didn’t came into her life early on, she would’ve pick Fennekin as her starter Pokemon.

Many of Mari’s Pokemon are gained throughout her travels as a part of her travel blogger job: she gained a Gardevoir and a Roselia in Sinnoh as a Ralts and a Budew respectively, a Beautifly in Hoenn as a Wurmple, and an Alolan Vulpix in Alola. Only Empoleon and Umbreon (as an Eevee) were caught within Kalos, thought the former came about because of the starter birds sneaking into her childhood home years ago.

Since Mari didn’t plan on being a Pokemon Performer unlike Kairi, she decided to do Gym Battles in Kalos whenever she is at home, though she isn’t going to enter the Kalos Pokemon League any time soon in the near future. So far, she has the Bug, Cliff, Plant, Voltage, and Fairy badges: she hasn’t earned the Rumble, Psychic, and Snowflake badges.

She just so happens to be good friends with Clemont and Bonnie in this AU, although she didn’t knew of their adventures with Ash, Pikachu, and Serena until she was visiting Kanto near the end of the main game/anime storyline wherein Clement sent her an email about what happened during their journey around Kalos.

Almost every other F/O of mine are either in Cyllage City or in Lumiose City in this AU.

Believe it or not, Mari had an encounter with Diancie when she was 6 when her family visited Terminus Cave on a family trip. While she was exploring the cave, she was nearly blinded by the pink aura Diancie gives off and got a good glimpse of the Jewel Pokemon before she (This particular Diancie here is a girl, so…) vanished from her sight. Since then, she vowed to meet her again and hopefully catch her as an integral part of her team. This is what caused her high school blind date to dump her because he literally thought she was this insane to think that she saw Diancie face to face; his FC is this guy from the same group as Mari’s FC.

[soul-of-silver]

Hohoho here’s my /canon/ for the Kanto trio

So since gamefreak seems to hate my girl Leaf I decided to say fuck canon and build up my own thing with hcs yada yada you know the thing

Uuh here we go

-Red, Green, Leaf are all from Pallet Town but she moved to Viridian when the kids were like 7

-So the boys begin their adventure from Pallet and Leaf from Viridian and that’s how they spent around 3 years together (so they are childhood friends yay)

-side note: I hc Viridian to have a supermarket, gamestore, public swimming pool, primary middle and high school

-Pallet has a preschool, a police station, the lab and a grocery shop only (so Pallet folks have to go to Viridian for things that are missing)

-before the start of their journeys the kids went to the same school in Viridian

-She departures a bit later, coming back to Pallet to pick up the last starter (i still don’t know if I want her to have Bulbasaur or Squirtle eeh but I’ve made up a -not definitive- team for her a while ago)

-The road she takes is a bit different from Green and Red. She goes from Viridian to Pewter to Cerulean to Saffron to Celadon then goes to Vermillion and takes the boat to the Seafoam Island, and then goes to Fuschia city

-She returns home to Viridian after all this and beats Giovanni before Green and Red

-She’s done with her journey faster than the boys bc she didn’t get caught up in the whole Team Rocket situation

-Thought she HAS decked a few grunts who got in her way bc she is THAT bitch™️

-Leaf stays in Viridian for like 2 months to ponder wether she wants to challenge the elite 4 or not, and to train

-Finally she has the eight badges but doesn’t battle the e4 and prefers travelling (also during these two months Red defeats Green and climbs up Mt Silver)

-So she’s the one who goes exploring the Sevii Islands!! Plus she becomes a shiny hunter

-A year after that she goes to Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh to explore and shiny hunt (she does that for 3 years)

-Actually during all that time she kept contact with Green and has met him and Red many times during their Kanto journey: in Cerulean (she bumped into Green after he got beaten by Red next to Nugget bridge and encoutered Red right after he got his badge) + other times i haven’t thought about yet eheh still got to expand)

-She’s also a legendary hunter! During her trip she learns about pokemon mythology and all that stuff

-She returns to Kanto post hgss events, long after Gold went up Mt Silver and battled Red

-She’s back home when Green starts preparing his things to go take Red’s ass down Mt Silver and bring him back to civilization™️, right after he came back from his study year in Kalos

-So that means they are all around 17 when Red is down Mt Silver

-Green and Red spend around 2 years fixing their relationship (and it’s pretty awkward)

-Thankfully Leaf is there to help them and is a great listener for them both

-Then Green and Red are invited to the Unova World Tournament, so meanwhile they’re battling Leaf takes some time in Unova

-The tournament takes around a month, and she uses that time to look for more shinies

-Afterwise the trio goes back to Kanto for about 2 years, Leaf stays in there for a year and departs to Alola

-Meanwhile Green receives an invitation to the battle tree

-The letter comes in right when Green is thinking about quitting his gym leader job so it’s pretty convenient for him!

-Red and Green talk it over and decide to go, since there’s not much to do for them in Kanto anymore anyways (and Green isn’t really in good terms with Oak)

-So after these two years of finding a new gym leader for Viridian and teaching him (it’s Silver), Red and Green pack their bags and go to Alola

-Leaf is there before them and she welcomes her boys at the airport

-The battle tree isn’t ready yet so they spend around 2 months exploring some of the islands (with Leaf as their guide, she got familliar with the region)

-The battle tree is ready when Moon is halfway done with her journey (i hc it took her around 4 months to complete all the islands trials)

-So when Red and Green are able to become « final bosses » at the tree, Leaf leaves for Kalos (that’s where she went)

So that’s pretty much it! I still need to expand on some of that but roughly, these are my hcs for Red Green and Leaf

Don’t hesitate to tell me about yours via an ask!

[musubiki]

Hc about conflictedshipping visiting another region? Sinnoh maybe???? Love your work ❤️!!!

hoOOOOOOO BOI LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR TRIP TO KALOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

➞

im making it MANDATORY THAT THEY TOOK A SEMESTER ABROAD IN KALOS DURING THEIR TRAINERS SCHOOL TIME

(also this is where that one line of diaglouge in xy comes from. that one chick who tells you that green was there studying and only ever said smell ya later)

i was thinkin about giving them pokemon for this trip but. i think its better if their first pokemon come from prof oak later.

(gd i wish pom and vee were here for this that wouldve been amazing)

when they first got there leaf was worried that he was irritated he had to spend the whole semester with her there. he kinda scoffed and smirked at her and said something like “Are you kidding? I’d be angrier if you DIDN’T get the scholarship.” cuz they’re rivals. and he expects no less from her. he tells her something like its bad for his image if his rival isnt as good as him. he’s actually kinda happy that she’s there with him and he’s not gonna be all alone. 

this actually makes leaf really happy and kind of. sets the mood for the whole trip there

so they end up staying with this older couple who live in the heart of lumiose city and usually house the students every year. ofc they’re thrilled tho have leaf and green there. the wife owns a bakery/cafe and the husband works at the docks down in coumarine city. as a condition of them staying there, leaf helps with the bakery and green helps at the docks

when they first go there. they find out that. the kalos school doesnt require uniforms and theyre both kind of “???? so you just wear whatever??” greens perf fine with this but leafs kind worried bc she didnt bring THAT much clothes, so the couple takes both her and green shopping for kalos-style clothes. this is where leaf gets this outfit from and she LOVES IT shes adorable i love her so much

when green first sees her in it hes a little surprised because WOW what. “shes actually. kind of ok looking.” hes blushing shut up you idiot 

so they get to their new school and everyone intrigued by them oooo new transfer students whaaaat??? green right off the bat is all confident and doing his usual thing. winks at like 3 girls and they’re all fawning over him first thing.

but the school is very welcoming to them!! they get a lot of transfer student from all over the place so they have a lot of different people from different places!!

they actually have a pretty good time. a lot of the kids from school drop by the bakery just to. see leaf. same with the girls for green and business is good. amen. the couple is actually shook because they have so many profits

on weekends they get to go see kalos!!! its pretty.,. nice actually like esp traveling to like cyllage and laverre and anistar(leaf loves anistar city) 

and green is actually really enjoying theyre time there. it kind of feels like.,. dates.,. kind of.,. and he never voices it and STILL ACTS LIKE A JERK BUt.,. spending time with her here in kalos is actually kinda cool,,. we should do this more often, he thinks

they go to all the little cafes and explore that big mansion with the gardens, they actually get to go rollar skating around a couple times and ride gogoats like they live kalos life to the fullest

sometimes when they study at night he goes to her room and just chills with her on her bed (she has a huge bed and it’s really comfortable compared to his). they take turns reading the material out loud and leaf. really likes it when he reads she just lays there and stares at him and he. has a great voice shes dying a little here guys //

leaf always felt a little bit homesick. once when they were chilling in her bed she asked green if he missed home. he kinda sat there for a bit before answering with a “no, not really. it’s actually kind of nice to get away from everyone. there no real pressure to be anyone or do anything.” 

she wasnt exaclty sure what he meant but lowkey. he was actually talking. about her and him. because in kanto they’ve been rivals for so long it’d be weird to hang out with her and go see places like they do there. but no one in kalos really know them so hes just.,. ehuhhhhhh i dont wanna go home

okay ANOTHER THING THAT HAPPENED IN KALOS WAS THIS: at some point, one of the students at their school fell desperately in love with leaf and she. didn’t even like him at all. like he was just some persistent rich creep so yes. im doing this. no one can stop me. to get him to give up she asked green to pretend to be her boyfriend for like. a day or two just so he’d leave her alone. 

OFC GREENS LIKE SMIRKING THE WHOLE TIME SHES ASKING HIM THIS AND SHES BLUSHING AND EMBARRASSED BUT SHES TRIED EVERYTHING ELSE. 

greens actually a little irritated by this and is kinda ehh at first because. he doesnt wanna fool around and then actually catch feelings by accident (he doesn’t want to temp god like this hes already enjoying their time together) 

but shes. desperate and so after a few more pleads he.,. agrees and she kind of feels bad. so she apologizes for dragging him into this and then. she asks him “Can…can you handle it?” she didn’t mean it as an insult or anything she MEANT ARE YOU COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO DO IT

but what HE HEARD was a CHALLENGE so he just. stops. and turns to her. and he grabs her by her waist and pulls her REAL close to him and leans in and just “Can you?” with the widest smirk and like. the sexiest voice. and she just becomes this blushing terrible mess and shes stammering over all her words and he just fokijnff laughs because god. this is gonna be fun. 

fhjkf this is horrible okay so. the next day at school ofc hes true to his word so here we go. they pretend like theyre going out. and its the biggest scoop of the whole place. girls are crying, teachers are shocked. in the distance, sirens.

green is a pro at this bc he teases her enough as is, now he just needs to take it a little further and he’s actually enjoying the reactions he’s getting from her. like he can fuckin gently grab her hand and she turns into a mess like why did i ask him to do this i am an idiot

when they get home that night green is just laughing his ass off because she., is terrible at this and he cant believe it. she makes up some excuse and after some banter and making fun of her, green tells her that if she really wants this to look convincing, she gotta get better control over it. hes smirking the whole time. so she gets even more flustered and asks if he has any great ideas, to which he replies yes.

lets practice, he says. and she if confused and honestly a little scared. she asks how and he actually. sighs and sits down in front of her and for once, is actually smiling instead of smirking. so he adds a “Don’t freak out.” before,. gently taking her hands in his. 

shes trembling and takes a deep breath before lacing her fingers with his and this. actually turns into a nice kind of moment. the whole time hes watching her eyes. and he can see shes still nervous so he tells her. “How about we pretend like… we’re actually together for a while.” 

and shes blushing like hell because oh my god shes liked him for so long and this is so nice with him but it actually hurts a little that its not real

so he,. slips his hands around her waist and pulls close and presses her against him and slowly nuzzles his nose in her hair 

and hes. actually kind of enjoying this. 

and this feeling boils in the pit of his stomach as his lungs fill with the scent of her hair and it sends shivers over his skin and he feels his hands tracing over the small of her back and the warmth of her body on his and through the foggy blurry haziness in his head the only thought that comes out is ‘Oh no.’

and then BAM one of their caretakers slams the door open with a “Hey kids, dinner is ready!” and green IMMEDATLY grabs her arms and pushes her away and his face his red. She responds with a shocked quiet “Oh, I hope I wasn’t inturrupting-” 

and they BOTH CUT HER OFF STAMMERING AND STUTTERING WITH “No it wasn’t what it looks like-!” “We were just- uh- practicing-!” “FOR THE SCHOOL DRAMA COMING UP-” “YEAH-” and shes just. giggling and a little surprised with an “Oh! Could’ve fooled me!” before she leaves. 

and green and leaf are just standing there in awkward silence and leaf is rubbing her arm while green is rubbing the back of his neck and she leaves with a brisk “I-I think we should go get dinner-” before they both go downstairs

the next day it turns out that rich creep was too heartbroken from seeing her with green the day before that he transfered schools entirely, so oh, I guess we don’t need to keep up the act anymore, and green answers with a yeah, cool, and ignores the small feelings of disapointment and covers it up by going back to his usual snarky self 

he forces himself not to think about this for a long time because he doesnt wanna get caught up in the feels. Leaf, however, thinks about it all the time because it was really nice, but green doesnt bring it up and they were just pretending anyway hes just used to being a flirt it wasnt a big deal for him

(it was)

that was the first time theyd ever been that close and also. the last time until saffron

they have a lot of adventures here that i cant. fit it all here but they had a really good time

[aja154ever]

GRANRODEO LIVE 2018 e-ZUKA Tokamachi Gaisen Rodeo Gottaku - 05/20/2018

Just a quick very personal write-up about this Sunday’s live because I’ve been sent to paradise again. I need to let my feelings out.

Set List

SEED BLASTER

SUPERNOVA

Pierrot Dancin’

Can Do

move on! イバラミチ

Y.W.F.

マジカルストーリー

Urban Sweet

Snow Pallet

HAPPY LIFE

少年の果て (Acoustic)

Deadly Drive

メモリーズ

NO PLACE LIKE A STAGE

カナリヤ

modern strange cowboy

delight song

Infinite Love (Acoustic)

The Other self

バラライ

Go For It!

And ofc special tag @ikiyou Congratulations on overcoming the culture shock of a GRANRODEO live! How about the muscle pain the day after? 😂😂

So first of all, wow. I really went all the way to Niigata prefecture this time, which took like two and a half hours by bullet train + local train + walking, just to see GRANRODEO live. Is this the start of my “I’ll follow you wherever you go, Kiiyan” love story? (But hey, Niigata is actually e-zuka-san’s home lol)

It was my first time going out of Kanto region, and thus my first time to ride a bullet train. Luckily, ikiyou was able to go with me yayyy though we both were clueless most of the time during the whole trip lol.

When we got off at Tokamachi station, we were like, “Oh.” We were literally sent in the middle of the mountains and the rice fields, “Where the hell are we?” It was nevertheless very refreshing and calming to see Mother Nature for a long time.

Tokamachi is supposedly the nearest station to the concert venue but it was still more than a kilometer away so we had to walk our way there. Because of the tight schedule, unfortunately we didn’t actually have the time to go around the town for sight-seeing or smth. So the walk from the station turned out to be our only chance to see the place. It was kind of shocking as the place looks very rural, far, far from the metropolitan that Tokyo is. There was not a single convenience store in the area (which is really weird because hey we’re in Japan) and for some reason we do not know, almost all the stores were closed. Aside from fellow Rodeo girls/boys heading to the venue, there were almost no people walking on the streets. But anyway, speaking of the streets, oh my gosh. They were playing GRANRODEO music on the town streets’ speakers. 😭😭😭

It was a wonder that a concert venue actually exists in that rural place. When we arrived at the venue, finally we got food yey. They were selling some GRANRODEO-themed food like the curry which recipe is made by e-zuka-san’s mom, crepe, and even bottled water.

So we went inside and apparently the venue was smaller than I expected so our seats which are on the far right in the 7th row turned out to be closer to the stage than I imagined.

I’ve heard most of the songs in previous live concerts, so I’m not gonna talk about each song here.

SEED BLASTER - I am still wondering why they chose this song as the entrance for the two days. I’m not complaining but I was just not expecting it. 😊

Y.W.F - e-zuka-san made us dance the YMCA steps. Takita-san and Shin-kun also joined.

マジカルストーリー - This is magical. Kiiyan was so cute the whole time I don’t even know why

Urban Sweet - Just wanna say that I always like Kiiyan’s vocals for this song

Snow Pallet - OH MY GOSH. My inner self was crying. This is one of my favorite GR songs and finally, I heard it live! And we got to dance the cute steps with them. Gosh. I didn’t really expect this dream to come true this night. Me looking at Kiiyan’s big smile and biceps as I dance along with him while listening to him singing it. “Back-up dancers” in cow kigurumi costumes came out on stage to dance with us.

HAPPY LIFE, delight song - They are indeed happy songs. Also my first time hearing them live and they do sound better live!

少年の果て - Acoustic. Tbh I’m not a fan of this song but hey, it’s acoustic. Kiiyan was definitely shimmering akin to the flicker in my eyes as I looked at the source of the most beautiful sound in the world.

Deadly Drive - Oh my oh my oh my. It’s right there. My life. Bungou Stray dogs and GRANRODEO. I’ve been blessed.

NO PLACE LIKE A STAGE, カナリヤ, modern strange cowboy - Classic favorites for live performances. Always. Also, the main cause of post-live muscle pain 😂

Infinite Love - Acoustic played and sang by e-zuka-san as requested from his birthday last February. I really like this song in acoustic but I doubt if I’d ever have the chance to hear Kiiyan sing this live, so it’s actually remarkable that I heard it instead from e-zuka-san. And wow, it was definitely good! He was shining huhuhu and he even hit the high notes yeyy

Go For It! - IGPX will always be fun. Takita-san called out the Rodeo girls, Shin-kun the Rodeo boys, Kiiyan the swimsuit girls, and e-zuka-san playing around with Tokamachi locals and people not from Tokamachi which occurred for God knows how many times. And finally, IGPX 10 times with everyone!

Other notes:

Is it just me but Kiiyan’s biceps look bigger this time?? Or maybe I just missed them wait what are you saying I was not staring that much okay don’t judge me asdfghjkl but we can talk about it all day Anyway Kiiyan appeared in a hot red coat the first time aaaaahhhhh but ofc he had to take them off after two songs because he’s it’s hot

e-zuka-san talked a lot during the MC parts. I mean, A LOT. I didn’t understand most of them because he was speaking so fast (in Japanese ofc) and at times he even forgot what was he mainly talking about since new topics continued to branch out. One of the main talks was him talking about people he knew who came from Tokamachi who also got successful in music. It got too long he even suggested for Kiiyan to go take a rest backstage for a while lol

In the morning, Kiiyan and e-zuka-san walked around the town. Kiiyan found the place to be really beautiful (as seen in the photos he uploaded on Twitter). The first time he went to Niigata was last winter for Odorodeo, so back then it seemed like everything was pretty much covered in snow. Moreover, yesterday was raining and so it was only today that the weather turned out to be the best. He was like, “Ah so there are also other colors here aside from white.”

Meanwhile, Shin-kun and Takita-san shared that they really liked the food in Tokamachi like the soba, e-zuka-san’s mom’s curry, and the fresh vegetables.

In one of the songs (om I don't remember which), e-zuka-san went around the audience area on the first floor, from left all the way to the back then to the right 😭😭😭

Kiiyan gave us a special bonus when he walked all the way on both sides of the extended stage during Go For It!. On our side, he stopped in front of the farthest right seat on the sixth row so he was almost in front of us. I couldn’t handle it, I slapped ikiyou’s back a bit too strong and maybe I was squealing way too much. 😂 I really hope he saw us because hey it’s easy to spot foreigners in the crowd. Anyway two other blessed girls got to high-five him OMGeeeeeeeeeeeee

While Kiiyan always does the last jump at the end of every live, he made e-zuka-san jump this time. Our ojisan was so cute! He was definitely the star in this live!

Photos/Posts from Official Accounts:

Oh my, I missed writing fan reports here! I did go to other events but I haven’t been feeling of writing them on tumblr. But this event is totally special being my first live outside Kanto, and also as GRANRODEO’s first full live this year. I definitely missed this feeling!! (Oh yeah including the muscle pain the morning after lol) Furthermore, venues with seats really provide a good space for a lot of movement. I am given the freedom to move and groove as much as I want compared to all-standing venues where we all squeeze and smh hurt one another, though that kind of fun is also special in its own way. But the good elevation of seat rows really gave us a good view of the stage the whole time.

Now, what’s next? Kiiyan’s birthday celebration in Yamaguchi? I absolutely want to but I still don’t know if I can afford to go there! Argh, it pains me to think about  it. Actually, it’s kinda sad that GR doesn’t seem to have a national tour this year. Anyway, no matter what, there’s still G13 in December! Time to go to Osaka yeyyy!

[pkmnjesus]

P J’s PokéAni Rewind 2017

It’s time for my 2nd annual year-end Tumblr tradition! If you haven’t seen last year’s post, check out my 2016 PokéAni highlights which mostly featured XY&Z‘s run. This year I decided to change the name to “rewind” instead of highlights because I really want to go over with what happened this year :D Also, I just wanted to say Happy New Year to all my followers, and the rest of the Pokémon tumblr community! I remember saying that 2016 was the best year for my blog, but this year of 2017 COMPLETELY surpasses it due to the GIFs I’ve contributed to the fandom that started some time in the spring. The final episode of the year aired a few days ago, and PokéAni has officially wrapped up for this year. With Pokémon anime celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, as well as their 1,000th episode milestone, (this post will be following the original Japanese release dates) let’s a take a look back at some of my personal favorite moments that the Sun & Moon series had to offer in 2017:

JANUARY - Ash’s first Grand Trial

After clearing his first trial against the Totem Gumshoos in Verdant Cavern, Ash gets his taste of Kahuna Hala’s strength in his first grand trial. This was definitely the first hyped battle I was looking forward to when Sun & Moon first started, and it really ended with a bang when Ash performed the Z-Move, Breakneck Blitz, for the first time ever! Clearing the trial gave Ash an Electrium Z, in which Tapu Koko specifically wanted him to receive. Seeing Crabrawler battle for the first time was wicked too!

FEBRUARY - Shiron/Snowy is born!

The Pokémon egg that Lillie raised and took care of finally hatched into an adorable little Alolan Vulpix! It eventually became Lillie’s first and only Pokémon, and showcases how much she cares and loves Snowy when she was protecting it from Team Rocket. Although she still couldn’t touch other Pokémon (at the time), this was her first big break from overcoming her fear of touching Pokémon. SHIRON IS ADORBS ^o^

MARCH - Tasty Determination

When Ash and his classmates came over to Mallow’s family restaurant to try out a tasty meal, Mallow and Bounsweet are fired up to cook the best Alolan stew they can possibly make! A specific ingredient, the Yellow Nectar from an Oricorio, was needed to make that happen. During Ash and Mallow’s hunt to find the nectar, Team Rocket butts in their business. Thanks Bounsweet evolving into Steenee, not only were they able to find the Yellow Nectar needed, but also took care of Team Rocket. In the end, Mallow’s Alolan stew recipe was loved by all, and she felt accomplished! Wish I could have tasted it myself...Steenee may have evolved but it is still a sweet Pokémon to me <3

APRIL - Stoutland’s end is Litten’s new beginning

In possibly one of the most depressing and emotional episodes the Pokémon anime has to offer, the wild Litten that always stole Ash’s food finally gets to be apart of his team. Ash tried to help the loyal Stoutland Litten was living with, but due to Stoutland’s old age and declining health, there wasn’t much the Pokémon Center could do. It wasn’t directly shown, nor mentioned, but it is clear to me that the Stoudland has passed away. *sobs* The gloomy rainy weather shown during the episode signifies the sadness and mourning every character that was involved during Litten’s struggle to find help for this good ol’ friend. Eventually the rain stopped, and a rainbow bloomed in a distance that made Litten feel better remembering the good memories he had with Stoutland. When Litten decides to join Ash’s team after battling with Pikachu, the memories learning and training with Stoutland are never forgotten, as Litten embarks on a new journey with brand new friends and a caring trainer. ;_;

MAY - The boy we’ve all been waiting for...

Ah yes, the most anticipated Sun & Moon appearance since it’s inception (besides Hau…who has yet to appear :\), Lillie’s onii-sama, Gladion! Ash was really determined to battle this powerful trainer in town when he first heard of him. Gladion initially had no interest wasting his time with him until he noticed Ash’s Z-Ring and his encounters with Tapu Koko. The two finally decide to battle the next morning, and although it was interrupted by Team Rocket, I was really happy to see one of my favorite Gen. 7 Pokémon, Lycanroc [Midnight form] in action especially with that Continental Crush Z-move! Let’s not forget about his Umbreon that wrecked the Team Skull trio earlier, and his Type: Null that shows up in the anime later on…Ash has a new rival has ARRIVED #StillGay4Gladion

JUNE - Olivia loves everything

Welcome to Akala Island! Meet the island’s Kahuna, Olivia who will be the host for Kukui’s class on their field trip all over the place. Olivia is shown to be a very outgoing, but sometimes clumsy, lovable person. She loves every Pokémon she sees, and they love her back even if it comes to bite her back (bites are like kisses to her lol). She even calmed an angry Tauros herd when it nearly stampeded everyone! Not to mention her huge assist on helping trapped Wailmer underwater by an angry Bruxish. As Ash & friends go on an expedition around Akala island, many challenges and exciting adventures await them that will eventually lead to one final showdown with Kahuna Olivia herself. Ladies & gentlemen, let the Akala trials begin!

JULY - A Z-Crystal for Lana

During the trial at Brooklet Hill, Ash & Lana’s fishing trip turned into an intense battle with a Totem Wishiwashi. Despite its enormous power, Lana stayed focused with the task at hand defeating Wishwashi. It was because of Popplio they were able to overcome the Totem Pokémon, and it even learned Aqua Jet in the process! Also as a result, the a school of Wishiwashi rewarded Lana with a Water-type Z-Crystal (Waterium Z) to use with the new Z-Ring she received from Kahuna Olivia out of the Sparkling Stone she found previously. Way to go Lana! This is why Popplio lovers, such as myself, ROCK! ...or WATER!?

AUGUST - Enter Dusk Doggo

With Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon’s release in the distance at the time, the anime managed to promote something on their end to hype up the new and exclusive features it has to offer. After a sweet victory in Ash’s Akala grand trial against Kahuna Olivia, Rockruff’s rowdy behavior showed us signs that it wants to evolve into something stronger. Will it evolve to Midday form or Midnight form? NEITHER! With the help of Tape Lele, Olivia’s Lycanroc, and Gladion’s Lycanroc, Ash’s Rockruff evolved into a form no one in the world has seen before (both their fictional and our real world) with bright green eyes! Behold, Dusk form Lycanroc is officially revealed. Guess Ash got an early copy of the new games, I guess? Welcome to the team, Dusk Doggo :3

SEPTEMBER - Are we in 1997 again?

What’s a 20th anniversary celebration without brining back some old familiar faces that made this show iconic? When I first heard about Brock & Misty coming back, I THOUGHT IT WAS A FANMADE POST on the internet…but alas, I was wrong and immediately got filled with hype and refueled my nostalgia tank to the max. Professor Kukui deicides to take the class to a field trip in the Kanto region! When they finally arrived at the airport, reunions and introductions were in the air as Alolan air meets Kanto grounds. Many easter eggs and past references were shown throughout the episode for fans like me who have grew up with the original series, especially since they first went to Professor Oak’s lab. One of my favorite parts of the episode is when Kiawe tries to put a blonde wig on the Kanto Dugtrio LOL! Team Rocket tried to join into the nostalgia party, but was short lived thanks to their Bewear friend. We later on get to see epic battles at the brand new Cerulean Gym with a few surprises that Brock & Misty have up their sleeve. If you’ve seen the battles, you know I mean. As a fan who grew up with this show since the very start in the late 90s, (I hate to be nostalgia-biased BUT) this was absolutely the best moment in 2017 for me. Some would complain why it was only 2 episodes, but y’all need to understand that this was meant to be special, and a celebration of what the anime has accomplished in its 20 year run. There was reason why Brock & Misty weren’t wearing their updated attires, to call back fans who haven’t watched this anime in a long time, at the same time promoting the awesome Sun & Moon series with Ash’s Alolan friends. Watching the Kanto specials was an absolute blast. I got this feeling, the feeling of pure awesomeness and seeing my childhood come back to life for a short time in today’s modern high definition standards. This was the same feeling I got with Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions when it was announced in 2016, and Digimon Adventure tri. in 2015…only no one has really aged in the Ash’s universe, but that’s fine! Every show is unique in their own way <3 I’m still a bit bummed we didn’t get to see my boy Tracey freakin’ Sketchit C’MON WRITERS WHY

OCTOBER - Noisy Nebby

The Nebby saga begins! In one probably the biggest main storyline from the games, the Aether Foundation (MOMMY LUSAMINE IS HERE BABY!…and Burnet! Wifey Burnet is here too <3) and Ultra Beasts finally made their presence in the anime. When Ash found a wild Cosmog in the forest one day, the whole class befriends the little Pokémon, in which Lillie names it Nebby, or Hoshigumo-chan in the original Japanese version. Everyone loves Nebby, but it does make quite the noise when it cries. The funniest part is when Nebby teleports people randomly to places they don’t want to be in! Like teleporting you and your classmates on top of a roof xD Don’t worry, we all still love and care for the little critter, but little did Ash & friends know initially that the Pokémon held enormous power that could travel though Ultra Space.

NOVEMBER - The not so FABAulous Aether guy

On the heels of the 1,000th episode, where we saw Gladion's Type: Null become a Silvally, and Lillie overcoming her fear of Pokémon after revisiting haunting memories, Faba of the Aether Foundation manages to kidnap Nebby. He wanted to use its power this in order to bring forth UB-01 Symbiont (Nihilego) via Ultra Wormhole. We already saw how evil and grimy Faba was when he ever since he was introduced (although, let’s be honest…for those who played the games we already knew he was going to be a jerk), but I never thought the anime would make him this hateful. Doesn’t like kids, throws Rowlet, grabs Lillie forcefully, power hungry and even abuses Nebby. He’s one of those characters that I love to hate (so I don’t really hate him? his character role is great basically), but hey at least he tried to apologize later on when he realized he screwed up. The positives from all of this was that he got tackled by Ash, got smacked smacked in the face by an Ultra Beast LOL, and that Nebby was able to evolve into a Cosmoem. Faba definitely deserves my spotlight for November! Unfortunately, the Nihilego that he summoned takes a smitten Lusamine with it to Ultra Space…how is this man not getting fired from the Foundation after doing all of this??? Or at the least getting demotion?

DECEMBER - Saving Mrs. Lusamine

Final Destination: Poni Island…Objective: Enter wormhole and rescue Lusamine! With the help of the 4 guardian deities of Alola that upgraded Ash’s ring Z-ring, along with obtaining Solgalium Z, a Z-Powered Lillie, her brother and the rest of her classmates climb onto Nebby’s back (now a Solgaleo) in order find her mother in deepest parts of Ultra Space. And HERE WE GO, Lusamine has fused with Nihilego that looks to be the ultimate mother beast! The epic battles begin as Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles lend their support to handle most of Lusamine’s powered-up Pokémon team. Meanwhile, Lillie, Gladion, and Ash try to fight their way through the area getting towards Lusamine in hopes of freeing her from Nihilego’s control. If Lillie can get through a Clefable’s feelings, she can definitely get through her mom’s! Thanks to Ash's epic assist when he used Pikashunium Z on Pikachu to perform the very powerful 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, they were able to take down the mother beast and defuse Lusamine from Nihilego's clutches. Gladion and a crying Lillie are finally reunited with their loving mother, as everyone returns back to their own world where Professor Kukui & Burnet wait for their arrival. Eventually, Solgaleo returns to where it came from after dropping them off...all I can just say is that besides Lillie’s outstanding development from 1 year ago, it was bittersweet to bid farewell to Nebby even if it was just for 3 months :’) But hey, maybe we’ll see it again? Only time will tell…..but bravo Ash! Bravo Lillie! Bravo everyone in the Sun & Moon cast 👏 all of you did an amazing job in this arc!

Some honorable mentions...

2017 for PokéAni many other remarkable moments to take into account. We had new Pokémon caught added to the main cast such as James’s touchy Mareanie and Kiawe’s Alolan Marowak (in the episode where the infamous Hiker David makes his appearance xD) that seems to have a rivalry with Turtonator. We also got to see farm in his home, along with his family and adorable little sister Mimo/Hoshi! Kiawe’s personality overall has been fun to watch as he seems to be a very eccentric person. We pretty much got introduced to everyone of the main casts’ family during the episode where Delia Ketchum visits Ash in Alola. Other family matters like Sophocles thought he was moving a way for good, or Mallow’s daddy problems at the restaurant were fun little fillers that made us laugh and explore the characters’ personality a little better as the episode focuses on them. I found Sun & Moon’s fillers are really enjoyable for the most part! Whether if it’s a pancake race, a Charjabug race, wearing Alolan Dugtrio blonde wigs or a Palossand almost demolishing Kukui’s house, you can’t help but loving the characters even more and actually care for their development when they interact with each other. A personal favorite was when Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio had mini-adventure of their own, and outsmarted Team Rocket nasty schemes. Speaking of Team Rocket, we got a short glimpse of them versus a trio of Team Skull members last May, and I can’t wait to see what Team Skull brings to the table in 2018!

Kukui’s class activities like the baseball teams, camping outdoors, switching Pokémon partners with fellow classmates for the weekend, and sleeping over at the professor’s house were awesome too! Their field trip seeing the beautiful white Aether Paradise, and traveling through the mysterious Ultra Space were treat as well. We got to see the development of Kukui and Burnet’s pre-married relationship, which wasn’t featured in the games…AND WE GOT A PROPOSAL AND WEDDING OUT OF IT! Ash’s new Alolan parents are great togehter <3 Just call them dad and mom already xD

Important highlights I would like to mention briefly is Rockruff’s/Lycanroc’s development from this cute little puppy to being a raging mad dog that Ash can’t control when it wants to get stronger, especially during the battle against Gladion’s Type: Null. And how get I forget the legendary Jigglypuff of Kanto making its visit to Alola? I hope we do get to see more of this sensational singer next year, but after the encounter with Principal Oak’s Komala, I would be satisfied with making that episode Jigglypuff’s final appearance :’D At least it had proper closure compared to when it just disappeared all of a sudden in Hoenn. Futhermore, Bewear continues to HUG-in Team Rocket’s plans, Samson Oak is still the best Poké-imitator since Pikachu, Rotom Dex is still very addicted to Detective Laki, and Ash’s Z-Crystal collection keeps growing bigger. It’s really cool to see him do his usual victory pose like what he did with gym badges in the past. That’s what’s so great about this series compared to the past because everything about Sun & Moon is very different (same goes for the games)! There’s a reason for the animation change, and to be honest I’m happy that they did! The art style definitely fits the tone and theme of the jolly Alola region. In conclusion, should you watch the Sun & Moon series after over 365 days since its premiere in 2016? As someone who has watched it,

...the answer is: YES! YEP! AND DEFINITELY!

Welp there you have it! I don’t want to make this post as long as it already is. I’m sure there are some moments that I didn’t mention here since this is my own personal list, so feel free share your own favorite PokéAni moment 2017 with a reblog or a reply if you want! Thanks again for an amazing year, and it’s time for 2018 to get rolling (Alolan League or Team Skull arc pls?)…the moments are waiting! I’m still in a bit of a hiatus (referring to my personal post before this), but I knew I had to this post out before the year ends.

See you guys soon ;D

[pokefan531]

Yuki's Story Chapter 80 - Yuki's Final Party

Chapter 81 A week before the last day party, Eru is at her gameroom after school, and sees Yuki and Minoru coming. Yuki: Hey Eru! Eru: Hey Yuki and Minoru. Minoru: I see that you are playing with dices. Eru: Umm, yes. She stacks them to stand and touch to see it fall. Yuki sees Rin and Ren playing Kirby. Rin: Go grab the fire ones. Ren: I will need them. Shirou comes in and sees Rin. Shirou: Hi Rin! Rin: Hey Shirou! Shirou: Mind if I join? Rin: No problem! Me and Ren are co-oping so you can watch for now. Shirou: Ok. He walks to them while Eru pokes the dice again to see it fall. Yuki: Want to play Mortal Kombat or Splatoon? Minoru: I pick Splatoon. Yuki: Ok. Yuki and Minoru left Eru's desk. After Eru pokes another sets of dices, she sees her friends hanging out with each other. She feels alone. Eru stands up and thinks if she wants to hang with them, but she's in charge of the gameroom. Eru: I don't want to be shy. She walks to Yuki and Minoru. Eru: Guys. Minoru: Yes, Eru? Eru: ...May I play one round with you both? Yuki: Yes! Just pick up the controller. It's the three of us now! Eru: Thanks! They all played games, and after gameroom ended, Eru sees people leaving, and Rin is about to leave. Rin: Did you have fun playing with Yuki and Minoru? Eru: Yes. Rin: Cool. Are you excited for next friday? The party before summer break. Eru: I do want to join. Rin: Good! You don't want to miss anything there! It's our last summer party in school! I will be with Shirou, Yuki and Minoru are doing something special to each other, and Retasu is going with Takahashi. Eru: I see. They both walk out from the room, and walk together. Rin: Not to be nosy, but do you have someone you love? Eru: Umm, no. I don't. Rin: It's fine. I'm not judging you. Eru smiles. Rin: We got exams first, and I'm gonna spend time studying during the weekend! Eru: Me to. Rin: Do you have summer plans coming up? Eru: I'm going to Kanto Region next week and visit Akihabara. Rin: I heard they have great stuffs there. Eru sees her ride from the window, and proceeds to run. Rin sees her running. Rin: Uhh? Eru? Eru exited the building, and heads to her ride. Rin sees her going in. Rin: She seems excited, I guess. Next Wednesday during lunch, Yuki and Minoru are having lunch at the top roof. Minoru: In the party, we will sign our names on a secret wall with many senior couples. Yuki: Yep! It will be the best party we ever had in this school. Minoru: Yeah. So who's in charge of the party since you won't be the announcer? Yuki: Two girls. Lia and Kyanna. Minoru: Oh yeah, they know how to throw a party. Yuki: I let them to take over so that I will have a bit more time in the party. Minoru: That's a good idea. Yuki: Not only that, but we are gonna do cool things over the summer. Minoru: Our last summer break was very fun! It was nice spending with you and our friends. Yuki: Absolutely. Minoru: Remember we did a reenactment last year when you came to see my drawings and asked me out? Yuki: That's what we wanted something like that to happen from two years ago, and we recorded last year to see the possibilites if we met earlier. Minoru: Yeah. Are we gonna do something special together besides the secret wall? Yuki: Umm, I'll think of something before Friday. Minoru: All right. Later after school, Minoru walks with Ayano and they left school. Ayano: I can't wait for the party! It sounds like a cool event! Minoru: It is. You will be happy to see cool stuffs our friends are gonna show. Ayano: Nice! With Yuki around, I bet she always does something very cool there! Minoru: We know Yuki. She always having a blast. Ayano: Yep. I think without Team Phase around, nothing can ruin it. Minoru: The party will enjoy itself than with them around. That's what Yuki said. Ayano: Sounds funny! In the beginning of Friday, Eru wakes up and stops the alarm from her phone. Eru: (yawns) The party is today. She gets up and wears her normal outfit. As soon Eru is by the livingroom, her butler sees her with her normal outfit. Butler: Eru, are you supposed to wear school uniform? Eru: I heard you can wear anything on the party this year. Butler: All right. And are you fine without a dress? Eru: It's just an average party. Butler: It's a party you will be going as a senior. Eru's parents came to the room. Father: Good morning Eru! Eru: Hi Mom and Dad. Mother: Eru, I think you should wear something fancy if the party allows any clothes. Eru: Umm, okay. Near the school property, Minoru and Ayano are walking. Minoru is wearing a cheap tuxedo and Ayano wears her normal outfit. Ayano: I can't wait to go in! Minoru: Me to. Is Sakura coming? Ayano: Yeah. She's gonna come with Rin. Minoru: Cool. As they entered, they see Yuki with Red cocktail with red shorts. Minoru: Wow! Awesome! Yuki: Hey Minoru. This is my first dress, and I got it shortly and feels very comfortable, including a red short shorts inside. Minoru: Cool! Ayano: Your first dress? Yuki: I don't like dresses, but this one is my only exception. Minoru: I see. Yuki: And you in your tuxedo, you look very cute with it. It makes you look nice. Minoru: Thanks, Yuki. Yuki: Shall we go in? Minoru: Yeah! Yuki: You first. Ayano sees Yuki and Minoru walking. She then sees Rin and Sakura on her left. Ayano: Hi Rin and Sakura! Sakura: Ayano! Rin wears a frilly dress while Sakura wears her normal outfit. Ayano: Hey Sakura! We are gonna do a lot of great things today! Sakura: Yep! Let's run to the back of the school! Ayano: Okay! They both ran off. Rin sees then running. Rin: Wow. She sees Eru's car coming in and Eru got off. Rin: Hey Eru. Nice dress! Eru: Umm, thanks. Butler: You can call me when the party is over. Eru: Okay. The butler drives and left. Rin: Eru, remember we had fun on last year's party? Eru: Yes. Rin: It's a senior, so we gotta do a lot of activities. You should get to show the peers your talents. Eru: What talents? Rin: We got arcades hooked up outside, and you are great at video games. Eru: The arcades from school? Rin: Yeah. Eru: That's good. I would like to play, but I wanna meet friends too. Rin: Sounds good. At the back of the school, we see speakers and hear music. Tables and foods and drinks are in the area. Kyanna and Lia are at the stage. Kyanna: I got a surprise for Yuki and Minoru. They want to stay longer here than anyone else. Lia: What is it? Kyanna: Just something special. I hear they want to sign their love on the secret wall from the rooftop, and since Yuki is really well known and is a good friend of mines, I want to do something that helps out their relationship. Lia: That's a good one. What exactly? Kyanna: I'll save it until near the end. Lia: All right. Should I help? Kyanna: I was gonna ask, so yes. Lia: Awesome. They grab their microphones. Kyanna: Welcome to Fujiwara's Summer Party! We got many drinks and snacks at the food table! Lia: And we got a lot of activities here! You guys will enjoy anything in the party! Yuki talks with her peers. Yuki: This summer, I plan plenty of adventures to do. It will be fun. Boy1: Cool! You rock! Boy2: I like your dress! Boy3: What about parks? Yuki: I plan to go to few cities in this country. I want to go to Akihabara and Tokyo Disneyland. I know I will be going to Kyoto later on to visit my family's temple. Boy4: Sounds like a lot of cool stuff! Girl1: Hey boy, are you gonna be with her on those trips? Minoru: Pretty much some of it. I also have few trips planned already. Boy1: We got ours planned too. Rin and Eru went to the food area to get drinks. Rin: I got my favorite drink. Eru: Me to. Rin sees Retasu coming. Rin: There is Retasu! I'll be right back in a little bit. Rin runs to Retasu. Retasu: Hi Rin! Rin: Hey Retasu. Retasu: Did you see Yuki? Rin: I didn't see her, but I bet she's here already. I saw Minoru's sister. Retasu: All right. They both walk and sees Yuki hanging with her fans. Retasu: I never saw Yuki wore a dress before. Rin: Although it's just a very simple red dress. Nothing frilly, and yet, I bet her fans finds her hot. Retasu: Pretty much. Rin: I'm gonna ask. Rin walks to Yuki. Yuki: Hey Rin. Rin: Hey Yuki. When did you get that dress? Yuki: I got it from few weeks ago. It just looks easy and simple, so I got that and red shorts underneath. Rin: Of course, you would pick something that simple, for your taste. Yuki: It was easy to get. Minoru: What do you think of mine? Rin: Looks pretty cute. A while later, Retasu sees Takahashi coming. Retasu: Hi! Takahashi: Hello, Retasu. Retasu: Do you want to get a drink with me? Takahashi: Yes! Meanwhile, Eru is looking at the arcades. Rin sees Eru looking at them and walks to her. Rin: Eru, did they just bring it? Eru: I saw them bring it. It's not plugged yet. Rin: I see. Did you see Shirou? The blue hair guy? Eru: No. Rin: Me and Shirou, Yuki and Minoru, Retasu and Takahashi, and few couples are going to the roof to sign love signatures on a secret wall. Eru: Ok. Rin: It would take several minutes. I'm sure you would want to find someone to hang with. Eru: No thanks. I don't need a boyfriend. Rin: I meant spending time with someone. It doesn't have to be romantic. Speaking of it, why aren't you into romance? Eru: I don't want to be in love with someone because relationships is a big work for me, and I feel it's very complicated. I don't want to get pressure or any drama. I'm just afraid of what would happen to me or my future. Rin: Yuki and Minoru and few couples are doing fine. Eru: I know. I'm not good with romance. I prefer being single. I just want to have friends because I think it's easier for me. Rin: Sounds fine. Sorry for asking you that. Eru: It's fine. I do love video games. Rin: There's that. Go play the arcades while we are up. Eru: Okay. A while later, the friends are at the roof. Kyanna and Leo are at the secret wall, signing their names in a drawn heart. Kyanna: There we go! We're there! Leo: Nice! Kyanna: Your turn, Yuki! Yuki: All right. They left while Yuki and Minoru go to the wall. Yuki: Here's a marker for you. You draw better than me. Minoru: Thanks. He grabs the marker, draws a heart, puts stick figures of Yuki and Minoru, hugging. He adds action Yuki stick figure and himself as a drawer. They both sign their names inside it. Yuki: You made it really good. Minoru: I know. Let me take a pic of it. He uses his phone and takes a picture of it. Yuki: Now we get to keep that photo. Minoru: And I bet this one will be the best one on this wall in our book. Yuki: Definately! They walk out. Rin and Shirou sign theirs. Shirou: This is neat! Rin: It does! I love you! Shirou: Me to. Retasu and Takahashi gets to sign it. Retasu: Forever, we will be together. Takahashi: Yes. I just added musical notes around the heart. Retasu: I like it. Yuki and Minoru are at the gym, being empty. Yuki: Remember two years ago, we were both here when a party was here? Minoru: Yes. We were both trying to interact, but it didn't happen. It was our second party. Yuki: Our first party was from 2014. I attend, but I didn't see you. Minoru: I was pretty lonely. I actually didn't attend. I only had one or two friends. Leon and Oka was a little later when we became friends. Yuki: Hmm. I know you were under some issues with teachers who were against you back then, but why didn't you attend your freshmen summer party? Minoru: I thought many people thought I was weird because the teachers I had was giving me a hard time. My classmates think I was the only weird person in class, and I thought at the time, I wasn't gonna enjoy the school because I was afraid of getting worse things. Yuki: Sounds like an interesting story. I know some non popular kids I met are kinda in the same story, and I would like to make them smile. Minoru: You seem pretty noble because you want to entertain a lot of people. You seem pretty nice as a popular person. What made you be a noble person? Yuki: I want to spend time with people who enjoys having fun, and I want them to smile with me. I was willing to help them out against bullies and I hear some stories about unpopular people being the butt of everyone's jokes, even though they may not deserve it. Minoru: Were you one of them in the past? Yuki: As of matter of fact, I had people who were against me or my friends. However, I dealt with them myself, and those problems get solved eventually. Minoru: Cool. Remember you told me back at my aunt's house that you dreamed that the party from two years ago, that you saw what happened if we met in the party? Yuki: Yes. Everyone was happy for us. I'm not psychic, but I think the peers would be happy if I announce my love for anybody, like you. Minoru: I'm glad your fans understand. Again, how are a lot of them respectful to our relationship from the beginning? Yuki: I helped some of these guys with their problems. I hang with them, and made sure they get the respect. I don't want to act popular like the bratty ones. I want to work legitimately to meet a lot of kids here. Minoru: Sounds like that's a good reason. Yuki starts to blush. Yuki: Well...I remember seeing you around prior to the 2015 summer party. I'm glad we made things better for you. You are able to have more friends, and you smile more often here. Minoru: I am glad you are willing to help me for almost two years. I wouldn't know what it would be like if I haven't met you, but I'm glad we did. Yuki: Yeah. I learned a lot of many things because of you. You seem pretty helpful too. Minoru starts blushing. Minoru: Hehe. I...I'm happy that we stayed together. Yuki: Same here. I do love doing cool things and all, but it's even greatful with you around. Minoru: I love to see you do those activities. That's why I think you're the coolest girlfriend. Yuki: And you are the amazing boyfriend. They both start kissing while holding each other. After several second kiss, Yuki and Minoru let go of each other. Yuki: Wow. It brings me joy. Minoru: Me to. Want to go back to the party? Yuki: You bet. They start going back to the party. Meanwhile, Eru is playing an arcade with Leon. Oka: Wow. Eru is doing pretty good. Leon: I didn't know you had such a great skills. Eru: Well, thanks. Leon: I wonder where is Yuki and Minoru. Oka: Probably they have something to do. They both see Yuki and Minoru coming. Yuki: Hey friends. Some of her fans comes up to her to talk. Boy1: You're gonna play some games? Yuki: Yes. This is a party, so we must have fun! Yuki walks to Eru. Yuki: Eru, you want to play against each other in the arcade? Eru: Umm, yes. Yuki: Guys! I'm gonna play against Eru Hibika. She's pretty good at video games. Boy2: Hello, Eru! Girl1: You're from the game room for after school. Eru: I am the manager. Minoru: Let's watch. Yuki and Eru are playing capcom fighting games. Yuki: Three characters? Eru: Yes. During the game, Yuki beats Eru on the first round, Eru beats Yuki on the second round, and on the third round, Eru beats Yuki. Eru: Wow! Yuki: GG. I seem to won a lot, but Eru deeply studies the mechanics. Kyanna: Cool! Eru: Thanks, Yuki. Minoru: The match was amazing. Yuki: Yeah. We see montages of Yuki playing along with her friends, including Rin, Retasu, Takahashi, Shirou, Eru, Leon, and Oka. They do several activities in the entire party. Later, the party is about to be over, and Kyanna and Lia are on the stage. Kyanna turns on the microphone. Kyanna: We sure are having fun on this party. Sadly, it is almost over, and this is both of our last summer party here. Lia: We're seniors, and we want to make sure you guys are having a good time before we leave. Kyanna: Get some goods on the tables, and say goodbye to your friends before leaving. Eru walks to Yuki. Eru: Yuki. Yuki: Eru? Eru: I want to say thanks. Our match. Yuki smiles. Yuki: No problem. Maybe we can see each other a bit during summer. Eru: Yeah. I gotta go. Minoru: Take care. Eru nods, and ran off. Minoru: This is the best party we have. Yuki: So far. Don't forget a senior year party before our graduation. Minoru: Yeah. I'm looking forward to it by spring. I am gonna be sad by the time it comes, because I will miss this place. Yuki: I see your point. It is our last year, so we gotta enjoy every bit of our year as much as we can. Minoru: You're right. Lia walks to them. Lia: Hey Yuki and Minoru. Yuki: Hey Lia. Lia: After everyone leaves from the party, me and Kyanna have something for you both. It's gonna be by the courtyard, but go when the party is gone. Minoru: Is it a surprise? Lia: You bet. She runs off. Yuki: I wonder what that is about. Minoru: We will just have to wait and see. Later when almost everyone left the party, Ayano and Shirou are left. Ayano talks to Minoru. Ayano: Minoru, what are you gonna tell me? Minoru: Me and Yuki got arranged something after the party, and I'm gonna come home later. Ayano: Oh. All right. See you at home then. Shirou talks to Yuki: Yuki:...Don't forget to have enough watermelon seeds to pop the ballons from far. That's how to win the ballon game the next time you play it. Shirou: Sure. I'll be going to Rin's place. See you next time. Yuki: All right. Bye. Both Yuki and Minoru went to the running courtyard, and sees the table. Kyanna and Lia are there. Lia: Hey guys! Minoru: Wait! You both prepared a special date here for us? Kyanna: Well, we wanted to. It's a private one. I cooked some foreign food for you both. Lia: And I set up the table and chairs. Kyanna: I also got my small portable player here. Yuki: Nice! Looks good. Minoru: Thanks, girls. Kyanna: No problem. You both like anime music? Yuki: We do. Kyanna: I'll just play it here while you both have fun. Lia: We got cleaning up to do. Kyanna: Enjoy! They both left. Yuki: Wow. I didn't even think they will arrange our date here, but all I said is to spend time longer. Minoru: I guess they care about our relationship. Yuki: You're right. They both eat. Yuki: They taste great. Minoru: I sometimes eat foreign food. Yuki: At times, I do. Minoru: Yes. I think your gym mates are pretty nice to us. Yuki: They are. I've been with them for pretty long. Minoru: That's cool. They continue to talk while having a date.

Next Chapter: Yuki's Ancestor Yuki takes on a trip with her own family to Kyoto. They meet their families and Yuki learns something special. She learns about the past of her family. Many things are being discovered. What is this special thing? Tune in next time!

[thestreetcat]

Somehow, I always find myself travelling during the transition of seasons. Last time I was in Japan, it was autumn turning winter. This time, it is still winter but soon to turn spring. It is not as cold as I was expecting, but I still get my fingers freezing to numbness. And it is raining most of my stays this time, though I was expecting no less to my #travellingraingirl luck. I had wanted to visit the Ghibli Museum too, but it is apparently very popular the tickets get sold out online fast. What I was not expecting was seeing cherry blossoms, even in the city centre. I was kinda hoping to see a doll display for Hinamatsuri too, but I was at #TokyoDisneyland instead. It was my first time going to Disneyland so it was all fun and excitement until I realized the rides are all designed, basically, for kids. I've seen the Tokyo Tower, visited temples/shrines, bought charms, wandered through the back streets of different Tokyo districts, dined at izakayas (my favorite), hiked Mount Takao, saw the tip of Mount Fuji, walked through local shoppings streets, got on a jam-packed train car, got lost inside train stations, ordered freshly cooked hot food from a vending machine, had crepe at Harajuku, crossed the Shibuya crossing, and watched as the crowd clashed in all directions. Tokyo is only one of the prefectures of the Kanto region, and is really accessible to go to other places for a day trip. I have only visited Miura and Yokohama for a day, and 8 days is not enough to do a lot of day trips with my kind of travelling. Nevertheless, the past 8 days has been fun. It was tring and my legs and feet hurt, but still very fun. #WhenInTokyo #japan #tokyo #TokyoCityEscape #thestreetcatgoestojp #StreetCatTokyoChapter #Travel2019 #Travel2019TokyoChapter #thestreatcatjp (at Haneda Airport International Terminal) https://www.instagram.com/p/BurMpUkhllB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=h5k2dv86nilj