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datheetjoella · 4 years ago

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Fantober 2020, Day 31: Halloween

Author: DatHeetJoella Fandom: Free! Pairing: MakoHaru Rating: T Part: 31/31 (read the full collection here) Word count: 3,105 Tags: Canonverse, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Costume Party, Costume Regret Read at: AO3, FFn, or right here!

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What had seemed to be an amazing idea initially was quickly becoming one of the greatest regrets of Haruka's life.

Between the stares, both on the train ride here and at their destination, the immobility and the goosebumps that were erupting all over his skin, Haruka concluded that living the dream was not worth it. He should've stayed home like he intended when he was first invited.

"It looks great, Haru, but isn't it a bit… inconvenient?" Asahi asked, raising his voice so Haruka could hear him above the loud bass of the music. Asahi was clad in a long white lab coat with a thick black belt, matching gloves and goggles and a grey wig to complete the mad scientist-look. If Asahi was the one disapproving of a choice he made, then Haruka screwed up really badly.

"Did Makoto carry you all the way here? Vampire-Kisumi asked, lisping through his fake fangs. "I think my uncle has a wheelbarrow you can borrow on the way back."

His friends laughed and if Haruka could stand right now, he would've strangled Kisumi. Why was Makoto taking so long to get some drinks and why had he even agreed to come here?

When they were at Marron a few weeks ago, Kisumi told them he was planning a Halloween party at his uncle's house; the Shigino family loved parties and every reason to hold one was as good as the next. But Kisumi wouldn't be Kisumi if he didn't add his own flair to a party and Halloween was the perfect occasion to go nuts.

The second Haruka heard of it, he decided he wasn't going and when Kisumi said it would be a costume party, his resolve strengthened. No matter how Kisumi pleaded, assured him it would be a small get-together with friends, tried to bribe him with a dozen cans of mackerel, Haruka wouldn't budge.

Despite not being big on parties either, Makoto had promised to come. He was a huge people-pleaser and if he was invited to something, the chances of him turning it down were very slim. It didn't sit quite well with Haruka that Makoto would be in such an environment by himself, without him being there to glare away anyone who would try to flirt with Makoto, but it wasn't like he could forbid him to go. He didn't want to, either. Makoto was an adult who was free to make his own choices and even if he could be a bit oblivious at times, their friends would be there to protect him if something happened.

But the thought lingered in Haruka's head and the closer the date came, the more he considered going. If Makoto were to outright ask him to come, then he wouldn't be able to refuse, but it didn't even get that far. When he saw the ad for the Halloween costume of his dreams, he was sold.

And that was how Haruka found himself on Kisumi's uncle's couch on October 31st, surrounded by approximately sixty people he didn't know - so much for it being a small get-together with friends - in nothing more than a mermaid tail and glittery scale-makeup adorning his cheeks and arms.

"Aren't you cold, Nanase?" his teammate, Suzuki Ryota, asked. He'd gone all out and wore a Pokémon trainer costume, complete with a Pokéball and a Pikachu plushie. "I brought an extra jacket, you can wear it if you want."

"It's fine," Haruka said through clenched teeth, trying his best not to shiver as to not admit defeat. His coat was lying somewhere in a pile in Kisumi's bedroom, but he had chosen this costume so he was going to commit to it for the whole night. That was the burden he had to carry. If only he had called the town committee back in Iwatobi and asked if they could've lent him the Iwatobi-chan mascot sumo suit. Then he would've lived a dream that wasn't as susceptible to critical stares and teasing remarks. Not being recognisable would've been a bonus too.

More people entered the room, but this time, they weren't strangers - whether it was to his delight or not wasn't clear yet. With whiskers and black noses drawn on their faces, Ikuya and Hiyori came in with matching cat-ears, collars with bells and tails. The instant Ikuya spotted him, his eyes widened in wonder and he sped over to his side with Hiyori following closely behind him.

"Ikuya, HIyori, I'm so glad you could make it!" Kisumi said, but Ikuya didn't even notice the host.

"Haru…" he mumbled, "Your costume is amazing. Where did you get it?"

"I don't know, somewhere online."

"And your makeup, did you do it yourself or did Makoto do it?"

"I did it," Haruka said. If Makoto had done it, it probably would've looked like smears of light blue blood on his face instead of scales.

"Speaking of, where is Makoto?" Hiyori asked while looking around the room. Although they hadn't become friends until recently, Hiyori had already learnt Makoto and Haruka were practically joined at the hip and thus a package-deal.

"His Highness is getting drinks for his beached boyfriend," Asahi said with a grin.

"Makoto is dressed as a prince?" Ikuya asked in disbelief, mouth slightly open and fire twinkling in his auburn eyes. "Are you The Little Mermaid and the prince?"

Kisumi said, "I suppose it's The Little Merman in Haru's case."

Haruka shrugged. It wasn't like he had specifically aimed for The Little Mermaid, but when he showed Makoto the light blue tale, Makoto had joked that they could wear couple's costumes and that he could be the prince. Only a fool wouldn't want to behold the sight of Makoto in a fancy prince suit, so that idea had received an immediate green light from Haruka.

But now, it wasn't his costume solely that he was regretting. Makoto was already too handsome for his own good normally, but this outfit enhanced his natural charm, making him damn near irresistible. Haruka was very much present now, but he couldn't do anything but watch as others tried to flirt with an unsuspecting Makoto. These people would throw themselves at him the minute he left Haruka's side as if they thought 'let's talk to this hot guy now his weird fish friend isn't here'.

Sufficient to say, Haruka dug his own grave in multiple ways.

But someone who didn't share that viewpoint was Ikuya, whose gaze drifted from Haruka's tail to his cat-clothes and his chest deflated in a manner that could only be described as envious. "How nice."

"Your costumes are very nice too," Kisumi said and the fake blood at the corners of his mouth made his smirk look even more devious than usual. "And a lot more practical."

"Yeah, but they're not as nice as Haru and Makoto's."

"Anyway, are there any snacks?" Hiyori changed the subject with a smile, though there was a clear glint of jealousy behind his glasses too. If Kisumi threw another costume party next year, Haruka would bet good money on what Ikuya and Hiyori would be wearing.

"There's a large table at the back with food and drinks," Asahi said, "Come, I'll show you."

As Asahi led Ikuya and Hiyori through the crowd, the group surrounding Haruka dispersed, leaving him alone with Kisumi. Haruka sighed. Could this night get any worse?

"Don't be so sulky, Haru," he said, "It's a party, try to have fun a little."

Haruka scoffed. "Maybe I would have fun if you had the cans of mackerel you promised me."

Kisumi laughed. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten about that. You'll have your cans before the end of next week, and I'll make sure I have some mackerel at my next party for you too."

His next party. As if Haruka would even attend another one of these parties after such a disastrous night. He might've been stupid enough to come here in a fishtail, but he wasn't that much of an idiot.

"To make it up to you for not having mackerel now, I'll go find Makoto for you. I'll tell him to hurry back to your side," Kisumi said, grabbing the cape of his suit and dramatically waving it around himself as he turned to walk off. This vampire-act of his was a bit too convincing. Maybe he was actually a bloodsucker.

Left to his devices, Haruka scanned the crowd to check if Makoto was among them somewhere. Who were all these people and how did Kisumi even know them? He'd been an amicable guy since middle school, but in the few months that they had lived here, Haruka had only met two, maybe three new people he would consider his friends and they were all from the swim team. With this many acquaintances, Kisumi could easily fill up twenty basketball teams.

Perhaps Kisumi was more like a spider after all. Once you got ensnared in his web of friendship, there was no way out.

At last, Makoto finally emerged from the masses and Haruka's heart sighed in relief. His golden crown was still firmly placed upon his brown locks and against his neat blue jacket, that was complete with epaulettes and a sash, he clutched two cups and a plastic plate of food. His beaming smile returned the instant their eyes met.

"Sorry it took so long," Makoto said as he plopped down next to Haruka on the couch. "All these people were trying to talk to me and I had a hard time shutting down the conversations. If it weren't for Kisumi, I'd probably still be stuck." Makoto handed him one of the cups. "Here. There isn't any water, so I got us barley tea and I didn't know what kind of snacks you wanted, so I got a little of everything."

"Thanks," Haruka said and he took a sip. "Sorry for making you do all of this for me."

"It's alright, I don't mind," Makoto said, his sunny smile not losing its radiance. "There are so many people here, though. I thought it would be just us, Asahi, Ikuya, Hiyori and maybe a couple of Kisumi's other friends."

"I guess these are only his dearest friends. If this house had been even bigger, he would've invited two-hundred of his closest friends."

Although it was hard to hear through the booming music, Makoto giggled. The warm sound melted Haruka's frigid heart a little. "Kisumi has always been that guy who gets along with everyone, huh?"

"So are you," Haruka said, as was proven by all the people who flocked to him on his way to the snacks table and back.

"Maybe so, but I do prefer an actually small group of friends together at once. Otherwise, it gets too loud and overwhelming."

Haruka nodded. He loved all his friends immensely, but if there were more than seven of them present at once - excluding Makoto - then he would go home with a massive headache and a longing for the water's clutch. Something that was bound to happen after tonight, too.

When Haruka reached over Makoto's lap to grab a handful of crisps to kill time with, Makoto's hand caught his wrist.

"Haru, you're freezing!" Makoto said, eyebrows raised in concern, "Here, take my jacket."

"It's fine, I'm not that cold," Haruka said, nonchalantly stuffing the crisps into his mouth, but Makoto saw right through his lies.

"Yes, you are." Makoto lifted the sash over his head and unbuttoned his jacket, wrapping it around Haruka's shoulders.

"This ruins both of our costumes."

"No, it doesn't," Makoto said with a clever grin, "It improves our costumes. You are a merman who I, the prince, found washed up on the shoreline behind my castle. I saved you and offered you my jacket to warm you up. It fits perfectly."

It was a nice fragment from their fairytale, but the weight pressing down on Haruka's stomach didn't crumble nor ebb away. "I shouldn't have picked this costume."

"Why not?" Makoto asked, "It looks great and it really suits you."

"Wearing it is too much trouble. Everyone is staring at me and I can't even go to the bathroom by myself."

"I understand that it's not easy to wear, but since when have you cared about what other people think?" Makoto put his hand over his free one and intertwined their fingers.

"I don't, it's just annoying…" Haruka said as he averted his eyes, but he didn't pull away from Makoto's touch. "Besides, I'm a bother to you."

Although he couldn't see it, Haruka could almost hear the frown that twisted Makoto's handsome face. "Who says you're a bother to me?"

"No one, but I am," Haruka said, "You have to carry me everywhere, you have to get us drinks and snacks and you can't have fun because you're stuck here on the couch with me. And now you even have to give up your own costume for me."

"Who says I'm not having fun?" Makoto said with his gentle smile. "I already told you that I don't mind carrying you or getting you snacks, and I'm not much of a dancer anyway so it's not like there's any other place I would be at than the couch."

Even if he said that, it still left a bitter taste in Haruka's mouth. What college student wanted to be their boyfriend's babysitter at a party? Makoto was just being selfless so he wouldn't feel bad about his ego-centric outfit choice.

"You know, I was looking forward to seeing you in your mermaid tail," Makoto said, so softly Haruka almost hadn't caught it. "So it's a shame that you're not enjoying wearing it."

"How so?" Haruka asked, turning his head to face Makoto again.

"When you saw the ad, you were so excited to wear it. Excited enough to want to come to this party even though you hate parties," Makoto said, chuckling a little in reminiscence. "It was so cute and it reminded me of when we were in kindergarten. When the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, you immediately said you wanted to be a mermaid. I still remember how disappointed you looked when some of the other kids told you that was impossible."

A wave of nostalgia showered over Haruka at that memory. Although they were so small back then, Haruka remembered it vividly. When the teacher explained that she meant what occupation they would like to have as an adult rather than a dream species they wanted to become, he had pouted for the rest of the day. Because he liked helping his mom with cooking, he begrudgingly drew a chef instead.

"When I saw the disheartened look on your face, I wanted to make you feel better and I thought to myself that I would do anything to make your dream come true," Makoto continued, "And now, the opportunity for that dream to become reality finally arrived. I was so relieved when you decided to come because I wouldn't feel comfortable being here without you, and I felt like it was a mutual exchange: I help you out with your mermaid tail, you keep me company."

Haruka hadn't thought of it like that, but it wasn't necessary for Makoto to give something in return for him tagging along. For Makoto, Haruka would do anything, even if it was something he despised as much as going to parties with deafening music and loads of strangers.

"But even if it wasn't a mutual exchange, then I still wouldn't mind carrying you. As long as it makes you happy, I'd carry you to the end of the world and back," Makoto said, rubbing his thumb over Haruka's knuckles. "So I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying yourself. We can go home if you want. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

A tiny smile stretched Haruka's cheeks at Makoto's endless kindness and devotion. His sweet words untied the knot in Haruka's stomach and suddenly, he didn't feel so misplaced anymore. "We already went through the trouble of dressing up and coming here, we might as well stay a little longer." Haruka shrugged, trying to regain an aloof demeanour. "It's only for one night anyway."

"Thanks, Haru," Makoto said and he leaned closer to press a kiss to Haruka's lips, but when he realised where they were, he hesitated.

Although they weren't keen on public displays of affection, there were so many people here that probably no one was batting an eye at them. A quick little kiss wouldn't hurt.

But as their lips met in a tender kiss, Haruka decided to prolong it, because there was no sign more obvious to show that Makoto was taken. With a dash of luck, some of the people who were trying to flirt with Makoto before caught a glimpse of them and received the message to back off.

After a couple of seconds, Makoto pulled back. He put his hand on Haruka's leg, caressing the fabric of his tail with his fingertips. "Even if it's a bit inconvenient because you can't move freely, the tail does look beautiful on you."

"Thanks," Haruka said as he ran his gaze over Makoto's figure. "The princely garbs look good on you too. Don't throw them out after tonight."

Hearty laughter left Makoto's lips. "Alright, if you keep your tail, too."

"Of course," Haruka said, "Maybe we can continue this fairytale later then, play out what happens after the prince finds the merman and gives him his jacket."

"That's not a bad idea," Makoto said with a flame of wanton igniting in his pupils. "We can keep these outfits for at-home usage. At the next Halloween party, we can dress up as something more convenient and conventional, like witches or cats."

"Ikuya and Hiyori already claimed cats. Maybe we should do ghosts, then we only have to cut eyes and mouth-holes out of old sheets and we're done."

"So we're going from high effort to the bottom of the barrel, huh?" Makoto snorted. "We'll think about it later, we still have 365 days left to decide. For now, let's enjoy this party and these costumes for as long as they last."

"Yeah," Haruka agreed as he grabbed a bat-cookie from the plate. But before he took a bite, he mumbled, "Thanks, Makoto."

He was blessed with another sunny smile. "Happy Halloween, Haru."

Their lips met in another kiss, that was brief yet immensely loving.

Even if Haruka got tricked into coming to a party, as long as Makoto was with him, every day was a treat.

#i'm sorry i'm stupid #makoharu #makoharu fic #my fic #fantober2020 #colourful days with you #although they're in the picture rin nagisa and rei aren't in the fic #but some of their other friends are so i hope you'll still like it #ahh this was so much fun #thanks so much for reading everyone #i really appreciate it

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samsonet · 5 years ago

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What matter to me if their star is a world?

No encores. Not songs, not moves, not Pokemon.

But then what does that make her?

Title from Robert Browning's "My Star"

When Marnie is five years old, her brother gives her a Pokemon.

It has to be a dark-type, but it looks so bright that the idea is hard to believe. It waddles over, sniffs her ankles, then raises its arms. Marnie knows what that means. It wants to be picked up!

“I thought havin’ a partner might help ya not be scared all the time,” her amazing big brother says.

He hands her its pokeball.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Next, Piers asks a gym trainer to battle her. Marnie wins her very first time. She runs on the field and hugs Morpeko tight. Everyone says she’s so talented and that they’re proud of her.

(Later, she’ll realize that the older trainer let her win. But back then? She was five. She thought the world belonged to her.)

Marnie can’t sing. Can’t pour out her soul. Can’t even yell. Her voice is small and soft, a violin among electric guitars.

Her brother seems to realize that. He finds other ways for her to support him. Help carry the microphone, Marnie. Raise your arms like this to get the audience hyped up. Stand there and look cute, Marnie, people love that.

She jumps to obey the first time, because her brother hates repeating himself.

No encores. Not songs, not moves, not Pokémon.

But when the show is over and they go home, when it’s just him and her in their messy cold apartment, he’ll keep singing the same lullaby until she falls asleep.

The trouble with Morpeko is this: it never stays in one mood for long.

It goes from cheerful to angry in the blink of an eye, and it continues to catch her off guard. Every time a trainer yells or Piers’ Pokémon surprise her or there’s another sudden blackout — every time that a younger Marnie would have cried — well, now Morpeko needs her. There’s no time for crying now.

She feeds him berries and hugs him close to her chest. He’s her best friend. (Her only friend.)

It takes a while for her to understand her partner well enough to cope with his moods. She likes to think it made them closer.

Piers wants her to take over the gym.

That’s the plan. That’s always been the plan, ever since the day Spikemuth’s last leader croaked and Piers somewhat-accidentally ended up with the gym. He’s been holding on to it, taking care of all the trainers and whatnot, but it’s not his dream.

(It’s not hers, either, but someone has to do it.)

She’s growing like a dandelion, poking her head through a crack in the concrete. She should consider herself lucky to be under the care of someone who thinks she’s worth nurturing.

(She still can’t sing.)

None of it matters.

One day, she’ll grow tall and strong. One day, she’ll master dark-types. One day, she’ll stand on Piers’ stage, wearing his uniform and battling with his style, and all the yells will sound the same.

One day, when she and Piers are setting up the stage, Marnie’s world changes forever.

Her brother says, in a casual voice, “I’m thinking of endorsing you for the gym challenge.”

She nods, stuffs some paper under a wobbly leg on the drum set, and then has a double-take.

The gym challenge. A way to get out of this town. A chance to make a name for herself, to be someone other than Piers’ dear little sister. The possibility of battling the champion. The possibility of beating the champion.

She’d never really thought of it before.

It surprises her, how suddenly she wants it.

She meets her brother’s eyes. No amount of makeup disguises the exhaustion, but he puts the effort into smiling for her.

She gives a small smile in return. “So I’d be representin’ you, huh?”

“You don’t have ta worry about representin’ me. You’re my champion no matter what.” It’s corny, but no one is around to hear. “But you’d be representing Spikemuth, Marn. I know it’s not an easy task. Do you feel up to it?”

She looks to Morpeko. Her partner gives a cheeky grin.

“Yeah. We c’n do it.”

Of course, her brother doesn’t let her go alone.

“I’m gonna be sendin’ some people with ya, okay? They’re there to protect ya.”

His gym trainers, dressed in the most paper-thin disguises, follow her out of Spikemuth and onto Route 9.

“What are ya doin’, dressed like that?” she asks.

Joshua answers: “We’re Team Yell! We’re gonna support you through the whole challenge!”

The other trainers give yelps and woohoos. “Go Marnie! That’s our Marnie! Yay Marnie!!”

It’s so easy to be talked over and shouted down.

She’s not getting rid of them as long as she stands here, though, so Marnie keeps walking and pretends they aren’t there.

She makes it to Motostoke safe and sound, and that’s what counts, right?

Leon’s girl is quiet, even by Marnie’s standards. She looks at everything with wide eyes, like she’s overjoyed and overwhelmed. She’s brown eyes and brown hair and brown skin, plain posture and plain clothes. Either she hasn’t figured out her aesthetic yet, or her aesthetic is to be so normal that one might overlook her.

She’s got a lovely smile, though.

Marnie decides she likes her.

“You’re lookin’ a bit gobsmacked by all this,” she says.

The girl nods, grinning sheepishly.

“You must be from some small country town, is that it? I’m quite the same myself.”

The girl stands awkwardly, like she’s not used to conversation. Then she kneels down and makes faces at Morpeko. For his part, Morpeko seems to love it. Fair enough. Don’t trainers usually connect through their Pokemon? Maybe that’s what this girl is trying to do.

Leon’s brother rushes up. “Gloria, come on! Sorry, everyone, we gotta go!”

He grabs the girl by the hand, and in the blink of an eye, they’re gone.

Marnie will learn later, from magazine profiles and TV interviews, that Gloria is the childhood friend of Leon’s little brother. The pair of them are like peas in a pod, apparently. In the interviews, Hop is always the one talking. He speaks like he’s never heard of an indoor voice. Gloria is almost silent beside him, nodding along, only saying a few words when specifically prompted.

Marnie understands. When everyone around is so loud, sometimes it’s an advantage to be quiet.

She hopes they’ll get the chance to speak properly.

At the hotel, Gloria has just battled a group of Team Yell grunts. Inwardly, Marnie groans. Like it or not, Team Yell is her fandom, which means she has some responsibility for what they do.

Does Piers know how much of a pain his trainers will be if they keep acting like this?

They're there to protect you.

Her brother hates repeating himself.

She tells Team Yell to just go home. Piers can send them out again later if he wants.

She turns to the other kids, explains what Team Yell is doing. “Sorry if they caused you any trouble.”

She expects them to look at her with scorn. Look at this girl, with a thick accent and dirty clothes. Look at how she thinks she’s so special, with a team of hooligans following her around.

But then Leon’s little brother speaks.

“So you’re a gym challenger, too?” Hop folds his arms behind his head. He’s got a cute toothy grin; he’s obviously used to being happy. “Team Yell, was it? Pretty impressive that you already have a set of fans to call your own!”

He really doesn’t know.

But Marnie smiles all the same.

She’s in a boutique in Motostoke when she sees Hop again.

“Watch out! I’m coming through!”

He pushes blithely past anyone in his way. Of course, no one gives him any trouble. He’s the champion’s little brother. He can do whatever he likes.

It seems that what he wants to do is look at the same rack of snapbacks Marnie is.

He picks up a League Sponsored Normal Type Hat (™). “Hey, Marnie, how does this look on me?”

He says it like they’re not basically strangers.

He says it like he’s entitled to her thoughts.

(Being Leon’s little brother must come with a lot of perks, huh.

But that’s a mean thing to think.)

She decides to humor him. “It looks fine.”

“Aw, come on! Look at me!”

She does.

She’s struck with the strangest sense of deja vu, but in a moment she understands why.

Hop has his brother’s face. Hop has his brother’s smile. Hop has his brother’s eyes.

People say that Marnie and Piers look alike, but a good portion of that is because they’re both punk. Put them in prep clothes, and the resemblance grows less distinct.

(Piers’ eyes always look so tired. If Marnie takes over the gym, will her eyes start to look like that, too?

No encores.

She’s probably a remix.)

“Are you figuring out what you want your image to be?” she asks.

“Mm. Yeah, I guess? You gotta give the audience a way to find you outta all the other challengers.”

Marnie hums. “You’ve already got a good template if ya play up how much ya look like Leon.”

Immediately, she knows that was the wrong thing to say. Hop drops the hat as if burned, and he shoves his hands in his pockets.

Marnie looks at the hat that she’d been considering, a League Sponsored Dark Type (™).

“Y’know, though,” she says, kneeling down to pick a more generic newsie cap, “my big brother is always talkin’ about not doin’ encores. It’s good ta always have somethin’ new, right?”

She hands him the cap. It’s blue, a shade off from the jacket Hop is wearing. He fits his hair under it, then tilts his head to give her a better view.

“It looks good on you,” she says.

He grins, then reaches down and pulls out a bright pink cap. He places it on her head, but her pigtails get in the way, and they both scramble to catch it before it hits the floor.

Hop starts laughing first, because that’s the kind of person he is, and soon Marnie is giggling too.

In this moment, she and Hop don’t represent anyone.

In this moment, they’re simply two kids in a new place, trying out different styles and having fun.

They buy the newsie hats. They buy matching jackets and shirts and trousers, too, because they have money now and no older brothers to stop them.

Hop gives her a cheerful goodbye and promises to meet her in the next town.

Marnie heads into the dressing room. She wants to examine the new clothes.

The inside of the cap and the lining of the jacket’s sleeves are both some silky fabric. The blouse is wooloo wool, soft as Morpeko’s fur. She runs her hands over it, enjoying the sensation, then puts the outfit on and snaps a selfie.

She looks like a princess. Not the ones like Cinderella, who came from poverty and ascended with the help of fairy godmothers. No, Marnie looks like one of the princesses who was born a princess. She looks like she’s used to elegance and influence.

It’s a nice daydream.

She puts on her usual outfit back on, then packs up the new clothes and mails them home at the next postbox.

It’s too late to be changing her style now.

“You’re Piers’ sister, right?” Milo asks, moving a hay bundle like he doesn’t realize how much of a flex it is. “I was listening to his stuff the other day. He’s really good.”

“He is.” Marnie holds up a pokeball. “But I’m here to battle you.”

The next TV spot describes her as stoic and emotionless. They say she’s serious, goal-focused. She doesn’t know how to feel about it.

It turns out Gloria likes normal-types. Beside her Scorbunny, she’s got a Wooloo and an Eevee. Plain girl, plain clothes, plain Pokemon.

But however plain Gloria is, her smile is genuine. It’s the kind of expression that connects with an audience.

Later that night, Marnie examines herself in her Rotom-phone’s camera. Her natural smile is so small that it’s not much different from her usual flat expression.

She puts on finger on either side of her lips and physically pulls them up.

It’s better, but still not enough.

She meets Bede on the outskirts of Stow-on-Side.

He’s got a Copperajah by his side. It’s not the kind of Pokémon she would expect him to have, but if the league was supposed to be about growing as a person…

He almost barrels over her. Lucky for Marnie, she’s got Team Yell behind her. They keep her from falling, and one of them grabs Bede by the back of his coat.

“Get your hands off of me,” Bede growls.

“You gotta apologize to Marnie first!”

“Why would I waste my time —”

(Why doesn’t the Copperajah do anything? Does it not care what happens to its trainer?)

Marnie’s eyes meet Bede’s.

“Well?” he asks, his lip curled into a sneer. “I know you, Challenger Nine-six-zero. You’re the little sister of Spikemuth’s gym leader, right? Your city wants you to become champion so you can bring some glory back. But you’ll never make it to Wyndon.”

“How dare you say that to our Ma—”

Bede’s sneer gets bigger. “You depend too much on your brother’s screaming gang. He’s not going to be able to baby you forever. Can you even speak for yourself? I don’t think you can.”

It’s so easy to be talked over and shouted down.

She turns to her fans. “Let him go.”

“Let him —?”

In the moment of surprise, Bede wrenches himself from the grunt’s hold. He hops back, arms up, hands loosely curled into fists.

“I don’ know what yer problem is,” Marnie says, as loudly as she can, “but it’s not my trouble to deal with! I don’ wanna hear another word from you! Get!”

Bede huffs.

Then he and Copperajah continue on their path.

When they’re out of eyesight, Marnie turns to her fans.

Something must be wrong with her expression, because the grunts look scared.

“Marnie…?”

“Tell Piers that I don’ need ‘im ta baby me anymore!”

She turns on her heel and stomps on, alone.

When Marnie sets up camp for the night, she thinks about her rivals.

At the opening ceremony, there had been — what, twenty?

Right now, she can only remember three.

Whatever Bede is getting up to, it can’t be good. (She hopes his Copperajah eats him.)

Hop has been nowhere in sight. It’s unusual and worrying. She hopes the pressure isn’t getting to him.

And Gloria...

Gloria is lucky. Her town is already prospering, because it has already produced a champion.

She has no older siblings to overshadow her; she has never had to feel empty when they’re distant, or smothered when they make their presence known.

Gloria doesn’t even have to worry about representing her sponsor. Everyone’s expectations of Leon are placed squarely on Hop’s shoulders.

Gloria has the privilege of fighting for herself.

Marnie envies her.

She curls up in her sleeping bag and thinks, who am I really fighting for?

She fights for Spikemuth.

Her city has fallen into hard times, and it feels like everyone back home is expecting her to bring new life back to it.

(Dirty accent, dirty clothes.)

She fights for Piers.

Her brother wants her to take over the gym. Her brother gave her her first Pokémon and everything he’s done since has always come back to the damn gym.

(“I want to focus on my music.”

Marnie still can’t sing.)

She fights for herself.

...and she fights for Morpeko.

Morpeko needs her. She has caught other Pokémon, yes, and they all depend on each other, but Morpeko is her partner. She understands him the most. She understands his moods, his wants, his thoughts and feelings.

She knows what it’s like to hunger. She’s faced the pain of an empty belly and the anguish of an unrealized goal, and she finds them equal.

Morpeko is a right little brute when he’s hangry, though.

Of course, Team Yell is causing trouble. Did Piers tell them to close the gate? It would be consistent.

She shows Gloria the way into Spikemuth. Maybe another challenger would let her competitor struggle (and Marnie does, indeed, let the others struggle), but Gloria is her rival. Rivals help each other, right?

Gloria, of course, passes through the gym without any trouble at all. She powers past all the obstructions, never showing the slightest hint of frustration.

And then she comes to Piers.

Marnie is watching from the sidelines. She studies Gloria’s face, looking for any indication of what she’s thinking.

For some reason, Marnie really wants her brother to make a good impression on Gloria. To represent what’s good about Spikemuth, to make it so Marnie looks good as a result.

(Dirty accent. Dirty city. Dirty, tired man at the center of it all.)

Piers goes all out, giving his best performance.

Gloria hops in joy when she wins.

After Gloria leaves, Piers looks to Marnie and asks, “Are ya okay? The trainers told me you’ve been actin’ differently lately.”

“It’s nuthin’. Just getting a bit tired.”

“Do you wanna rest here tonight? You don’t have to continue —”

“No!”

She says it a bit louder than intended. Piers looks at her in surprise.

Marnie clears her throat and tries again: “I need to keep up wi’ my rivals. One of us is goin’ ta be facing Leon. I want it to be me.”

Her brother looks at her with those tired eyes.

(Is she a bad sister, looking for a way to escape his burdens?)

“Well. Kick Leon’s arse for me, ya hear?” Piers kicks up his microphone and tucks it under his arm. “And when you get bored a’ bein’ champion, Spikemuth Stadium will be waiting for ya.”

I don’t want to be your encore, she thinks, but keeps quiet.

She tugs on the pendant connected to her collar. Beside her, Piers does the same.

Hammerlocke Stadium is cold.

Gloria had her match here two days ago, Hop the day after that. Bede would probably have gotten here before either of them, but —

Somewhere along the line, Bede got disqualified.

She wonders if the same thing could have happened to her. If the Chairman or the Champion decided that her fans were being too disruptive, could they have her sent away, too?

Her brother is strong, but his power has limits.

“Hey, kid!” Raihan says. His grin is full of sharp teeth. “You ready to battle me?”

She nods.

“You’re not like your brother,” Hop says.

They’re in the Wyndon Stadium locker room, waiting for the semifinals to start. Hop and Gloria had walked in together but quickly split apart, going to opposite sides of the room.

Hop decided to sit next to Marnie. She’ll take it as a compliment.

“I mean, your brother’s cool and all!” Hop continues, “But I’ve been watching your battles. Your battle style is totally different from his!”

It is. Piers can’t keep his cool, can’t stop shouting out his strategy in the middle of a match.

And Marnie…

Marnie stays quiet. That’s her advantage.

“Thank you. For what it’s worth… yer style is pretty distinct from Leon’s, too.”

He smiles and leans back. “Thanks.”

The minutes tick by. The anticipation is almost unbearable.

Hop says, “I’ve been thinking… after the cup, what do you think you’re going to do? If you don’t become champion, I mean.”

If you don’t become champion. A nice way of saying if we battle, I’m going to win.

Marnie herself has no intention of losing, but… well, everything’s a possibility.

“Piers wants me ta take over the gym. He wants ta follow his own dreams.”

“Do you want to take over the gym?”

Do you want to be your big brother’s encore?

Marnie thinks about the Spikemuth Stadium. Neon lights. Punk trainers. Dandelions growing through cracks in the concrete.

Despite everything, it’s her home.

If she can’t take Leon’s throne… she wouldn’t mind sharing Piers’ stage.

His songs. Her battles.

I’m not an encore, Marnie decides. Not a replay. Not a remix.

I’m a brand new song.

She says in answer, “I think I’d be happy there.”

When it comes time for her semifinal match, Marnie walks out on the pitch to the sound of roaring applause.

Gloria is waiting, plain as always, but she’s smiling that lovely smile.

(Oh, how Marnie wants that smile.)

The commentator announces them, putting them in boxes one last time. There’s Gloria, the trainer endorsed by the champion. There’s Marnie, endorsed by Spikemuth’s gym leader.

Marnie thinks of Piers: his prideful self-loathing, his harsh stage voice, his team of hooligans he’s sent to cheer for her.

She thinks of Spikemuth, the dark dirty town that has pinned all its hopes on her.

She thinks of her rival, standing before her.

She’s come too far to lose here.

#pokemon swsh fanfic #marnie pokemon #WMTMITSIAW

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sage-nebula · 7 years ago

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i was worried about big ol' lizardon, to be quite honest back when you had that one fic about alan meeting a random trainer. also about ash's charizard, so the fact that he's still around (and that ash runs a team of dergs while alan has lizardon and gabby) warms the cockles of my heart. I'm curious about Lapras, actually, since it also has dragon blood? Do the duo run into its pod every once in a while?

Ahh, yes! This one! For the sake of others reading this, I’ll post that little snippet, since it’s small enough to easily fit here:

The dragon was massive—easily ten feet tall, give or take, though Amy supposed she wasn’t always the best at gauging height. Its scales were bright orange, and though the flame atop its tail blazed with enough intensity so that she felt the wash of its heat even from where she stood, the blue eyes it looked at her with seemed gentle.

“Is that … that’s a pokémon, right?” she asked. The boy—the dragon’s trainer, Amy thought, if their matching pendants were anything to go by—nodded. “What is it?”

The boy’s gaze was no less blue, but was somehow more scrutinizing. He looked at her for what felt like a long second before he turned back to his dragon, who turned to meet his eyes.

“He’s a charizard,” the boy said.

“A charizard?” Amy repeated, and heat from the dragon’s—the charizard’s—tail flame was nothing compared to the shock she felt vibrate through her now. “You mean a—the final evolutionary stage of … charmander, right?” The boy nodded, and as he did Amy exclaimed, “I thought they were all extinct!”

The boy glanced at her, something inscrutible in his expression, as the charizard beside him made a sound that, to Amy’s ears, sounded almost … sad, or at least unhappy. Upon hearing the sound, the boy turned away from Amy again, and looked back at his charizard instead. The great dragon ducked his head as the boy raised both hands, and stroked the charizard beneath his jaw.

“Not all of them,” the boy said quietly.

But yeah, Lizardon is just fine. He’s just as immortal as Alan himself is, it just took a little longer for Xerneas’ power / that Infinity Energy to stop his growing completely, thanks to his species. Unfortunately, though, Ash’s charizard is not; he’s still going to live an extremely long time thanks to the fact that he’s a dragon himself (and Charizard, to me, always seemed pretty exceptional even for his species, so I could see him living to be a thousand or more), but he will eventually succumb to old age, since he wasn’t caught up in that blast. (He could have been, had the writers allowed Ash to have Charizard in Kalos, but alas …) Of course, thinking about it, it’s possible that Ash could always ask Xerneas to bless Charizard the way he did the rest of them, but I imagine that might require him to actually do something for Xerneas, and there might not be very much opportunity for that. Additionally, I feel like Ash would have a hard time asking for just Charizard, and not all of his other pokémon as well, which would just cause the favors to pile on and on. It might not be entirely convenient. (Plus, there’s no telling that Xerneas would even want to do that. Does Xerneas want to make other pokémon and humans immortal? Hmm.)

Anyway, you can ask me questions about Immortality AU at any time! I would have been happy to answer about Lizardon if you’d asked back then, and about Charizard as well, haha. I don’t do very much with it on the regular, but I really do love this AU, and I like thinking about it a lot, too. ♥

As far as Lapras is concerned, that’s an interesting question! To be honest, I never thought of lapras as dragons by species; they’re based on the Loch Ness Monster, and I always considered the Loch Ness Monster to be more of a dinosaur, like a plesiosaur. And I know some people think that dinosaurs are dragons, but for the most part I’ve always disagreed with that. Some of them might toe the line, such as pterodactyls (which is why Lance has an aerodactyl on his team as early as Gen I), but I never thought of dragons when I looked at plesiosaurs, and as such I never really thought of lapras as dragons by species.

But that said, even if lapras aren’t dragons, the fact that the Loch Ness Monster is still alive (I want to believe, okay) tells us that they’re very long-lived, anyway! Lapras are extremely rare even in the modern day thanks to poachers hunting them to near extinction (this is canon as of the Gen I Pokédex entries), so sadly, lapras might have the same fate as charizard a century or two later, back when a lot of the Immortality AU stories take place. They might be more legend than actual ‘mon by this point, a pokémon that people have read stories about, but think don’t actually exist anymore. =( But that said, the idea of something happening to Ash’s lapras is too sad for me to bear, because that precious baby never deserved any of what happened to her in the canon, she was a sweet cinnamon roll too pure for this sinful earth, and the idea of poachers killing her is just … no. No. I refuse to accept that.

So I imagine that what could happen is, perhaps most (or all) of her pod dies or is killed off through some means or another. Maybe at one point there’s an epidemic that spreads throughout the sea and makes different members of her pod sick, and maybe this was even intentionally done by poachers to make lapras easier to snap up. Particularly since lapras, as a species, tend to be very gentle and trusting, it would probably be easy for poachers to “befriend” them, only to actually betray them later and capture them, heal them so that they’re good enough to sell, and then sell them off. (Or maybe even kill them for delicacies … god, that’s dark, but in real life poachers are just that disgusting, so they probably are in the PokéWorld as well.) Lapras managed to escape this. Either her mother (who might have still been alive at the time) urged her to go, or she just recognized when there was nothing that even she could do for her pod and left, but she managed to escape. (Maybe she even was temporarily captured, but fought back and escaped from there. She wasn’t with Ash very long, but though he was of course always gentle with her, he taught her to be a fighter and a survivor. She remembers that even decades later.)

So she escaped, and then much like the lapras in the Gen II games, she finds a deep cave to live in—a cave where no humans really tread. She’s grieving the loss of her pod, and she has renewed trauma re: humans, so this deep, underground lake is just what she needs right now. There are some other pokémon there, and she does befriend them. She befriends the other aquatic pokémon that live in her massive lake with her, as well as the other cave dwellers that she sees when she surfaces. And she does surface, at least once a week (because I really enjoyed how the Union Cave lapras in Gen II routinely emerged on Fridays). She knows she has to keep pressing on, that she can live underwater most of the time, but that at least once a week she should take some time to enjoy the surface. Her cave is safe. No humans ever come down here.

… Until two humans do.

To be honest, they were just exploring. They were bored. Ash saw the cave, and he suggested they go take a look inside, because why not? Alan figured it might be good—there could be some good training opportunities in there. Ash thought maybe they could find some fossil pokémon. There was no reason not to go in the cave, and a lot of reasons to go into the cave, so into the cave they went. And they ventured through it, eventually coming down to that huge lake on the lowest level. And this just so happened to be the day (because of course it was) that Lapras was spending some time on the surface of her lake, but when all of her land-dwelling friends scattered, she felt true fear and alarm rush through her as well. No humans ever came down to this lake, but those—those were human voices. She was caught frozen, unsure of what to do. Should she plunge back down beneath the surface? Should she fend them off with Ice Beam? If she did, and she failed, she might be captured or worse. If she didn’t, all the other pokémon in the cave might be captured or worse. But—

Her indecision cost her precious time. The two human boys made it to the lake, and the shorter one was the one who saw her first. “Hey,” he said brightly, “a lapras!”

Once again, Lapras felt frozen. She knew that voice.

“A lapras?” the taller boy said. Lapras didn’t know that voice. That boy was a stranger. But the shorter boy—her boy, the one human boy who was there for her when no one else was—always had good taste in friends. His friends were always safe. So— “I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d see one again.” He was smiling, too. This boy, the taller one—he had to be good, too.

And Lapras knew that her Ash was definitely good.

So she called out to him. She swam as quickly as she could over to the shore. And as she did, Ash’s eyes widened. Recognition lit in them. And he said, “Lapras? Lapras! It’s really you!” before he threw himself off the shore and wrapped his arms around her neck, laughing joyfully as she crooned and butted her head against his (so tiny head, he was so small—was he always this small?).

And that was how Ash got Lapras back. He had no idea she was still alive, hadn’t seen her in so long—but when they reunited, he took her with him, because he still had open space on his team, both he and Pikachu were delighted to see her, she was delighted to see him, and Alan was pretty warm to the idea of having her along as well. (Bonus, they also can now comfortably travel across seas. They could always fly, and Ash does have milotic, but lapras are easier to Surf on than milotic, and sometimes their charizard need rest.)

Anyway, I think that both Ash and Alan would focus their teams on dinosaurs and dragons (and Pikachu), simply for the sake of, well, these particular pokémon are very long-lived, they’re not going to age out and die any time soon, so it’s much easier to bond with them than it might be others. Ghosts could fit this, too, come to think of it; it’s not like a ghost can exactly die of old age. (And I don’t think we’ve ever been told if ghost pokémon can die or not. I’d think they couldn’t, because I mean … they’re not dead, per se, but they kind of are? Some are literally the spirits of dead children, so like …) So with that in mind, teams I imagine for both of them in this AU are:

Ash:

Pikachu (obvs)

Charizard

Garchomp

Noivern

Lapras

Milotic (nicknamed Mystearica, further nicknamed Myst)

Alan:

Lizardon (obvs)

Garchomp (Gabby)

Tyranitar (Bangiras)

Salamence (Bohmander)

Aerodactyl (Ptera)

Mimikyu (Kyuu)

I considered also giving Alan Fulbert’s altaria, since altaria are also dragons, Fulbert was like his grizzly uncle, and so it might make sense for Alan to look after Cumulonimbus as well. But in actuality, altaria are based on mythical birds from Chinese folklore, so I’m not sure if they count as a dragon by species … maybe, maybe not, but it’s also possible that he does take care of Cumulonimbus for a while, but eventually Cumulonimbus passes on. Or maybe Fulbert released Cumulonimbus as he got up there in age and was about to die, who knows. Either way, whether Alan has Cumulonimbus or not, one thing I like about Alan’s team in Immortality AU is that every single ‘mon can mega evolve, with the exception of his mimikyu. Since Alan had a real focus on mega evolution and wanted to become a mega evolution master, the fact that all of the pokémon in his possession can mega evolve is fitting, I think, even if only ever really mega evolves Lizardon.

For the record, that tyranitar is his tyranitar, the very same one he has in canon. I know that tyranitar are sort of based off a type of lizard, but they also kind of always reminded me of Godzilla, which is kind of like a dinosaur. Thus, perhaps Bangiras can live for a long time, too. (And if not, maybe swap out Bangiras for Cumulonimbus?) His salamence was perhaps captured (in its first stage, of course) as a tribute to Zinnia (because I have not let go of my Delta Episode adaptation wherein they become friends; I don’t know how they would meet in a prime timeline scenario, but let me dream), and I think it’d be funny as all hell if his aerodactyl was the very same aerodactyl that had once tried to eat Ash. Maybe they encountered it again, and it once again tried to eat Ash, but Alan decided to solve the problem by capturing it. Taming Ptera takes some work (Ptera has held a grudge), but it’s probably worth it. And I’ve always liked to imagine him getting a timid little mimikyu at some point (such as in my Alola AU), and on top of that, I think the idea that Ash and Alan have teams of dragons and dinosaurs save one (for each of them) is kind of funny. So Alan has his mimikyu, which—as a fairy/ghost—is sort of immortal in its own way.

And while some might think that Alan’s team must not like water very much, type advantage isn’t everything, and Lizardon is about ten feet tall. I really don’t think a little water is going to bother him much, especially when he’s mega evolved and it’s no longer super effective. :P

But anyway, that’s enough ramble from me, haha. Thanks again for asking!!

#immortality au #em-exceeds-change-zearu

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pan-matsuri · 8 years ago

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Pokémon Moon Update 2

Last night, I finished Akala Island and the brief plot events directly following. Continued thoughts on my adventure below. Ye have been warned, there be spoilers. Akala Island: A Bunch Of Things You Have To Do

My current team is Brionne, Misdreavus, Ledian, Fomantis, and Umbreon. All girls except for Umbreon. Marowak is traveling with me and was used briefly on Akala, but she is currently on the bench. A Rock or Electric type would be a good replacement for coverage, or maybe a Dragon, or maybe Vulpix because I do what I want. I just noticed that my whole team, save for Ledian, is single typed. That’s not too uncommon for me, but usually in these instances I have a Raichu. Not this time because Alolan Raichu is not cute. I really like the cinematic sequences between you and Hau. He is my favorite character other than myself, but he continues to not be taken seriously by the rest of the cast. Before you even really set foot on the island, you’re introduced to two new characters, neither of whom properly introduce themselves. You’re told after the conversation that they’re a kahuna and a captain, but maybe they could have said as much. Or maybe they could have even said their names? I think captain Mallow did but the kahuna Olivia definitely didn’t. And another thing. The cast of characters I’m supposed to care about is huge. After the first meeting, you’re quickly introduced to Sina and Dexio, who we’d apparently met before in Kalos during XY. Plus there’s the oldest 8 year old ever, Hapu. And also the Team Skull people, Gladion and pink hair. And also also the Aether Foundation. There’s the clearly evil green dude, the clearly evil boss lady, the really nice administrator, and the unnamed employee that Rotom has the hots for. There’s too many names! Speaking of Rotom, I’m actually warming up to it. It’s not that intrusive and tends to think what I’m thinking most of the time anyway. This island, like Melemele, is very linear, unfortunately. The stupid boy and his Stoutland constantly block your path and force you to explore only in the designated areas. This isn’t really new for Pokémon, I guess. I don’t like how many surprise battles there are. I know by now I should just expect that a story marker on the map will have a battle, but more often than not I forget and my whole team will start in the yellow. I’ve used more healing items in this game than any other, but that may also be because my team is far less balanced than ever before. Ledian and Umbreon are walls and are bound to take chip damage. Fomantis is a glass cannon and slow to boot, so she’s hard to switch in without Ledian or Umbreon’s support. I didn’t like the ranch town. You couldn’t go into hardly any houses, which hurt the immersion. I don’t like how unceremonious it is when you are given access to Stoutland as a Ride Pokémon. For Tauros, you had to chase him all across Melemele and make friends with him. It felt like you earned the chance to ride it. But for Stoutland, it’s basically Mallow saying “oh hey here’s the itemfinder okay bye” I didn’t like how the first trial captain was Lana. On Melemele, we met Ilima several times before the first trial. I feel like it’s been standard for a while now to meet a gym leader at least once outside of their gym before the challenge. But once again, you walk into Brooklet Hill and meet someone you’ve never met before and it feels unceremonious. Also, you are given a new ride Pokémon, again with no ceremony. This time it’s the surfing Pokémon and I knew it was gonna be Lapras but I just really hoped it would have been anyone else. By this point, I had not yet caught Eevee or Cubone. But that’s fine, as Fomantis was able to single handedly take on the Totem Wishiwashi and it’s allies, thanks to Razor Leaf being an AOE attack. The fishing pole can seemingly only catch Magikarp which continues to be stupid. In GSC, the Old Rod can actually catch other things, like Poliwag. Apparently we forgot that tho. I don’t remember at what point we’re introduced to Gladion and his Pokémon. It has the worst name ever, Type: Null. It’s a cool concept tho. This is also about the time that we’re introduced to Hapu as well. I don’t like her. She’s failed to show me any reason to be interested in her. She has a horse. Cool. I really like Battle Royals. I do not like the way that you’re forced into your first one without any time to prepare, per the usual in this game. I had been level training my Eevee, which had just hatched, so I was way lower level than everyone else. Luckily, they all ignored me for whatever reason. So I just used Growl repeatedly, so that no one could do any damage to me if they tried. Once somebody was in the red, I used Quick Attack to steal the KO. I really liked how you didn’t hear from Kukui hardly at all on this island. I don’t like Kukui. I did like the build up to Kiawe’s trial. This was again another person we’d never met. But the dance thing was pretty funny. I did not like Totem Salazzle. This match was very difficult, but only because the rules suddenly changed for this fight. Totem Pokémon can call for help from predefined allies. In the first two trials, when you defeat the allies, they’re gone for good. But in this match, the ally Salandit keep coming forever. So if you don’t focus on Salazzle from the start, you’ll have a rough time. Annoyingly, I’d never seen either of these Pokémon before. They might have been in the wild in this area, but I didn’t bother looking because 1) catching Pokémon sucks in this game, and 2) wild EXP gain is not worth the time. So I stopped spending a lot of time looking in the grass, notably around the ranch, because I was sick of seeing Lillipup and nothing else. There’s 800+ Pokémon now, can we have some variety please? Anyway, they are Poison/Fire types. I had my whole team at this time, and they all were put through the paces, except for Fomantis who had no chance here. Misdreavus missed on the first turn with Thunder Wave and then died, which set the stage for an awful battle. Ledian could survive their stupid combo, but wasn’t fast enough to get a Light Screen up. Umbreon could survive but couldn’t do much on its own other than tank for a turn and let the others heal. Cubone could do serious damage but couldn’t survive for longer than a turn. Brionne was the MVP, but only after I switched focus to Salazzle and used Hydro Vortex. Poison was the killer here, even though this was supposed to be a Fire trial. Anyway. I do not like the ride Pokémon for flying, Charizard. It seems that even Nintendo thinks Gen 1 is the only good one, which is just not true. There are so many Flying types, you didn’t have to pick literally the first one on the list. I really like the music. Especially the ambient music in calm places, like where you first meet Tapu Koko. Mallow’s trial was neat. I did like how it incorporated Lana and Kiawe. I think Mallow’s trial should have been first. Totem Lurantis was not as hard as people on the internet said it was. Ledian was the MVP. I first took out ally Trumbeak with Brionne and Umbreon. For some reason, Lurantis kept using Solar Blade instead of X-Scissor on Umbreon, so I kept using Growl. After 3 Growls and a Reflect, Lurantis could only do 5~10 damage to Ledian using X-Scissor. Castform was taken out quickly using Brionne and Ledian. Brionne admirably tanked a sunny Solar Blade thanks to prior support. Ledian’s Infestation was able to outpace Lurantis’s Synthesis after an X Sp Atk. Professor Burnet is way cooler than her husband. I don’t like Kukui. I don’t know what to think of this Ultra Wormhole thing yet. Diglett’s Tunnel is stupid because Steel type is stupid and Zubat is annoying. I’ve even raised one before. I loved my Crobat in Crystal. But that was well over a decade ago. I really like how there are two clothing stores on Akala Island. I also really like the hair accessories. They are way better than hats. I was not a fan of all the surprise battles with Team Skull on the way to the grand trial. I like that Team Skull is dumb, and I’m glad to start meeting their leaders, and I like that even their leaders know that Team Skull is dumb. The grand trials are similar enough to gym battles that it’s refreshing. I like Olivia as a character. I don’t like Aether. They’re clearly all evil, except for Wicke and the girl who was nice to Rotom and me after we saved Slowpoke. I wish we could have actually explored their island a little. I liked the encounter with the Ultra Beast. I wish I could have beaten it before it fled. All in all, I generally felt the same as I did on Melemele. Kukui seems to want me to take this adventure way more seriously than anyone else. I wish I could have an adventure with Hau, where we could take it slow and enjoy our travels through the islands, perhaps without Kukui breathing down our necks. I don’t like Kukui. Some other thoughts: • I like how the trainers actually stand with their Pokémon during battle. It’s an idea that I had in my head a long time ago, and I’m glad it made its way through the aether into reality. • It seems like a lot of the moveset changes were made with competitive battles in mind. Which is annoying, because I don’t play competitive. I want to actually use cool Pokémon like Ledian and cute ones like Glaceon that are not very good in competitive, but it makes the single-player game more difficult. • I don’t like the version-exclusive clothing. I’d love to wear more red and yellow without having to figure out the Festival Plaza. But then again, like in real life, I only wear black and white so maybe it doesn’t matter. • I’m not sure why I feel so discouraged to wander into the tall grass in this game. My favorite thing about Pokémon is catching them all. It’s probably a combination of SOS battles being garbage, catch rates being lower, wild exp being lower, and my team being slower and more defensive.

#writing #pokemon #pokemon sun and moon #i just... don't like professor kukui

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ashroseevans · 7 years ago

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Pokemon Ultra Sun 2 - 1

Ten years have passed since the events of Ultra Sun. Rainbow Rocket has been defeated, Lusamine's plan has been put to a stop. Gladion left for Kanto and Lillie and Hau stayed on Alola. A lot has changed in those ten years. _____ is still the reigning Alolan Champion, Hau is now the Kahuna of Melemele Island as well as one of the four members of the Elite Four. Lillie is Co-President of the Aether Foundation along with her brother who is still traveling through the regions. The Island Challenge has also changed quite a lot as well. Kantonian Traditions mixed with Alolan's to create an Island Challenge unique and fun for trainers of all regions.

However there is a group of people who threaten the new peace and prosperity of Alola. The Nefarious Team Sun don't like these new changes to Alola and have started to cause trouble. Will our heroes reunite to take them down? And will _____ be able to reconnect with someone she hasn't seen in over a decade? Will peace be restored to Alola once again or is this team more powerful then all those that came before them?

My hand reached up to wipe the tears away from the face of the child that came to challenge me. I was crouched in front of them and gave them a small smile.

"It's okay, kiddo," I said to them. "A loss doesn't mean that it's over forever. You just have to train up more and get stronger. Think of this as a starting point. There's always room for improvement."

The little boy sniffled and rubbed at his eyes, looking up at me. "R-really?" He said.

I nodded and ruffled his hair. "Really. I'll still be here to challenge again whenever you want." I smiled reassuringly. "And if you would like, I'd be more then happy to train with you, too."

The boys eyes lit up and he lowered his hands. The look of childlike wonder and excitement was something I never grew tired of. "Really? You'd do that?"

I nodded and put my hands on my knees. "Of course!"

"Wow, thank you!! You're so nice!" He said and he grinned widely. His two front teeth were missing and it brought a smile to my face to match his.

"I'm here to help the trial-goers just like the Gym Leaders and Kahunas," I said and straightened up, offering the boy a hand. "Now how about I get you home?"

"Yes! Thank you!" He said.

I smiled down at him and I left the boy out of the Pokémon League.

* * *

After I has led the boy back to his home on Ula'Ula island. I took a Pokéball from my belt and threw it up in the air. It opened and Charizard popped out. I caught the ball again and pet my dragon-like Pokémon. He made a sound of approval and looked at me.

"Ready to go home?" I asked.

With another sound of approval Charizard bent down and let me climb up onto his back. With a few pats on his neck he took off, his wings flapping hard to get us airborne. I loved flying on my Pokémon, more then I enjoyed Mantine Surfing. The air whipping through my hair... the reflection of the sun on the ocean below... seeing the islands down below, little blots of land in between swaths of blue water. It was exhilarating.

Finally we landed in front of my moms house on Melemele Island. I took out Charizard's Pokéball and returned him before clipping the ball back to my belt. Without even bothering to knock I walked inside, our Kantonian Meowth announcing my presence by meowing and pawing at my legs. Mom was in the kitchen cooking and when I leaned against the counter, she turned and smiled at me.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon. I'm still cooking dinner, sweetheart," she said.

I simply shrugged. "Not a lot of challengers today. Honestly I thought I was going to be late because I walked a little boy home who challenged me." I rested my chin in the palm of my hand. "He was sweet and I felt bad beating him, but... It would be cruel of me to let him beat me only for him to be beaten by someone else."

"I suppose you have a point there," Mom said and turned back to the stove. "Though, are you sure you don't want to pass the title of Champion on to someone else? It's been ten years and I know you've gotten... bored of it. Even Hau has seen it, though I guess that's not saying much since he sees you basically every day, what with him being in the Elite Four now and all."

"You're rambling, mom," I said and shrugged. "And sure, battling isn't as fun as it has been since I became champion, but part of that is my fault. I could have stopped training my Pokémon so much, but I don't want to give my title to just anyone. I've grown... attached to it, I guess."

"If you say so," Mom replied. "I just want you to be happy, sweetheart."

"Thanks," I said and stood up. "Let me know when dinner is ready. I'm going to turn on the TV."

"Sure thing."

I walked from the kitchen to the living room and sat down on the couch. Pulling out another Pokéball I released my Sylveon, and allowed the colorful pink fairy Pokémon to curl up on my lap as I flipped through the channels. I settled on the news, as nothing particularly bad happened on Alola and it was always nice to hear about cute, heart warming stories.

But today was different then all the rest.

"A Nefarious Team Sun has attacked two Kantonian native trainers earlier today," the newscaster was saying. "Making off with three of their Pokémon. We still don't know what these people want with the Kantonian trainers or their Pokémon, but I don't think it's anything particularly good. Back to you, Joe."

"Thanks Natalia," the man said as the camera shifted over. "Those Team Sun guys... it's been a few months since they first started showing up, but the violence has only escalated. They haven't revealed their goals yet, but I think things will only get worse before they start getting better. I just hope it doesn't start getting too bad."

"Me too," said the co-anchor. "Me too."

"The state of the world today..." I looked up to see Mom standing behind me as she was holding two plates of food in one hand and a bowl in the other. "You haven't run into any of those Team Sun hooligans have you?"

I shook my head. "No. The Elite Four and I decided to ban them from the Pokémon League because of the violence they start against the other trainers."

"Well, good," Mom said. "I know you can handle yourself, being 21 now and all, but still, I worry."

"I know," I said and held out my hand for my plate.

She handed me one as well as the bowl and I realized it was full of Pokébeans. Sylveon perked her head up and sniffed at the bowl. I giggled and set it down next to me on the couch. She made a happy sound before she dug into the bowl of beans.

"Thanks," I said and smiled at Mom as she sat down next to me.

"No problem. I should be thanking you for coming home at least once a week to visit me," she said and ruffled my hair.

I swatted at her hands before I started to eat.

* * *

When I returned home after dinner and a chat with mom, RotomDex popped out of my bag and hovered around my head as I bustled around, getting ready to sleep.

"Those Team Sun guys look like serious business," Rotom said.

Letting out a sigh, I flopped down on the couch and threw my head back over the top. I let out a yawn and closed my eyes. Then I looked at it and shrugged. "We'll just take care of them like we did Team Rainbow Rocket if they get out of hand."

I couldn't believe that it had been ten years since Rainbow Rocket took over the Festival Plaza and tried open the Ultra Wormholes. Ten years since I completed the Island Challenge and became the Alolan Champion. Ten years since... Gladion left for Kanto. I let out a sigh and picked out the Ultra Ball that had the Silvally he gave me as a Type: Null. Well... actually Miss Wicke gave it to me after he left, but the idea is the same.

Turning it around so the button was out, I released the Pokémon. Silvally stood in my living room and shook out its head and then looked at me. I smiled and sat up straight to pat its head. It looked kind of sad, but it affectionately pressed its head into my hand and closed its eyes.

"You miss him too, huh?" I said.

Silvally nodded and I reached into my bag and pulled out a rainbow pokébean from my bag and handed it to my Pokémon. While it ate the bean, RotomDex spoke again.

"You know you could go find him. Take time off from taking challengers. I'm sure the Elite Four and the Gym Leaders will understand," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, no. What would I say? Before I challenged the Elite Four ten years ago he said that while we aren't enemies we weren't exactly friends. It would just be stupid. Besides, I can't neglect my responsibilities."

"A lot can change in ten years," Rotom said. "Just look at the Island Challenge."

I let out a sigh. Rotom was right that a lot has changed since I did my Island Challenge. The trials became Gyms and the Captains became Gym Leaders. We even found a dragon gym leader to take over the Dragon Gym. It was a man by the name of Ryuki and he had challenged me after I had become champion. Naturally when I asked that he become a gym leader, he accepted. The Kahuna's were still Kahuna's and they were the last challenge the Challengers had to face before moving on to the next island. It was an interesting mix of Alolan and Kantonian traditions and it worked really well.

"Things may have changed on the island, Rotom, but things wouldn't have changed with me and Gladion when I haven't seen or heard from him since he left."

"You're friends with his sister, why don't you find out from her what he's up to. You could say that Silvally misses him."

I sighed and shook my head. "I'll pass. No need for Lillie to know that I'm worried about that idiot."

"All right. Well... you should get some sleep then I guess," Rotom said before he went back into my bag.

I stared sightlessly for a moment before Silvally nudged me with its head. I blinked and looked at it, petting its muzzle.

"Sleep is probably a good idea, huh?" I said. "I have to meet Hau and Lillie tomorrow anyway."

Picking up the pokéball again, I returned Silvally before I stood up and walked into my room.

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#pokemon #pokemon ultra sun #gladion #lillie #hau #alola region #pokemon ultra sun 2

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