#now i wait for irida this week

[kazu-le-dork]

[vaughnwrites]

Stressed Out

adaman x reader

(after a hell of a long hiatus, i am back from the dead! kinda. so, i'm not going to promise anything anymore as i apparently never know when inspiration is going to strike, and i never know where the hyperfixation will take me. i was trying to get this out for nine months now, but this was... not coming until tonight. sorry y'all for the wait, but here it is after all this time! also, this is my longest one to date. the others barely scratched 1000 words, some managing 1700, but this one... is a beast. it's near 3000 words. the inspiration to write struck me hard. hope you guys enjoy! )

reader is gender-neutral. they/them pronouns will be used if any pronouns at all.

finally, i bring to you this prompt

—

Everything was overwhelming.

The past few weeks, the stress had been mounting as you fought tooth and nail to be seen as an asset rather than a nuisance. You wore yourself down to the bone, putting your heart and soul trying to please everyone so the suspicion would die down only for it to mount more and more with people with each passing day. You had already been cast out once, and earned your way back into the Galaxy team. So why were people still suspicious? How much would you have to do to gain everyone’s trust? Why did you constantly have to fight for everyone’s approval?

Why did the other clan leaders believe in you more than your own clan did?

All you craved was somewhere to call home again. Somewhere you could rest your head at night and simply sleep, rather than spending all your time being anxious about one wrong perceived move and you’d be kicked out of the village again. The stress felt like it was piling up on your already tense shoulders, and you felt so overwhelmed. 

Everything was overwhelming.

Instead of slamming your fists into the first and cursing everyone to please, for the love of all that is holy, give me some credit — you got to work. Like always.

You’d overheard about a Zorua outbreak in the Alabaster Icelands, which was exactly what you needed. A young man in the village had asked to see the completed entry for Zorua, so this would be the perfect opportunity to finally cross this Pokemon off your to-do list. So, off you set toward the Pearl Clan settlement so you could check in in case something goes wrong. Even though you were far more trusting of Pokemon than others around you, you still didn’t underestimate the ones that were absolutely ready to kill you in a moment’s notice. Alpha Pokemon were far more angry than any other Pokemon you’d come across in your time.

Arriving in the Pearl settlement, the snow softly crunching under your boots, you hear not one, but two familiar voices to the side. Oh, Adaman is here as well. You vaguely remember them talking about a meeting about… something about traditions, or something? The details were fuzzy. You have been focusing far more on your own tasks and stresses than anything else.

Irida noticed your presence almost immediately and smiles, waving you over. Adaman joined along when he sees you as well.

“Well, our favourite Galaxy member is here! How are you?”

“I’m good, Irida, thank you.” You offer her a kind smile, keeping all your stresses tucked away neatly into a corner of your mind. Put them in a box, and file it away. Not the healthiest coping mechanism, but one that’ll at least get you through this. “How are you guys doing?”

“We’re just discussing our cultures and possibly having a party to mingle the clans a little easier,” Adaman responded easily, throwing up his three fingers as a hello with his signature grin that never fails to make you smile in return.

“Sounds like fun.”

“It isn’t.”

“Hey!” Irida responded, stomping her foot down with her hands clenched at her sides. “I’m not the one being unreasonable!”

“Yeah yeah,” he waved her off, then turned his attention toward you. “What brings you here?”

“There’s a Zorua outbreak around the Bonechill Wastes area, and I wanted to complete my research on this guy while I still have the chance.” You neglected to tell them someone from Galaxy wanted the information as well.

Adaman raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you have someone to come along with you?”

You opened your mouth to say no before Irida cuts in. “You volunteering? Provided you don’t freeze to death first,” she teased as she jabs him in the ribs playfully, and grinned at his responding yelp and pout. “Jesting aside — you really should have someone to accompany you. An Alpha Glalie tends to roam that area, and no one has dared to come close to it. It seems really powerful. I wouldn’t be comfortable with you going alone.”

Adaman pursed his lips in thought. “Yeah, now that you mention it, I feel like I’ve gotten a glimpse of that Glalie before.” He turned to Irida. “You said no one has come close to it before to know its true strength?”

She shook her head. “We’ve all been too scared to try.”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem for me,” you interjected, trying to quell their fears. “After everything I’ve faced, it feels like I should be dead at minimum four times over.”

The clan leaders share a glance to each other. It seems they’re talking through just their looks, but what they could possibly be communicating is lost on you. “Adaman, please go with them. I would go if I didn’t have a meeting later on that I cannot miss. But I know you’ll keep them safe.”

“Do I get a say in this?”

“No,” both clan leaders respond at the same time.

You were split on this decision. Deep down, you did really like Adaman — and not just as a friend. Any time spent with him you keep near and dear to your heart. His smile that could light up a room and his long hair that you wanted to card your fingers through. But with the stress you’ve been under and how overwhelmed you’ve been, you’re unsure if you can handle a couple hours of him bitching about how cold it was. One too many comments and you weren’t sure if you could keep it all bottled anymore.

Yet, you also knew having someone with you would be more helpful than not. You didn’t know how strong the Zorua were going to be after all. If they ended up being feisty and ganged up on you, there’s no way you’d leave the battle unscathed. Add an Alpha Glalie to the mix and you’d be dead as dust in less than a heartbeat. You weighed your options (which, technically, they weren’t giving you any) and finally caved in. You weren’t gonna win this fight anyway. “Think you can talk about more than how cold it is?”

“I’m sure I can come up with something. But if it wasn’t so damn cold I wouldn’t complain about it all the time.”

“It’s not even that cold!” Irida scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. “I don’t know how you don’t boil over in the Crimson Mirelands!”

“It’s barely warm enough there for me. It can get really cold by the water, y’know.”

“You’re both impossible,” you cut in to break off the sibling-esque fighting before it can truly start. “Now c’mon, I wanna get going before it gets dark outside.”

And off you and Adaman went, hands in your respective pockets.

You didn’t expect to fall in love with the Zorua like you did.

They were so cute with their flowy hair and expressive eyes. Most were on the attack if they saw you, but crouching down from a good distance away and just watching seemed to be okay. One had strayed away from the group toward you and Adaman, and you both held your breath so it wouldn’t notice you. It failed, as it did notice you, but it didn’t seem to be angry. It walked up to you slowly, and out of habit you gave it your hand to sniff so it wouldn’t see you as a threat.

It rubbed the side of its head against your hand, causing you to smile from ear to ear.

“You really do have a way with Pokemon, don’t you?” Adaman commented, watching everything with a small smile of his own. “They just trust you so implicitly. It’s one of the many things I love about you.”

Your cheeks went up in flames at the compliment, but the cold would cover it up as they were already pretty red. “I think they can just sense that I’m not here to harm them.” You started to pet the Zorua behind its ear, causing its eyes to close. “Sometimes I feel like they’re the only ones that can.”

“What do you mean?”

Oops. You hadn’t meant for this to be a therapy session. “I just… I don’t know. I guess it feels like humans always think they’re about to be betrayed, stabbed in the back. One wrong move and you’re crucified. But Pokemon… They don’t seem to be that way. Some Pokemon can sense a good person when they see one. That seems to be… a lot more rare in humans.”

“I know you’re a good person,” Adaman said softly, putting one hand on your arm.

Before you can even think about a response or the fact he’s showing a more sensitive side of himself to you, a noise catches the three of you off guard.

“Shit,” you breathe, feeling your entire body freeze with fear. “The Alpha.”

You both bounce to your feet as the Alpha comes over the hill behind the Zorua and Adaman. You can see the Glalie is pissed off that people are invading its territory, and wants to get rid of the intruders. An ice beam begins to form, and before you can think, you jump in front of Adaman and the Zorua.

The blast hit you in full force.

Your fingers and feet go completely numb almost immediately, though it almost feels like you’re not even cold anymore. You almost feel warm, actually, and you know that’s an incredibly bad sign. The sky is a beautiful haze of orange and purple as the sun is setting behind the clouds, and for a moment you just take in the colours swirling in your vision. It feels like everything has a layer of clouds over it, and your mind feels stuffed full of cotton. Oh, this is probably a very bad sign.

You can hear a call of your name, as warbled and muffled as you heard it, but can’t really respond to it. Adaman lifted your torso and pressed your back against his chest, his arms wrapped around you with his haori encasing you against him. The Zorua was curled in your lap, and you just felt… warm. You try to say thank you, but your lips feel tingly. Funny. You know you’re slurring even if you can’t hear much yourself. You try your hardest to communicate one word to Adaman.

“Camp.”

With that, though, you go unconscious.

—

You have no idea how much time has passed, but the next thing you know, you’re nice and warm in a tent. Blankets are stacked on top of you, and the fire in the furnace is crackling softly. You’re cozy and warm, but something feels… different. You sit up a bit, and promptly look down.

Oh. You’re definitely not wearing the clothes that you were wearing when you were out hunting for Zorua. You were wrapped up in a yukata that you didn’t recognise, but definitely knew the pearl clan symbol and colours. You wrapped it closer to yourself, then wrapped the blankets around you tightly for warmth. The clothes you had been wearing were hanging over a rack by the stove, seemingly drying off after the long day they’d been through.

You didn’t really know what to do. You’re not even sure what you managed to accomplish for research, or what you’re wearing, or what time it is, or really… anything. You don’t know anything that’s happened since you were out with Adaman. Now, it seems you’re alone in this little area. 

The tears fall before you even really mean them to.

When the first teardrop hit your hand, you realised what’s going on. The stress of everything was finally boiling over now that you feel comfortable and safe. You’re confused, but you’re comfortable and safe which is all you’ve wanted to feel for a while.

You allowed yourself to cry.

Trying not to be loud, you cry silently to yourself while wrapped up in blankets and the yukata, pulling the items tightly against you so you feel swaddled. You rock back and forth and let yourself have your small breakdown.

Until Adaman popped open the tent flaps to check on you, apparently.

Almost immediately your hands fly to your face to cover your tear-tracked cheeks and red eyes, burying your face into the softness of the blanket. You don’t say anything, and neither does he. But all it takes is him walking up and gently touching the top of your hair before you break completely.

The stress of everything came boiling over the edge, the fear of almost dying, the unknown of whether the research you obtained was enough to complete the entry on Zorua, whether you would have a home to go back to in Galaxy. Everything boiled up and you pressed the top of your head into Adaman’s stomach to cry.

He rubbed your back and shoulders gently as you sobbed, gently shushing you and reassuring you that you were safe, you were okay, everyone was okay. He was the much-needed rock in your mind to cling to so your head stayed above the water of emotions. Everything was going to be fine.

Everything was going to be fine.

Eventually your tears slowed and your breathing evened out, pulling away from Adaman to give him room and let him back up if he wanted. (You couldn’t help but notice he didn’t.) “I’m sorry. I didn’t… mean to break down.”

“You’ve been through a lot today, it’s understandable why you would.” Adaman sat down on the bed next to you and handed you a towel to wipe your face. “You’re in a spare tent right now, one they have set out for visitors or harmed individuals found in the wild. Do you remember what happened?”

You nodded, refusing to speak any words.

“You really scared me, y’know. When I saw that ice blast hit you, I… I saw you skid backward in the snow, and your lips were already blue. That was one of the scariest moments of my life, but I’m glad I went with you to keep you safe. Makes me want to go everywhere with you to always make sure you’re safe.”

An eyebrow raised as you look at him. “Wouldn’t that be a waste of your time?”

“Saving you wasn’t a waste of time. And I’d do it all over again, and again, just to keep you safe.”

You’re stunned speechless. You don’t know how to respond with words, so you do the next best appropriate thing — hug him. It starts as a side hug that quickly develops into a full hug, and by the way you’re both gripping each other… it seems neither one of you wants to let go.

“Adaman…” you whispered, holding him tightly. “Thank you. I couldn’t ask for a better —” you pause. You can’t say friend. He’s more than a friend at this point, in your heart, but that’s not something you can say. “— for a better person in my life. You’ve been so helpful to me, and I just… I’m so thankful for you.”

You can feel him smile against your shoulder, which makes you smile. “And I, you.”

He pulled back from the hug slowly, as if he was fighting himself. But he let go and instead stood up, grabbing the bowl he’d at some point set on the counter next to you. “I brought this in to try and wake you up to get something in your stomach, when… well, y’know.” Adaman rubbed the back of his neck. “You should get some warm food in your system though. It’ll help out.”

You grabbed the bowl of what appears to be some sort of soup, and you’re glad to have something else besides potato mochi to eat tonight. “Thank you.”

As you began to eat your soup, Adaman began to explain everything. “So that Zorua you saved came back with us. It’s sleeping with all your Pokeballs in Irida’s tent so she could keep an eye on them, and so they didn’t try to warm you too fast.” Ah, that explained the lack of Pokeballs with your clothes. “That Zorua seems pretty attached. I think you found yourself a new buddy.”

Both of you talk about the Zorua, about the research of all types of Pokemon and how it’s all going, talk about how cold it is and how much warmer the Crimson Mirelands is, how the clan meeting seems to be coming along well even through the bickering Irida and him do. Eventually, you finish your soup and set the bowl onto the chest next to you. Adaman clears his throat and begins to stand. 

“It’s about time for sleep, so I guess I’ll —”

“Please stay with me.”

Adaman’s eyebrows shot through the sky as he looked at you. “What?”

“Please, stay with me. I could use another person here so I’m not… I’m not alone.” You bowed your head. “And I don’t want you to go. But if you do, I understand.”

Hands rest on your shoulders and you looked up, meeting his eyes and matching his smile. “I would love nothing more than that. I don’t want to leave your side. Not now, not…” he stopped, but you finished it.

“Not ever?”

He smiled warmly, and it warms your soul. “Not ever.”

“Then stay with me. Tonight, at least. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

“You got it.”

He slid under the blankets with you, and without a second thought, you curled up next to him for warmth. You were warm, but after how cold you were today… warm didn’t seem to be enough. Adaman’s arms wrapped around you protectively, and with your head on his chest, the sound of his heartbeat gently lulled you into a peaceful slumber.

[waywardstation]

It’s Wednesday. Usually you’re sharing a WIP today but I am once again encouraging you to not pressure yourself to share something today, especially when things are busy on your end. Or anything else that could keep you from getting here.

So no pressure! And hope you’re doing okay! Take care!

Thank you for the reminder and support, friend! Both are appreciated very much, and hope you’re doing alright too! ^^ A lot has certainly been going on lately, but I really wanted to get a WIP out on time this week, so here is one, even though it’s pretty late!

SO HAPPY WIP WEDNESDAY! Today’s WIP is the losing choice from HFBE from this poll — an argument about the viability of pokeballs in the Pearl Clan.

Enjoy! Writing is subject to change!

—————

“Excuse me Miss Irida, but may we talk for a moment?”

The Pearl Clan leader turned back to see Ingo – he was trailing behind the group, purposefully so. He had been waiting for the right moment to approach her.

“Right now?” Irida’s eyes flickered back over the tops of people’s heads, up towards the communal hall at the top of the hill. “I’m sorry, but can it wait until after the meeting?”

“It is actually about the meeting.” Ingo’s grey eyes were unwavering, waiting — he wanted to ask her something. And Ingo was not one to usually ask for things.

“Ok,” She relented, pausing in the snow both so he could catch up, and they could have their conversation with some privacy away from the rest of the group. “You have until we reach the hall.”

“Thank you, I assure you it will be quick.” Ingo fell into step beside her, shuffling through the snow as they now both trailed behind the group heading towards the warm hall. Just like her, he kept his head tilted down, using the brim of his hat to protect against the wind and snowfall. “I, ah… I am planning to re-propose a proposition at this meeting tonight. I’d like to make another attempt at advocating for the use of pokeballs.”

“Tonight? Are you serious?” Irida lowered her voice (for his sake, not hers), looking back between him and the group. How could he possibly think about proposing that when this meeting was for them to discuss how to prepare for this famine? “I’m saying this not as your leader but as your friend, Ingo; now is absolutely not a good time for that. Everyone is already going into this meeting angry. And if you try and start this again, they’re going to-”

Irida took a deep breath; she was already getting stressed over it.

“You know what the elders are going to say, Ingo. Especially after last time. And you said you’d let it go.”

“I am well aware of what I said and I intended to stick to it, but these circumstances have changed our tracks, and I believe this may save us from derailing!” Ingo whispered back. He kept throwing quick glances at the nearing hall, gauging how much time he had left to persuade her. “Pokeballs can help us much more than the clan realizes – I’m confident that this can bring us closer to a solution, if not at least be a part of one!”

Irritation and confusion were replaced with genuine curiosity, but a fleck of doubt hesitantly followed after. Irida shook her head, not understanding. “How could they possibly help with all of this?”

“I will explain that in the meeting.” Having conquered the snowy hill, the two reached the warm light that spilled through the hall’s windows to project onto the snow. “But to do that, I need to actually present my proposal, and I’m afraid that will be difficult with the elders tonight. I am trying this for the fourth time now, and I’m aware of how this will most likely be received. I expect they’ll attempt to send me back to my seat before I even start.”

Ingo paused just outside the doors, waiting for Irida to go in first — she could do so and end the conversation right now if she wanted to, but she didn’t. Instead she stood there, staring at their fading shoeprints in the snow.

Irida could see why he approached her about this now, and a part of her felt sorry for him. “So you want me to vouch for you in this meeting tonight.”

“Not for the proposal itself. Just for the time to talk.”

[kiyfra]

Chapter 2 of Scorpio is complete! Can be read here or on AO3. PokéRus AU belongs to @monsoon-of-art

“I can bear scorpion's stings, tread fields of fire, in frozen gulfs of cold eternal lie, be tossed aloft through tracts of endless void, but cannot live in shame.”

——————————————

Ingo had come back to the Pearl Clan settlement and was outside Irida’s tent with the other wardens, all of them baying and scratching at the door as they waited for her to join them.

One by one the infected had lost their minds and turned into monsters, lacking even the nobility of animals. They might have superficially looked like pokémon, but they didn’t contain the spark of understanding and markings of a rich inner soul that real pokémon had.

She was going to be the last to turn after Calaba. The two of them had bunkered down in Irida’s living quarters and spent their remaining time listening as the beasts prowled the deserted camp, breaking into storerooms and rummaging through abandoned tents in their search for food.

They could have easily broken in to get at them; the flimsy tents wouldn’t stand up against several determined alphas. But they merely whined and begged for them to join their pack while the last two remnants of the Pearl Clan could only wait for the inevitable.

“It wasn’t supposed to end like this,” Irida lamented with her face buried in her paws.

The Pearl Clan had dissolved under the young leader’s watch, her people forced to leave the grounds where Almighty Sinnoh had appeared before their ancestors. She wondered where they went after they were sent away, if any of them chose to stay in Hisui or if they had all left for better lives overseas. Did they stick together or did the Pearl Clan disperse across the world, it’s people scattered to the winds?

It had been a close race between her and Paulina to determine a successor to lead the Pearl Clan, with Irida winning out in the end. Paulina had been happy for her, even presenting her with the headpiece she was seldom seen without.

Irida had often secretly believed that the older, more experienced woman that had felt more like a parental substitute than a rival would have made a better clan leader than her. Now she was forced to listen to her whimpering and impatient barking at all hours of the day, demanding to know how she could keep her locked out.

“Rarely do we get a choice in such matters. I thought that I had made my peace with that, but life never manages to stop surprising me,” Calaba said.

There was nearly a century’s worth of lived experience behind her words.

The old warden turned towards the young leader. “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself, I’ve made a real mess of things myself.”

Bitter and paranoid accusations were slung about from people that wanted something or someone to blame. A warden with no Noble to tend to was easy to point fingers at, whether they were a foreigner that kept their pokémon in strange capsules or a Pearl borne that refused to force their Noble’s remaining child to take their place.

Calaba’s insistence that a curse had been brought upon the clans had fuelled nasty infighting in the final weeks leading up to the clan’s exodus. They had latched onto her words in the absence of any other explanations and the old warden had inadvertently turned a member of the Pearl Clan into a pariah.

Irida knew the she never wanted that, but it was far too late for her or anyone else to make amends.

“You weren’t the only one who made mistakes. I wasn’t helping when I raised the possibility our predicament was caused by the false Sinnoh the Diamond Clan worships,” Irida said. “I don’t think our words or anyone else’s could have effected the outcome.”

“Don’t interrupt a foolish old lady when she’s going over her regrets on her deathbed. You know I made this far more painful than it needed to be,” the woman turned bibarel chided.

In spite of her misgivings towards the odd man, she never wanted to see him driven out. She suspected that despite his gratitude towards the people that had taken him in, Warden Ingo was never truly happy in Hisui and one day he would want to leave. Such thoughts had not abated over time, even after years had passed. How could Calaba think the man belonged with the Pearl Clan when he didn’t even believe so?

Ingo had dutifully complied with every prescribed exorcism and cure despite his skepticism and Calaba had done everything she could for a patient she believed was a lost cause.

“What would we have done without such a knowledgeable medicine woman treating everyone tirelessly? I wouldn’t have fared nearly as well as I did without you,” Irida insisted.

Calaba was always one of the people she turned towards for advice, along with Gaeric and Paulina. Her parents had been one of the causalities of a famine that had ravaged the ice lands in a cruel winter many years ago. Irida was too young to remember them, neither did she have any grandparents to raise her. She spent her childhood moving between the care of different adults and being supervised by older kids well into their teens. Most of them considered themselves babysitters with a few that took it upon themselves to act as mentors.

Paulina showing her how to care for and bond with the eevee her parents left behind, Gaeric teaching her how to endure the cold and not let it bother her, and Calaba guiding her through recipes for medicine and meals.

If Irida forced herself to try and remember her parents, they were the only people that came to mind.

Calaba remained doubtful and looked as though she was about to argue, but thought better of it. Sensing the line of conversation was going nowhere, she decided to change the subject.

“Was there anything you wanted to say or get off your chest?”

Irida pondered the question for a moment before shaking her head.

“I can’t think of anything in particular.”

A harsh cry mixed with a scraping sound came from outside and made Irida jump. The dissonant wailing of a glalie originated from Gaeric who was begging to be let in and banging on the door to make his displeasure known.

Calaba barely reacted to his forlorn crying, merely scowling and clucking her tongue as she felt a headache coming on. The old bibarel walked towards Irida’s kitchenware to put on the kettle, hoping some tea would calm their nerves.

She turned back to the glaceon, returning to the matter at hand.

“It could be any trifling thing.”

Irida thought back to when she was little and her eevee had gotten a scratch on its eye. She didn’t see what caused it and had run over to Calaba’s tent in a panic with her partner dangling from her arms.

Ursaluna’s warden calmly assessed the damage before concluding it was a minor and easily treated injury. She crafted two medicines for her eevee, one to speed up the healing and prevent infection, another to relieve the pain.

When she was older, Calaba taught her several common remedies, spending many evenings gently correcting her on dosage and how long to let plants simmer.

“Thank you for teaching me how to cook for myself and make medicines. And for always being there.” Irida looked away from Calaba and down at the floor.

“I wish I could be thanking Lina too.”

Calaba seemed momentarily at a loss, wondering where this was coming from before her expression softened in understanding.

“I was happy to do so and I’m glad you found it useful. Thank you for staying by my side when I was so sick.”

Calaba had fallen gravelly ill several years ago, leaving her so weak that she had been rendered bedridden. At her age it could easily prove fatal and it was an unspoken understanding by her and the rest of the Pearl Clan that she was at the end of her life.

Irida was busying herself with preparing a damp cloth and medicinal tea for the warden while forcing down a sickly anxiety when she called the girl over to her bedside.

She told her that she was happy with how she lived her life and she didn’t have to cry for her. It was Sinnoh’s will whether she stayed or left and that wasn’t something Irida could control. Why fight against the inevitable?

Everyone was quite surprised when her fever broke and she made a full recovery, Calaba most of all. Her death would come one day and it served as a sobering reminder that it may not be far off. It almost made Irida appreciate the Diamond Clan’s reverence for time.

A wavering whistle came from the kettle, rising in pitch to signal the water was ready.

Calaba carefully looked through her host’s tea selection before settling on one. It was a nice one from overseas, one Irida purchased from the Ginko Guild and had been saving for a special occasion.

After the tea finished steeping, she poured out a cup for each of them, making sure one of them was wide enough for Irida to lap out of. They drank their tea in silence for a minute before Calaba smirked to herself, amused by some private joke.

“I want to thank you for the buneary you brought me. It was quite thoughtful of you.”

Irida nearly snorted into her tea and the tips of her ears grew warm with embarrassment. Warm for a glaceon, anyways.

She had returned during a memory lapse one morning with a buneary she had apparently managed to hunt and left it on Calaba’s doorstep. It was certainly awkward trying to explain that to the warden and anyone else that witnessed her off putting behaviour. What exactly her thought process was in bringing that to a species that was strictly herbivorous remained a mystery.

“Lord Ursaluna was very appreciative of the offering. He wanted me to let you know,” Calaba continued, somewhat facetiously.

Irida pulled her ears down and hid her face in the flaps from her crest, wishing she could sink through the floor.

“Ugghhh... no...”

The warden chuckled at her mortification as she resumed drinking her tea.

The near incessant scratching and banging from the former humans grew louder and their yowling more pained and indignant. Irida worried their patience had run out and they would try to force their way in.

If Calaba was perturbed by the ruckus, she didn’t show it. But her gaze grew more distant and expression more somber.

“I’m not afraid of dying, I haven’t been for a long time. My greatest fear was being in pain.”

Tent framing started to creak as the howling reached a fever pitch, claws catching on fabric with the constant pawing that could tear a hole in their shelter. The clan leader’s eyes grew wide and her fur started bristling at the monsters looking to force the two of them out.

Calaba merely sighed and looked down at her cup morosely.

“I wouldn’t expect someone your age to easily come to terms with something like this. You did the best that could have been done and I’m proud of you.”

They were shoving each other out of the way for their turn to pound at the door, fighting amongst themselves for the chance to break it off its hinges. Irida desperately tried to think of some way out, her nerves completely shot.

Could they run away? The beasts had them surrounded and they would stand little chance in a fight. She wasn’t sure Calaba would be inclined to try either, still sitting down and sipping away at her tea in the very picture of resignation.

The frantic pounding and caterwauling carried on for a long time, long enough for Calaba to pour and finish a second cup. Irida listened anxiously for the cracking of timber or the tearing of cloth, twitching and jumping at every sound before the commotion finally slowed down and devolved into the usual pathetic whimpering.

The clan leader remained on edge, worried their reprieve wouldn’t last and the frenzy would flare up again. It was nearly an hour before she allowed herself to relax somewhat.

Her half finished tea had gone cold and Calaba collected their cups to wash and put away.

“...Thank you. If it’s alright, could we just pretend things are normal?”

The warden nodded in agreement and the two of them talked about anything and everything that came to their minds well into the night, falling asleep to the background noise of relentless crying from the mad alphas. The next morning, Calaba was gone. She had slipped out sometime in the middle of the night to join the caravan of beasts, leaving Irida as the only one left.

She spent a few more days holed up in her tent hearing her wardens yowling, not understanding why their leader wouldn’t join them and her blackouts growing more and more frequent.

Irida woke up one morning and knew deep in her soul that today was the day. She felt eerily calm as she accepted her fate; there was nothing she could do and nothing she could have done. Why fight against the inevitable?

Maybe Dawn and the Galaxy Team would find a solution in the end, but it was entirely out of Irida’s hands.

She didn’t have any beliefs about what would happen next, but she truly believed Almighty Sinnoh hadn’t forsaken them. Aide or comfort would be doled out solely at it’s discretion, in this life or the next in all of its divine wisdom.

Hopefully the Nobles would find it within themselves to carry on their duty to the clans and watch over them, for their sakes and for anyone unfortunate enough to be a victim of their madness.

She spent several hours making sure everything in her living quarters was tidied up and put away in preparation for her last meaningful decision. If she was praying for the grace and mercy of Sinnoh, the least she could do was not leave her space a mess.

When she was satisfied, she set about attending to her final matter of business. Working patiently, she twisted her head around and used her teeth to untie the knot in the back of her robe. She managed to get a tooth under one of the loops and tugged, loosening the cord holding the outfit together and sliding it off. Irida would no longer have any need of it.

That too was put away and after taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she leapt up to open the door with as much dignity as she could muster while scrabbling at the knob. The door swung open and Irida strode purposefully into the crowd of beasts, their ceaseless baying falling quiet at last. All of them regarded her silently as she walked towards the centre of the camp.

Ingo was perched atop a tent like an unmoving gargoyle, save for his eyes following her, with no doubts about where he belonged. Calaba, Paulina, Gaeric; there were no hints of recognition or familiarity in the eyes of any of the wardens, just the expectation that she would fulfill her obligation towards them.

The inky shadows that were now omnipresent in her mind were angrily threatening to suffocate her, to drown and snuff out her psyche.

It could do so whenever it pleased.

Far across Hisui, a young man came to a similar decision, relieved the waiting was over. Two clan leaders sat poised before their pack of wardens, ready to join them and ready to let their minds slip away into the darkness where they might never be found again.

[jadeazora]

Irida acquired! (Second multi.) I spent a few 5⭐ Powerups to EX her since I had a lot to spare, otherwise I would have been waiting a couple weeks.

We also had the second part to the Extreme Battles added. We were never in danger of losing, but it felt like kind of a lengthy battle since we used up both our Ice Zones before Torterra went down.

They fixed the recent bug where Adaman and Irida didn't talk in their Pokemon Center/Lodge conversations, tho since theirs is currently the only event going on right now that has them talking to each other in the Pokemon Center, it's gonna be Thursday we can actually see what their individual Pokemon Center dialogue is like 💀:

Also in mobile game news, a trailer for Pokemon Unite's next battle pass:

[crystalelemental]

Another quick week. I'm tired. But a few notes beneath the cut.

Vs. Phoebe It's been a while since I broke out Anni Lillie. I missed her. Moongeist Beam remains ridiculous on-type. Renegade Cynthia's sync is similarly batty, girl just explodes stages like nothing. That said, NY!Dawn remains a decent frontline tank, but she did not feel like cooperating with me. She never dodged anything. Girl you get +2 evasion every use of your trainer move, I know I capped that out. "Is she even helping this team?" More than you think! Aside from the debuffing, NY!Dawn's main benefit is Speedy Entry x2, which is effectively x4 thanks to her passive. It's a decent speed injection. Not H!Caitlin tier, but good enough to get a job done.

Vs. Glacia Lodge Irida is such a mixed bag. She's so inconsistent with the burn and the flinch, but without defense debuffing I feel like she doesn't do the best job overall. Also this Glacia spams AoE like crazy and even with Morty it's a very rough time. Once we got a good rotation she was able to break the stage, but there's a lot that goes wrong.

Vs. Drake SS Silver is good, but it's kind of awkward late-game, when you're trying to clean up sides and realize oh wait, I didn't actually debuff center's speed. Now my sync is worse off. It's on-type so he still exploded the soul from Drake's body, but you get the irritation. H!Caitlin rules with this guy, though.

Vs. Sidney I tried to use Lodge Dawn to partner with Lusamine. It goes okay. The benefit is mostly Team Sharp Entry saving a turn of setup, and the X Sp Atk All helping boost. That said, Dawn refused MPR on it, and the foe spams Snarl, so it's never good. Good news though, Positive Reinforcement actually got play. With EX Lodge Dawn, we were able to nigh-perfectly KO left for a denial, which got Lusamine from +3 after taking a Snarl to +6 without issue. Dawn didn't survive, but the overall outcome was kinda fun.

Vs. Steven SC Rosa has kinda taken a back seat to the other Grass-type damage dealers, due to The Troubles. I love this alt, but I can't pretend she doesn't have serious issues. The requirement of debuffing evasion for her sync is a nightmare. Debuffing special attack is just as bad. No other sync pair shares that combination of traits, so she needs to handle that herself. But. Then she also needs to use Trainer Move, or she's suffering accuracy issues when she gets back to attacking. And the special defense debuffs matter greatly as well. It's just very difficult to organize SC Rosa's needs. Fortunately, I think I got one. Roxanne is a solid partner, solving the gauge issues of a four-bar spam easily, while providing nice defensive backbone and topping off special attack. SS Leaf is a really nice pick as well, offering pretty much every possible debuff at 5/5. Noxious Hit handles offenses, Sundering can help hit special defense, and Hem In even helps with evasion for full-power sync. This was a fairly fun and effective team overall, though the 5/5 thing on Leaf may be a barrier for people.

[that1nkyone]

A Perfect Sculpture

"You are not our leader."

Irida's ears pricked up. Palina's voice was low and dangerous.

With as much silence as she could muster, the Glaceon placed her paws on the base of the window and peeked through to the inside of the tent.

Her Imposter sat there at a small wooden desk. A stack of paper - (the trading paperwork with Jubilife and the Diamond Clan, Irida noted with a small shudder) was situated to the left. Her doppleganger had ceased to write on the parchment, her eyes having flicked up to her current guests.

Irida saw, in a row, three of her Wardens. Palina stood tall, eyes narrowed and hands clasped before her stomach. Gaeric towered, his arms crossed against his chest with a scowl. And Calaba's normally nonplussed expression glowered with a fury that Irida hadn't seen since she was a child.

"Pardon?" the Imposter asked, in Irida's voice. "You've caught me at a busy time."

"You're not Irida." Calaba said, sternly. "We've been observing you for a week. Besides your sudden change in mannerisms and routine, we are no strangers to Zoroarks in our midst."

"You're a clever one." Gaeric said, tapping his head. "You've watched how she speaks. You've figured out the ins and outs of our home. But I know Irida wouldn't skip a training session even if she was feelin' under the weather."

Irida's heart swelled.

They had noticed. Her faithful Wardens had noticed something amiss!

Irida was tempted to jump inside, then and there - but realised the complication. She still wasn't recognisable as she was. And if her doppleganger was a Zoroark… a highly intelligent Zoroark, then…

The Glaceon stilled in wait, biting her tongue. She couldn't agitate the situation quite yet. If anything, she could be a distraction if the Imposter was dangerous. But for now…

"There's no sense denying it." Palina's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You are intruding in our space. And saw fit to replace Irida in her own."

The Glaceon glanced back to her doppleganger. And the False Irida gazed at the trio a moment.

Then, she looked down at the parchment and continued to write.

"Yes." she said. "What of it?"

The collective wind seemed to be taken out of their sails. Irida's ears twitched, as she gazed at the imposter.

"You're going to tell us where the real Irida is." Gaeric said, stepping forward with his fists balled to his sides.

The imposter gestured away with her free hand. "Tell you? She comes and goes in the village as she pleases." she muttered, eyes still fixed on the parchment. "It's not my fault that you haven't been paying attention."

Irida froze.

"Lies." Calaba said, eyes narrowed. "You have hidden away our leader to our eyes. And you have no intent on telling us where she is, do you?"

At this, the false Irida glanced up from the paper. "I could." she said, thoughtfully. "Then again, should this information be yours to know?"

At this, Palina's gaze grew fiery.

"If you don't come forward with her location, we'll expose your identity to the village." she said, glancing briefly at Gaeric. "We understand your power, and we know better than to fight against a Pokemon as powerful as yourself. But this is our clan. Once they know that the true Irida is missing -"

"- they'll need a new acting leader while she's being located." the Imposter sat up straight, with a shrug and a smile. "Isn't that interesting? Who do you believe they will choose?"

Irida felt silence descend upon the tent. From her vantage point, she saw the breath stolen from Palina.

"What are you insinuating?" Calaba said, eyes narrowed.

"I've been curious about something. Is the clan really so insistent on the words of a kit?" the Imposter asked. "Or was she made leader out of convenience?"

Gaeric stepped forward with a snarl. "How dare you -"

"When the previous leader of this Clan died, I watched from afar." the Imposter said - the illusory Irida's hair becoming wispy. Her eyes gleaming yellow. "I watched as they wrapped a kit in the robes of a leader. They paraded her around. She was next in line, they said. It was tradition, they said."

The imposter smiled at the trio, her teeth sharp.

"It was disgusting. A kit with barely-developed teeth and claws, and already, she was to defend a pack of cowards."

Irida felt her chest tighten. She tried to open her mouth, and nothing came out.

"We prepared her." Calaba said, her stoic visage shaken. "We prepared her for -"

"- for moulding, yes." The imposter said. "What better mind to shape than one not yet fully formed? You and your fellow Elders had the perfect way to keep your influence afresh and strong through that kit."

Irida watched Calaba grow pale with shock. Then, the old woman's expression grew dark with fury.

"How dare you -"

"Irida is strong enough to tread these paths." Gaeric interrupted, arms crossed against his chest. "Physically and mentally. From a young age, she's had these talents. She has grown strong enough to stand on her own! The fact that you're looking down on her like some kind of weakling - "

"And what if she was weak?" The imposter shot back. "What if all the training you put her through amounted to little? What if there was a moment she could not stand on her own? Would she be of no use to you and this clan?"

Gaeric's bravado faltered. "That's not what - the ice is unforgiving!" he leaned forward with a scowl. "She needs to be strong! She knows not to -"

"She has been told again and again, I'm sure." the Imposter said. "Imagine how she'd feel to fail all that."

Gaeric paled. Instead of rage simmering beneath his expression, he suddenly looked frozen.

"You underestimate her." Palina said, quietly. "This is her home. She wanted to be leader - to guide our clan in her mother's footsteps. She's managed to steer her own path. Even if the Elders disapprove."

Palina gripped her hands together. "You insult her by dismissing all that!"

The Imposter rested her chin on one hand. A sudden crackle sounded, and a wisp a red sliced through her arm and shoulder.

"And you insulted her the moment you gave up your fight of being Leader of the Pearl Clan." the Imposter replied, the malice fading away. "When you decided that a wilful child in mourning would be the best option, over your own leadership."

Irida felt her insides twist. She was no longer looking at the conversation. Her head had sank down beneath the window of the tent, as her paws released from the windowsill.

She felt numb.

There was a silence in the tent, before the scratching of ink upon parchment resumed.

"No. No, I don't think I will tell you where she is." the Imposter said. "She will make herself known if she pleases, I'm sure. But perhaps there's a reason why she hides."

There was a brief pause. Nobody spoke. Nobody refuted what had been said.

Nothing would come.

"Tell the village what you want." The Imposter stated, offhandedly. "It matters little to me. And perhaps you can choose an acting Leader in the meantime. Perhaps you may prove my point."

With shaking legs, Irida stepped down from the box next to the tent.

Her face was blank, as she slowly padded her way through the village.

She did not see her Wardens emerge quietly from the tent. She did not hear Flareon calling to her from afar, asking what was wrong.

Irida wasn't sure when she found herself beyond the reaches of the village, in the middle of the Alabaster Icelands. Out, out and farther beyond until she was blending perfectly into the white snow.

[smallestapplin]

so i had this funny idea floating in my head for a little while lol.

warden ingo sees the new sky person and just instantly falls inlove with them. but wat he dosent know is its his S/O whos been looking for him for a few years. however his s/o has been so busy with the pokedex that they havent had much time to spend with him, and when they do its not very much. one day while staying with the new sky person at their place he decides to confess his feelings only for them to laugh and be like “ingo, were married”

queue the water works and a surprised pikachu face. his s/o finally gets to explain who they are and where hes from. now he just feels silly and embarrassed but his s/o just thinks it was the cutest thing ever.

Ayo👀👀

Asks are open

-

-

Warden Ingo has the same routine day in and day out, but something always felt missing, this something keeps him up at night.

It’s like his futon is too big no matter how small it is, so he usually ends up sleep in Lady Sneasler’s den with her kits.

Even then he still feels lonely, no matter who he is around he feels like he is alone. He can’t recall how long he has been in Hisui anymore as days, weeks, and months blend and blur together.

Then he got orders from Irida to help the new sky fallen stranger.

He didn’t mean to almost run into you but he is glad he did. He froze up looking at you, his heart screaming in joy but he was confused as to why.

You looked at him that day in shock and disbelief, then it morphed into confusion.

“Hello! The commander his informed me he’d like you in his office.”

And he was quick to take off to the training grounds to still his beating heart.

Since then he can’t help but want to be around you, he is in love but he is scared at how quickly he fell for you. Just walking around the cave guiding you, while his head hurt from all the thinking of what memories he could recall, your presence lessened it.

You seemed to always push his memory in the right direction or you’d mention something that made his eyes light up.

Unova sounds so familiar, and you said you’re from there, there has to be something he isn’t getting!

You two spent so much time together. Time he cherished.

But one day you looked at your odd device, an ‘Arcphone’ you said it was.

Your contentment was quickly snuffed out when you looks at it, placing it back into your pocket and you left.

“Sorry to cut on usual hang outs short Ingo, I need to complete the pokedex, I’ll try and visit as often as I can.”

And you were gone.

Sometimes he didn’t see you for weeks, other times he’d only get thirty minutes with you and you’d be gone.

You absents left a hold in his heart, he desperately wants you by his side again, he feels more isolated than before.

He made up his mind, he is going to confess his love for you!

For a week he stay in Jubilife at the training grounds waiting for you, he figured he’d let you set a time and he’d confess then.

And it worked!

“Hey Ingo! Awfully late for you to be at the training grounds here, what’s up?”

“Oh has it already gotten that late? My apologies I didn’t even notice.” He has been so lost in thought about what he’d even say he didn’t notice night had fallen.

“Well it’s too late for you to go back to the highlands, come on, you can rest at my place.” You motion him to follow you.

“Oh I don’t wish to impose-“

“Come on Ingo.”

“Of course.”

He knew you wouldn’t take no for an answer on this.

Once at your house and taking off his shoes at the door he sat on the cushion.

“Are you hungry at all? I can make something for us.” You offer already up and ready to make something.

“Oh no thank you, ate earlier.”

You stare at him.

“I ate a few berries and Zisu forced me to take a lunch break, so I also made and ate some soup, I made sure to do so in case you stopped by, you get upset with me when I don’t eat.” He chuckles at your flushed but relived face.

You sit back down “good! You need to take care of yourself, I…well we all worry for you.”

Ingo feels his heart beating quickly, you care for him, you worry for him, he can’t take it anymore.

“If I may be so bold, may I confess something?” He takes his hat off and rests it against his chest, almost in a form of comfort.

“Oh, sure I don’t mind,” you warm smile makes him blush.

Looking away for a moment before taking a deep breathe, he can do this.

“I wish to tell you I’m in love with you, I realized I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore in our time apart, I want to spend all my time with you, you are always at the forefront of my mind, please, allow me to court you.”

His face grew redder with each word, he looks down now wanting to meet you eyes, afraid you’ll see his fear of rejection.

His heart sinks at the sound of your laughter, it didn’t sound mocking but it hurt.

“Oh Ingo! You don’t have to, we are married, you are way passed the courting phase!” You try to tone down you laughter but it only gets louder at the look on his face.

His embarrassed expression made this all the cuter! To think your husband fell right back in love with you.

His head had snapped up at you, eyes wide and mouth agape. You take your gloves off your left hand and show him your ring.

“In our time we commonly use rings to show our commitment, you bought me this ring and gave it to me on our wedding day, when you went missing I was frantic, I spent two years looking you for, we never gave up hope.”

Your voice breaks and you try to blink away tears.

“When I saw you here I was so excited but you didn’t remember me, I didn’t want you to think I was crazy by suddenly hugging you and claiming to be your spouse when you obviously had no idea.”

You gently cup his face with your left hand “I’m just happy you’re alive, that’s all I ever wanted to know.”

Ingo places his hand onto of yours, nuzzling into it. How had he not noticed? Your ring matches his perfectly!

With his free hand he reaches into his shirt and pulls out the matching ring.

“I made it into a necklace so I wouldn’t lose it, everyday I looked at handheld it wondering why it held such value to me, now I know, I’m so sorry.”

You shush him and pull him into a hug as he cries onto your shoulder. His arms are tightly around you.

“It’s not your fault Ingo, I would wait a life time for you.”

You two held each other crying. He felt awful he forgot his spouse, but it explains how at first glance he fell in love with you all over again.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me Ingo, you’re my husband, I swore to stand by you and I will continue to do so.”

“Can you tell me what I’m missing then?”

“Of course.”

More tears were shed when he started putting pieces together. Leaving behind a twin brother whom you also seemed worried about but didn’t tell him why.

He doesn’t need to know how much of a mess Emmet is, you’re worried that it’ll be twice as bad with your own disappearance. You two were each other’s rock when Ingo vanished.

“So the purple flames?”

“That would be your partner Pokémon, a Chandelure that you named wickie, you got them when you were ten so be easy on yourself with the name.”

It was so weird to be learning facts about himself, some memories clicked while others didn’t, it would take time but you promised him you two would be able to go back soon.

Garitina has already faced your wrath.

Arceus is next.

[pokenimagines]

NSFW Adaman and Irida fic- Hello! I'm not sure if you're comfortable with this or not, so feel free to reject my request 💟 I'd like a little spicy fic where the reader (female, if possible) ends up in a threesome with Adaman and Irida, if that's not too much trouble! Thanks a lot for your hard work (I really enjoyed the last event!)

gruehgalibnsdkjfbse my bi mind is having an aneurysm like fhweufh when I saw both of the leaders I had a genuinely hard time who I'd rather be with. Like. Both. At the same time preferably.

Discord (16+) - Request Information 

Warning: This is NSFW so if you’re under the legal age or uncomfortable with content like this, please skip over this one!

NSFW Adaman and Irida: The Leaders and Their Pet

"So you agree?" Irida looked at you with expectant eyes and you scratched the back of your head. You had been called to her place in the bitter cold, the old man saying it was an important business meeting, and here you were. Irida and Adaman asking if you wanted to join them in a threesome.

Apparently they both liked you, far more than they should, and the main issue is they wouldn't want a clan feud over romance. So they decided, if you were willing, to share. It wasn't just a threesome they were offering...but it was a perk.

"I mean..." You said, looking between the two clan leaders. They were both near your age and extremely attractive. Not to mention everything you had gone through with them. You literally fought both their gods with them standing right by your side. You didn't just like the two clan leaders, you were in love with them.

"You don't have to, if you're uncomfortable with it." Adaman said, though the pained look in his eyes was telling. You took in a deep breath before finally looking at the two leaders.

"I uh never said that. I just...don't know how we'd go about it is all." You barely had experience with a single partner, now you were being thrown into a polyamorous relationship? A thruple, if you recalled correctly.

Irida beamed, looking at you and then grabbing one of your hands. She brought it up to her lips and kissed your knuckles, "Then let us lead...please."

Adaman nodded in agreement, and he too had a goofy grin on his face like a purloin that caught the rattata. "We don't have a crazy amount of experience, but at least in the diamond clan sexuality is looked at as a very...free spirited thing."

"It's a bit more closed off in the pearl clan but it doesn't mean it's forbidden." Irida nodded. You swore if both of them had experience in this, you might actually die and see Arceus way sooner than expected.

Adaman had come closer, wrapping his arm around your waist from behind and began peppering kisses alongside your neck. Right as Irida came up to kiss you, noises were heard from outside the home. Someone cleared their throat and Irida and Adaman took a step away from you and you tried fixing up your clothes as to not look suspecious.

One of the pearl clan members came inside and looked at the three of you, "Perfect, you're all here! We just had notice of a time space distortion appearing close to the village." He said and Irida sighed.

"However...perhaps this will have to wait for a different time it seems." She said as she was already gathering her team. You already knew you were being dragged into this battle and were silently thankful it was happening, battling was far easier to manage than relationships. You knew you would eventually have to deal with it again though. The thought both terrified and excited you.

It should've come as no surprise then when not even a week later the three of you had set up camp in the outskirts, away from anyone in either clans and far from the Gingko Guild's travel route.

Adaman laid flat on his back, his cock burrowing into you while Irida sat on his face. Her hands sprawled over his chest as she grinded her cunt on his mouth, whimpering at the sensation while you rode him to the best of your abilities.

You had no clue how long you two had been at this, maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour. Your legs burned from the exertion but the pleasure that coursed through you every single time you hilted back on Adaman had your eyes rolling back.

AFAB

Irida leaned closer, pulling you by the back of your neck and locking you into a kiss. You moaned into her mouth as her hand came up and rolled over your clit. It was just the right amount of stimulation you needed to be coming again on Adaman's cock.

Adaman groaned, pushing Irida slightly off him as he bucked up into your hips. "S-so tight." He murmured as Irida sat back down. The lewd slurping noises would've normally had you blushing bright red, but at the time you couldn't find it in you to care.

Irida bit down on your lip, opening it up so she could deepen the kiss. She let out a high pitched mewl as she came on Adaman's face, rolling her hips even more and Adaman had to hold her steady or else he'd really die from eating her out.

She was shaking and it wasn't long before you felt Adaman tense up, his warm seed filling your cunt up.

AMAB

Irida leaned forward, pulling you closer to her and locking your lips together. Her hand went over, running over your weeping cock and spreading some of the precum to help lube her up. You groaned into her mouth as she began working her cock at the same time you were riding Adaman.

You needed barely any stimulation to be coming on your stomach and her hand, gasping for breath against her lips. Your eyes half lidded as you tried to process what was going on.

The lewd slurping noises from Adaman still eating out Irida was all you needed to come back, blushing from the sound and wondering what she tasted like.

Irida let out a high pitched moan, coming on Adaman's face and rolling her hips against him. Adaman had to hold her up so she wouldn't completely collapse on his face and suffocate him.

You felt Adaman tense up underneath you, filling you with his seed as he groaned, finally coming to his peak.

Gender Neutral Ending

All three of you took a moment, breathing deeply and trying to catch your breath. Irida was the first to move, moving away from Adaman's face and actually laughing at his wet, but blissed out face. She grabbed one of the many towels and tossed it on Adaman's face and he shot her a glare before wiping his face off.

You were still saddled on his cock as he leaned up and grabbed your chin, giving you a short but passionate kiss. You could taste Irida on his lips and groaned into the kiss, wishing you could've gotten a more direct taste. Next time. You'd do that next time.

Irida slapped your thigh and got your attention, "You going to sit on him all day, or are we going to get cleaned up?" She teased and you rolled your eyes. You winced as you got up and off Adaman, your thighs burning from working muscles you never really used.

Adaman helped you and couldn't help but swallow a lump in his throat as he watched his seed drip out of your hole. Irida brought him back, smacking him with a towel.

"Well stop staring and start helping them." She said and Adaman stuck out his tongue.

"So demanding for someone falling apart on my tongue earlier." Adaman noted as he grabbed the towel and flipped you on your back. The towel was damp as it ran across your sex, cleaning up the cum that was seeping out.

"I should've suffocated you when I had the chance." Irida murmured, finishing cleaning herself off and she looked between you two. "Next time you should feel his mouth though; it has at least one good quality."

"Damn, gotta love this sweet pillow talk." You laughed, sitting back up and looking over at your two new lovers.

"Romance is our specialty." Adaman said with a shrug, pulling you back in for a kiss.

"So what's for dinner, by the way? Doubt Beni is willing to travel off in the middle of nowhere for room service." All three of you, despite the activities, were still looking pretty awake and your stomach was starting to feel empty. You looked between the two leaders who had sheepish grins on their faces.

"I'm making dinner, got it." You said, nodding your head solemnly, "You two are lucky I like you."

[r0-boat]

Pspsps ok so maybe some more alpha!volo headcanons? You’re a new arrival to this world where maybe where you’re from you had heat suppressants and scent blockers so everyone thinks youre a beta, what happens when they wear off..? Maybe you’re in the wilds and Volo is doing his thing and he finds and surprises you but something about you is… different.

What’s he gonna do when he realizes you’re an omega and your first heats coming up soon 👀

I'm like STILL on a Omegaverse high sfgsf

Gn!reader

Adhfd I accidentally made Volo kinda yandere?

Smut underneath

CW:biting, omega verse, primal sex

...today was the moment you have feared ever since you fell to Hisui...

Your heat could start any day and your bottle of heat suppressants and Omega scent concealing pills that you just don't happen to have with you before you came to Hisui are gone...

Hisui doesn't have the technology for heat suppressants or Scent concealer You haven't been so scared since you saw your first Alpha Pokemon.

Going out without suppressants as an Omega is practically a death sentence in your time.

Team Galaxy is made up of alphas and betas so going to them for help was an absolute no

Adaman is an Alpha Irida is a beta and and said that today she was going to see how Ingo(and alpha) is doing.

As if your day couldn't get any worse you felt familiar pool Heat starting in your stomach... it's been so long since you felt something like this because of your suppressants you wouldn't be surprised if this is going to be one of your strongest heats.

Luckily the sun has yet to rise so you have enough to pack up Essentials and camping material as well as soft blankets from a makeshift nest.

Volo sees you rush out your house and past the gates. He was confused and must be a Pokemon outbreak or something team Galaxy is doing... but there was a lingering scent in the air he doesn't recognize. It was sweet and floral it attracted him like a moth to a flame. Did that...come from you?! No it can't be your a beta you had no scent and you were scentless for the entire time you've been in the hisui region. hell you didn't even smell like fear when he tried to kill you

You finally finished setting up your tent and your small nest inside your heat hit you like a truck. The body was on fire everything was sensitive. You need an alpha so badly.

The smell of your heat makes Volo's mouth water as he gets closer to your little nest camp.

You whimper noticing a familiar smell...Volo...yes! Wait NO! Out of all the alphas, why does it have to be him.

Volo approaches on your tent... the smell... yeah there was no doubt you are an Omega... this whole time you kept it hidden... Volo had a dangerous look in his eyes. Omega... the same one Arceus chose the same one who beat him...all for him to claim. He has thought about being with you for a while now. But now here you are and Omega, his blood boiling at the thought of anybody else being in his place.

Volo practically ripped open the door of the tent jumpscaring you. Volo and unreadable look on his face. "Mc your... You kept this hidden from me?"

You were trembling from fear, excitement, and lust Volo gave off a certain scent you haven't smelled since spear pillar. That same scent of threatening, commanding, and pure Pride. That you fantasized about for weeks After the fight.

This might be the heat talking but Everything about him screamed" I am an alpha and you will bend to my command" and right now he's doing things to you that would make your omega ancestors be ashamed .

"Give. Yourself. To me" he growled.

Yes!! Yes! Oh God yes you want this you want him. "Pl-please take me Volo!" his name rolling off his tongue meet him shiver. Without a second thought, Volo stripped his clothes and climbed inside the tent with you it was hot and crowded barely fitting to people. "You hid this ... Why? Were you scared that you would go into heat just like this and someone would find you weak and vulnerable..." he says it was a wild smirk on his face pressing his head against your neck taking in your scent. " I've never seen you like this before. Haha... I can feel you trembling. Are you scared now?" You feel Volo grind his hard cock against your entrance causing you to whimper and buck your hips. "Please!"

"Please what." You know what he wants you to say.

"Please alpha make me yours!" Volo breath trembles. Yes he wants to take you, claim you. Push all the way inside, knott, and fill you with his seed.

He moves you on your stomach. His hand coming down on your neck pushing you into the streets. You scream as Volo slams himself inside you. He doesn't even give you any time he immediately starts moving. Fucking you as deep as he could. Volo looked like a rabid animal growling in pleasure. Slamming his hips against yours the sound of skin slapping against each other fill the entire tent

His gray eyes locked on the back of your neck. He wants to fight he wants to sink his teeth and claim you forever. All traces of rational thinking in the both of you we're gone replaced with animalistic desire. You bite into the sheets toes curling as you feel Volo changes his pace from deeper to harder trying to work his swelling knot into you. With one hard thrust he thick knot locks you with him. Volo is sooo deep you could hardly take it. You're orgasm hits you hard cumming his cock.

You tight hot walls milk him for all he's worth he explodes inside.

You scream as you feel his teeth harshly sink into the back of your neck as he fills you up. You are far from satisfied but a bit heat has been relieved for now. Volo removes his mouth on your neck licking the wound tasting blood on his tongue he worries "Are you ok?" You remember other than the sting of your lower regions and your neck the weakness in your legs you are more than okay. All you could do was nod and hum as you cuddle against your new mates chest. Volo smile is letting out a soft purr holding you close.

[mass-piplup-outbreak]

End of the Line - Chapter 6

[first] - [previous] - [next] read it on ao3! if you like this fic, please reblog!

Chapter 6: Return Emmet finds out.

Emmet’s alarm goes off early on Monday morning, which is very surprising for Ingo, who has yet to remember alarm clocks. It takes a moment, but Chandelure is eventually able to convince him that, yes, everything is fine, there’s no emergency, please stop panicking. In retrospect, it’s a rather embarrassing moment for Ingo, but he decides to lay the blame on Emmet for choosing such a loud and obtrusive sound for his alarm.

The morning routine that Ingo watches Emmet go through is familiar, yet distinctly incomplete. Funnily enough, Ingo finds himself falling into step with Emmet’s one-sided dance. He shuffles along the right side of the hallway, as if someone is going to pass him by on his left hand side.

Ingo slips into the bathroom as his brother brushes his teeth, only to pause when he realizes that his toothbrush is gone. He blinks in confusion, as if awakening from a daze. Why did he think that would even work?

There’s a pep to Emmet’s step, an eagerness that Ingo hasn’t seen since… well, not in any of the memories he has now, at least. He puts more effort into his breakfast than anything else Ingo’s seen him do this past month. To be fair, though, it’s important to fuel oneself properly at the beginning of the day, so perhaps his quickly scrambled eggs should be considered a good sign.

“It’s a verrrrrry important day today,” Emmet explains to Archeops, who’s stationed on his shoulders in a not-so-subtle attempt to steal his food when he isn’t looking. In an act of kindness, Emmet offers a few pieces of eggs to his Pokémon. His smile grows even wider as he watches Archeops swiftly devour the scraps. “We should all be prepared before we leave the station.”

Archeops happily chirps in response, a sentiment only furthered when Emmet scratches the underside of its beak.

It warms Ingo’s unbeating heart to see Emmet doing better. Seriously, he’s no monster. Ingo felt his brother’s anguish tenfold, every tear he cried and every shaking step he took forward. Nobody would want their loved one stuck in a state such as that.

However, Ingo can’t help but recall everything he heard about life in Hisui after his death. His presence, while important to many people like Irida, Zisu, and even Sneasler, was ultimately one they could live without. Watching Emmet function perfectly well without him makes his head ache, like a half of a whole, playing pretend at what it really is.

Emmet wouldn’t just forget about him… would he?

“I’m relieved you decided to join us at work today, Chandelure,” Emmet smiles at his brother’s Pokémon, who goes stiff at his undivided attention. “It’ll be just like when I used to borrow you! Yup, just like before.”

Before, huh?

“Chandelure,” Ingo suddenly says. “Forgive me for not remembering this, but… what is Emmet’s job, exactly?”

‥

Elesa is waiting for Emmet at the staff entrance for Gear Station with a to-go cup of coffee in each of her hands, which is a pleasant surprise. With a smile on her face, she hands one to Emmet, who graciously accepts it. He sighs at the taste of the warm, bitter drink on his tongue. Ahhhh, just how he likes it.

“Thank you, Elesa.” Emmet holds the paper cup with both of his hands, the heat practically bouncing at the tips of his fingers. “It’s nice to see you.”

“Likewise.” Elesa raises her drink to him before taking a sip of her own. If Emmet had to guess, she has something a bit sweeter in her own cup, but nothing near the sugary mess that Ingo would always order. “You’re early. Sit with me for a while.”

Any reason Emmet would have had to argue disappears the second she asks him to stay. Perhaps everything that’s happened these past few weeks has put his own habits into perspective. Ingo doesn’t get to spend time with their best friend anymore, so he shouldn’t squander his own opportunity. He leans against the brick wall, on the opposite side of the door to Elesa. Chandelure floats by his side, just as it has since their trip to Sinnoh.

“How have you been doing, Emmet?” Elesa asks. “Are you ready for your first day back?”

Absentmindedly, Emmet drums his fingers along the side of his coffee. “I am Emmet. I am feeling… better. It still hurts.”

He’s not lying. Every second of the last six years has been painful, like being ripped apart over and over again. Even now, the aching remains, a reminder that he’s always going to be missing a part of himself. Emmet is never going to understand how Ingo fell through time or why he never tried to find his way back, but at least he’s put those questions to rest.

“Yeah?” Elesa swirls her own cup around. “It feels so strange that it’s all over now. He was gone for so long, but I guess I always thought he would…”

Emmet’s smile falters just the slightest bit. “I thought so too.”

“I’m proud of you,” Elesa says, and by the look in her eyes, Emmet knows she means every word. “He would be, too.”

Emmet quickly shuts his eyes, trying to force down the tears that he feels welling up. Today is supposed to be a good, happy day! He can’t cry here, right outside the door of all places! He takes a deep breath and sighs.

“I know.”

Elesa glances at her Xtransceiver. “Ah, look at the time. We both gotta get going.” She gives him a quick, half-hug with her free arm. “Text me later, alright? I wanna hear about your day.”

“Okay.” Emmet waves as she begins to make her way down the street. This early in the morning, there are only a few commuters that pass them by. “See you later?”

“Later Emmet!” Elesa shouts, before turning a corner and disappearing.

That leaves Emmet and Chandelure standing in front of the back door. Emmet takes another sip of his coffee, hoping that it’ll be enough energy to push him forward. It’s the first day of the rest of his life, and he only needs to figure out how to live it.

“It’s different now,” Emmet states. He still stands to the side of the door, as if someone is going to walk in alongside him. There’s a cold, empty space between himself and Chandelure.

Thinking about it is too much, and without any hesitation, Emmet pushes the staff door open. The sole Subway Boss has returned to the station, alone as he has been for the past six years. Alone as he’s going to be for the rest of his life.

The staff room is mostly empty, save for a few Depot Agents milling about. Hank and Josh are sitting at the table, while Jackie is frantically cleaning up a monstrous mess someone made in the microwave.

“Hey boss,” Josh nods in Emmet’s direction when he walks in, causing the other two agents in the room to turn to him. A sudden burst of fear strikes Emmet square in the chest, reminding him of how Haxorus used to bite him when it was just a little Axew. They’re all looking at him. He hasn’t seen any of them since the funeral, he doesn’t need them saying anything about that.

Instead, their smiles are familiar, like it’s just any other day at the subway.

“Welcome back.”

‥

Eventually, Emmet is going to have to figure out what to do with the Single and Multi trains. The lines are still active, but for six years, the challenges they would pose to trainers have been indefinitely put on hold. It’s actually been really bad for business, but in Emmet’s mind, nobody could take Ingo’s place. By the end of the first year without his brother, it seemed that everyone had an opinion about what he

should

do. It always ended with them running away after he absolutely tore into them; the mere suggestion that Ingo wasn’t coming back was one he would not entertain.

Now, Emmet can’t avoid that conversation much longer. The Battle Subway was Ingo’s pride and joy, and it would be a shame to let it fall from grace just because he’s gone. Maybe he could ask some Gym Trainers to step in. Elesa and Skyla would definitely make the time for it, and so would Cilan and his brothers. He could even go higher in the league! The Elite Four! Champion Iris! That would make Gear Station something special, wouldn’t it? A random battle with famous trainers from all across Unova?

It’s a great idea, but in all honesty, Emmet isn’t ready for it. Just a few more days, please. Let the subway stay as it was when Ingo was still here for a little while.

The Doubles train is especially active today. During Emmet’s leave, all battles at the subway had come to a screeching halt. It makes sense that there’s a buildup of trainers just itching for a chance to face him. Well, it would be rather rude to keep them waiting.

Shauntal is an unusual sight at the Battle Subway, even on the busiest of days. Emmet has only met her a handful of times, usually in passing. It’s been at least a year since the last time he saw her, he thinks it might have been some League conference Elesa had asked him to attend with her.

So to battle such a revered member of the Elite Four, who usually had her head stuck in her notebooks, was a rare treat for Emmet.

“The lone Subway Master stands between myself and the way forward,” Shauntal narrates, and Emmet tries not to take offense at her blunt language. “Only a shadow left to accompany him.”

Emmet glances to his side, where Chandelure floats in the corner of his eye. “As a ghost-type trainer, I did not think you would refer to Chandelure in such a way.”

Shauntal suddenly stiffens, her eyes landing… to the side of Chandelure? “Ah, right. I often forget that there are those not acquainted with my own sight.” She straightens her glasses. “I’m not speaking of your sweet little ghost. I’m talking about the spirit that seems to have latched onto the two of you.”

Emmet’s heart stops.

What?

‥

Shauntal returns later that day, after the Battle Subway is closed and most of the Depot Agents have left for the day. They meet in the office that Emmet used to share with Ingo, which is the most private place at Gear Station.

The two of them sit on the floor, Shauntal with her legs crossed and Emmet with his knees drawn to his chest. These carpets definitely weren’t laid under the assumption that anyone would be performing a paranormal ritual while sitting on top of them, if Emmet’s constant fidgeting is anything to go by. Honestly, bad design. From her bag, Shauntal pulls out two items: a fancy pen and a rather nice looking journal.

“I picked this up from a nice little shop on the way here,” Shauntal explains, tapping the journal. “All of mine have at least something inside, so I thought you’d want something fresh.”

Emmet nods as Shauntal places the book in front of them both. She uncaps the pen with a Click! and leaves the top in the crook between the pages.

“This model is supposed to be easier for ghost-types to carry,” she explains. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for a spirit.”

It’s at that moment that Ingo realizes what they’re doing.

Shauntal places the pen horizontally across the top of the notebook. “How long have you been a spirit?” she asks the open air. Emmet sits next to her, nervously pulling at the edges of his right glove.

Ingo isn’t sure at first if he should entertain this. Nobody has acknowledged his presence for years, and he isn’t sure that he remembers how to be seen. If not in a literal sense, then a metaphorical one. The way Shauntal is looking at him, squinting like he’s a figure in the distance, is already disturbing enough.

“Come on,” Shauntal encourages him. “Think of it as Emmet getting to know you.”

Ingo has the distinct feeling that Emmet already knows everything there is to know about him, but…

But…

When he looks at Emmet, Ingo can’t help but feel… lost. Like there’s something he should remember, but it’s behind some door he doesn’t have the key to. It’s a frustrating feeling, one that he’s well acquainted with. All of his answers lie just out of reach, and nothing he can do can bring him any closer to them.

Maybe that’s why he’s here. Maybe Emmet is the missing key.

Ingo sits down on the floor across from them and picks up the pen with much more effort than he’d like to admit. He’s pretty sure that Emmet gasps, but all of his attention is on trying to remember how to hold a pen, especially one that seems to sap the strength right out of whatever’s left of him. As carefully as he can, he writes out his answer.

A long time.

“Would you look at that,” Shauntal remarks, but Emmet’s too busy staring at the shaky letters on the page. He keeps blinking, as though they’ll disappear at any second. Ingo can barely remember how he used to write when he was alive. He wonders if his handwriting changed after he left Unova.

Shauntal resumes her questioning. “And how did you die, exactly?”

Well, Ingo thinks that one’s rather rude. He doesn’t just go around asking her about terrible things that happened in her life, now does he?

Hurt, he writes. With Emmet here, that’s all he’s willing to say on the matter.

“An unfortunate death,” Shauntal says, frowning slightly. “How long have you been following Emmet?”

A month.

Ingo can see the gears turning in Emmet’s head. Surely, Emmet must remember where he was a month ago. One doesn’t just forget a day like that.

“Can you think of anywhere you may have picked up a spirit such as this one?” Shauntal whispers to Emmet.

If he hears what she said, however, he does not show it. “Why are you following me?” Emmet suddenly asks. “What do you want from me?”

Ingo is shaking now, but not out of fear. There’s a numb, buzzing sensation in his hand that’s slowly spreading up his arm. Chandelure whispers something behind him, but he tunes it out.

Know, he writes. Remember.

Emmet looks pale, and he’s so still that he may as well be holding his breath.

“Just one more question, for now,” Shauntal assures Ingo. Maybe she can see that he’s barely keeping himself together. “What is your name?”

I

The pen falls from Ingo’s hand before he can finish, accidentally smearing the ink. He feels like he’s unraveling, like whatever’s left of him is about to fade into nothing. He leans back into Chandelure, and from just that brief contact, a ghostly chill spreads through his body. It grounds him, calms and stills his frenzied nerves.

When Ingo opens his eyes, Emmet is staring straight at the notebook, at the letter “I”.

“Ingo?” he says, almost as if he doesn’t believe it himself. “Is that you?”

[sunstone-smiles]

Adaman and Irida's Amusing Pokemon Battle

Hello everyone! I recently finished the main story of Pokemon Legends Arceus a few weeks ago and am currently on the post game (stuck battling a certain someone), but in the meantime, here’s a fun story with the clan leaders! Enjoy!

Series: Pokemon Legends Arceus 

Characters: Rei, Akari, Adaman, Irida

Words: 1,877

Summary: Adaman and Irida get into a fight about who should help Rei and Akari with their request. They have a pokemon battle to settle their debate, but the battle takes a playful turn when Irida and her pokemon pull out a secret attack. Enjoy!

___

It’s a bright morning in Jubilife Village and two Galaxy team members are hard at work completing a request. The local shop had some new supplies delivered by the rest of the survey corps, so Rei and Akari are helping out by organizing and stacking the boxes for easier access. There were more crates than they expected, but they were handling it just fine. As they are working, Rei and Akari hear a familiar voice from behind them calling out their names.

“Hey Rei! Hey Akari!” a male voice says. The two Galaxy team members turn around upon hearing their names and smile to see the Diamond and Pearl clan leaders, Adaman and Irida, with their pokemon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and their Eevees, standing beside them.

“Hey you two!” Akari greets her friends. “What are you doing here?”

“We have a meeting with Commander Kamado later today, so we thought we would stop by and see you two for a little bit,” Irida answers.

“Oh, cool!” Rei cheers. “We’re almost done with this request, so I think it’s okay if we take a little break for now.”

“Would you two like some help afterwards?” Adaman asks, “If you do, you can count on the Diamond Clan leader for help!”

Irida scoffs, “Wait a minute. You’ll probably just rush the project in order to save time. Allow me to help.”

Adaman huffs, “Well, you’ll probably spend the whole time just figuring out a space to put one of the crates.”

Irida shoots her eyes towards Adaman’s direction and glares daggers at her rival, “Excuse me?!” 

Glaceon and Eevee mimic Irida’s actions and narrow their eyes at the Diamond Clan leader. Leafeon and Adaman’s Eevee then get into their battle stance upon seeing the opposing pokemon’s cold stares, ready to protect their trainer at a moment’s notice.

Akari nervously laughs at their antics. “Hold on, there’s no need to fight. We would be grateful for both of your help.”

Unfortunately, Adaman and Irida were so preoccupied with their quarrel that they didn’t hear Akari.

“You know what?” Irida argues, “We’ll have a pokemon battle to determine this!” She looks down to check with her two pokemon, “Are you two willing to battle?” 

Glaceon growls excitedly and Irida’s Eevee hops up and down.

“Fine by me. How about you two?” Adaman asks his pokemon. Leafeon nods and Adaman’s Eevee happily squeaks.

“Alright then!” Irida turns to the two Galaxy Team members. “Akari. Rei. Please watch us and judge our strength.” 

Before Akari and Rei can protest, Irida begins walking with her pokemon towards the main road, across from Adaman, in order to battle.

“Well…,” Rei shrugs, “Should we try to stop them?”

Akari sighs. “Let’s just let them go at each other. Their squabbles usually die down eventually…”

The two Galaxy team members move closer to the main road and take their seats on the ground to watch. Adaman and Irida glare at each other from opposite sides as they ready their pokemon for battle. Before long, the fight is in full swing, with the Diamond and Pearl Clan leaders throwing out attacks left and right.

“Glaceon, use ice beam! Eevee, use quick attack!” Irida calls out. Her two pokemon activate their attacks, but Adaman’s pokemon dodge out of the way.

“Leafeon, counter with a leaf blade! And Eevee, counter with a quick attack!” Adaman retaliates and his pokemon are able to land their moves.

This back and forth battle goes on for a little bit, with Irida and Adaman’s pokemon both landing and dodging attacks. Irida has the type advantage with Glaceon against Adaman’s Leafeon, but his pokemon are strong and can still end up defeating her. Irida knows she has to change up her strategy if she is going to win, so she prepares to pull out a secret attack she’s been developing with Glaceon and Eevee that just might work.

“Give it up, Irida!” Adaman exclaims, confident that victory is in his sights.

“No way, Adaman!” Irida responds. “I’ve got one more trick up my non-existent sleeve!” She looks at her pokemon, “You two ready?” 

Glaceon and Eevee nod at their trainer and make their happy pokemon calls. Irida nods back at them. 

“Alright then!” She turns to face Adaman and swings her arm in a battle stance. “Glaceon! Eevee! Use tickle!” The two pokemon spring into action and start running forward towards their opponents.

Adaman growls, knowing that the move will weaken his pokemon’s defenses so Irida can take the win. “Leafeon! Eevee! Brace yourselves!” he calls out to his pokemon. The grass type and normal type listen to their trainer and steel themselves, ready to face Irida’s attack; however, Irida’s pokemon run right past Leafeon and Eevee and, instead, pounce onto Adaman. The Diamond Clan leader gets knocked down onto the ground and is suddenly the one that’s the target of the pokemon’s attack.

“H-Hehey!” he laughs as Glaceon begins nuzzling into his neck. “Whahat is the meheaning of thihihs?”

Adaman tries to gently push the pokemon away, but Glaceon stays honed in on her target. Leafeon and Adaman’s Eevee just look at each other in confusion, unsure of what they should do.

“Ha ha! How do you like this strategy, Adaman?” Irida grins from the other side. The Diamond Clan leader attempts to sit up from the playful attack, but Glaceon suddenly slips its thin, pointed tail under Adaman’s shirt and begins wiggling it into his side. 

“Ah! Ahahaha! Cuhut thahat out!” Adaman leans back, holding himself up with one arm as the other tries to protect his torso; but his other side is left wide open, allowing Irida’s Eevee to nuzzle its fuzzy head into the vulnerable spot. With Adaman’s balance weakening, Glaceon hops up and, once again, nuzzles it’s cold nose into Adaman’s neck while still using her tail to tickle him, making the clan leader fall back onto the ground from their attack. He rolls onto his side to try and avoid them, but Glaceon pins him down with her front paws while Eeevee begins poking and prodding at his tummy.

Akari and Rei sit there and watch the silly scene play out, slightly confused by the rules they're playing by.

“I-Is this even fair?” Rei turns to ask his team member.

Akari shrugs with a smile. “Anything is possible, I guess.”

They look back to the battle to see Adaman still on the ground in a giggling ball from the pokemon’s attack. Irida walks over to her rival with a grin on her face.

“So…,” Irida smirks confidently, “Does this mean I win, Adaman?”

Adaman was definitely taken aback by her attack, but he wasn’t going to surrender easily to her mischievous strategy. 

“Nohoho way!” he exclaims through his laughter, “Leheafeon! Eehevee! Get her!” Upon hearing their trainer’s command, Leafeon and Adaman’s Eevee turn around to face Irida with a playful growl. Irida flinches backwards, not expecting this to be his counter attack.

“Uh oh…Ah!” she yelps as Leafeon and Eevee pounce on her, knocking her to the ground to begin tickling her. “Ahahaha! Nohoho!”

When they hear their trainer shriek, Glaceon and Irida’s Eevee stop their attack on Adaman to look her way, which allows the Diamond Clan leader to escape and regain his footing. Meanwhile, Eevee and Leafeon continue tickling Irida, with Eevee nuzzling into her neck and Leafeon using his soft leaf tail like a feather to tickle her tummy. 

“Ahahahadaman!” Irida tries scolding him through her laughter. Adaman walks over to her with a victorious smirk and kneels down next to the Pearl Clan leader.

“Surrender now?” Adaman says with a grin next to a giggling Irida, but the girl wasn’t going to give up that easily either.

“Why yohou!” 

With all the strength she could muster, Irida pushes herself up to escape Leafeon and Eevee’s attack and lunges towards Adaman to knock him onto his back. She takes matters into her own hands and begins wiggling her fingers into Adaman’s ribs.

“AH! Iridahahaha!” Adaman yelps and tries to shield his ribs from Irida’s sudden attack. Leafeon and Adaman’s Eevee sit to watch the situation, quite amused by it. Glaceon and Irida’s Eevee trot over to the other two pokemon to watch with them, also enjoying the silly scene.

“This is what you get!” Irida exclaims playfully as she continues digging into his ribs, but Adaman wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Ohoh yeah?!” Adaman says as he grabs Irida’s wrists and flips himself and Irida over, turning the tables on the Pearl Clan leader.

“AH! Nohoho fahair!” Irida laughs as Adaman targets her sides. Even through her laughter, she reaches for Adaman’s ribs again to get back at the Diamond Clan leader. Their tickle fight goes back and forth like this for a short time, with Irida being able to get her revenge on Adaman, and Adaman able to counter with playful attacks. As they’re watching the silly battle, Leafeon signals to Glaceon and the two Eevees that they should join in on the fun with their trainers. Glaceon nods and the four pokemon run at their trainers to take them by surprise.

Leafeon pounces on Adaman's back and begins nuzzling into the side of his neck, while Glaceon jumps on Irida’s side and rubs her fluffy head into the Pearl Clan leader’s neck. Their Eevees join in as well and begin pawing at their sides, making Adaman and Irida stop their attacks on each other in order to focus on their mischievous pokemon.

“Leheafeon! Eeveehehe!” Adaman chuckles as he tries to shield himself.

“Cuhut it out yohou twoho!” Irida giggles as she tries to gently push her two pokemon away.

After a few more moments of tickling their trainers, the four pokemon stop and allow their clan leaders to catch their breath. Adaman and Irida sit there with residual giggles as they recover from the attack.

The Diamond Clan leader turns to Irida with a smile, “Truce?” 

“Truce,” Irida responds. The two shake on it, then help each other up off the ground. Akari and Rei walk over to the main road to meet up with them.

“Ha ha, it looks like your pokemon battle turned into a tickle fight instead,” Akari giggles.

“And your pokemon came out victorious,” Rei chimes in.

“Heh, I guess so,” Adaman agrees. He kneels down to Leafeon and Eevee and playfully pats them both on the head. “Who knew pokemon could be so mischievous?”

Irida smiles, “I certainly didn’t.”

“Seems like we learn something new about Pokemon everyday!” Rei grins. The four pokemon playfully cheer at Rei’s comment, making the trainers giggle again.

“Ha ha. Well, since that’s over,” Akari says, “How about we finally move those boxes all together?”

Adaman nods. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Agreed,” Irida states, “Let's do this together!”

The four then work side by side in order to finish organizing the rest of the crates. Rei and Akari thought it was nice to see Adaman and Irida getting along like they should be. The two clan leaders may have their minor squabbles from time to time, but luckily they can put their differences aside in order to get a job done, and in order to have some fun once in a while.

[kettouryuujin]

Past and Future about Discussions - Wait. Strike that. Reverse it.

[Inspired by @monsoon-of-art​‘s Pokerus AU] Lian groaned. His body was… well, still gloopy. Great, it wasn’t a dream… he’d had such a long rest that he’d been hoping this blindness was just a nightmare, but…no. He still couldn’t see anything. His hearing was as good as ever, though, if not more so - meaning he could hear what was going on around him rather easily.

“Seriously, thanks... I wasn’t sure how long he’d be out, or if he would...you know...” Rei? That was Rei, yeah.

“Don’t worry. I just had to rope in some help...” The Survey Team Captain?

Growling grumbles. “Just...shut up.” Well, that was Adaman...

“I...am loath to agree, but he is right. Forcing us to drag our poor Warden back was...quite rude.” C-Clan Leader Iridia?

Cyllene mentioned something about best available options, but the blind Warden paid it no mind. Instead, he pulled his head out of the shell (once he found the hole again) and spoke up. “Miss Irida! Are you alright?!”

The first response was something slamming into his shell, sending him wobbling. The slight chill through his shell was enough to tell him who it was, though. “L-Lian! You’re alright! Oh, we thought we’d lost you...”

The Sliggoo leaned down, giving his Leader a small nuzzle. “It’s alright... I’m far more worried about my Lord...” Wait. “Actually, what are you doing he-” A goopy head jerked up as Lian listened to the surroundings in a way he hadn’t earlier, distracted by grogginess and realizing the Pearl Clan Leader was within earshot. 

The Sliggoo had no choice but to hone his other senses as his sight left him, and right now everything was screaming five words at him: “THIS IS NOT THE FIELDLANDS!!” Even with the strange variations that sprung up a week ago, this sounded far too close to a village to be near his Lord’s home. And it was most definitely NOT the Pearl Settlement. He’d not been to the Diamond Settlement since his...changes (not that he ever had much reason to go there anyways), but given how things were there was only one reasonable conclusion. “...M-Miss Irida...” A gulp. “Why are we in Jubilife Village?”

He could hear the Clan Leader choke back a sob, fear and worry wafting off of her in waves. And not just her, similar emotions were rolling through the room like a Sinnoh-sized bouquet. It honestly made him wonder if going blind was the worst thing that’d happened to him...

And upon hearing his Leader’s answer? He had to accept that yes, blindness was not the worst thing that had happened to him.

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

“So... you actually had to fight the Warden?” A large Snorlax grunted, trying to draw attention back to him. Sorry pal, Ms. Scary Abra (yes, Akari knew her name was Cyllene and she was the Survey Corps Captain, but to the Dewott she was Ms. Scary Abra until further notice) was kinda keeping more focus. Even if this giant Normal-type was technically above her.

She was able to snap her focus back to the fat ‘mon to reply, however. “Y-yes sir. And it was odd... he’d only been in there for a couple weeks, when usually it takes a month for-”

*SLAM!!* Up she went, and down she fell on on her side. Thank Arceus for Oran Berries. “I wasn’t asking for comments!” A groan as the (Snorlax) head of the Galaxy Team, Commander Kamado, leaned back with a grumble. “The situation is bad enough as it is, we do not need conjecture tossed in.”

“With all due respect, sir?” Wah! Ms. Scary Abra was talking! “I have to politely disagree.” Wait.

“What?!” Ok, Akari had thought that the same exact time the Commander said it. Kinda Creepy, but even weirder was the fact that Ms. Scary Abra apparently wanted Akari’s comments?! “As loath as I am to admit it-” Ah, there’s that good ol’ disapproval- “She does seem to be the only one here who knows anything about these distortions. Thus, I say we should let her speak... Just take all she says with a grain of salt until we can corroborate it.” 

Groan and slump while the Snorlax grumbles, that seems appropriate for the situation. “Well, fine. And I suppose you want me to take Rei’s account as “corroboration” for what happened with Lian?” Aaaand time to perk back up as Ms. Scary Abra just gave a “so-so” motion with her hand. “...FINE. Ugh.” A meaty paw barely ran down a meaty face, the meaty body getting in the way nevertheless. “So. Talk.” Oh-kay, noiw he’s focused on her and is almost as scary as Cyllene (Wah! She forgot to keep the nickname up!). “What normally takes a month?”

Gulp. Alright, pull yourself together Akari. It’s now or never. “I-it normally takes a month in a Mystery Dung-err, distortion, for a ‘mon to go insane enough to attack outsiders on-site.” Can she stop sweating so much please? It was bad enough that she’d already switched to the local parlance for Mystery Dungeons. “T-that’s why Rescue Teams exist, to get ‘mon who get stuck in a dungeon out of there before it’s too late. As it is, Lian...might have some trauma from the matter-”

“Actually, Lian doesn’t remember anything.” Rei covering for her nerves, thank Arce-wait, what did he say? “The last thing he recalls is trying to find some shelter in the Fieldlands to wait for help to arrive. Next thing he knew, he was in Jubilife.” Hang on, what?! “He does seem to be more...capable than we saw him last, too much so for only a week’s worth of practice. But he only agreed with us after we pointed this fact out...”

“Meaning for all he knew, he’d taken a nice, long nap.” Kamado growled as Akari took this new information in. “Well this is just Pecha-y. While it’s good that Lian’s stronger, this means that all our other wardens are likely just as mad as he was!” Paw slammed into table, and Akari had to right herself in mid-air once more. “And if Lord Kleavor is just as frenzied, then the other Nobles will be too!” A loud groan escaped the Commander as he slumped, the poster child of “Angry About Things But Not Knowing What To Do”.

“...erm...s-sir?” All the eyes in the room shot to Akari, who had landed on 2 feet (sorta, but who’s asking?). “I... I think I should mention that I think this...isn’t the Dun-Distortion driving them mad.” A chorus of “What?!”s greeted her statement, and the Dewott took that as permission to continue. “I...I actually think whatever’s creating the distortions could be causing these frenzies...”

“...And that makes a difference how?”

“Ah, well-”

Rei to the rescue again. “From the sound of it, sir, it means that these conditions should be cured by, well, defeating the crazed Warden or Noble in battle.” A gulp. “As...sacrilegious as that sounds, it worked for Lian, so-”

“So there’s no reason it wouldn’t work for the others, right.” A grumble as the earth shifted, the large ‘mon moving a bit. “I suppose it’d be a good idea to go ahead and test that theory with Lord Kleavor. Lian said he was only one or two... floors... below his Lord, right?”

“Yes sir.”

“Very well. You two are to go back to the Fieldlands and recover Lord Kleavor. Lian will accompany you-” Rei opened his mouth to speak, but the Commander beat him to the punch. “-because even if the route is different, he is Lord Kleavor’s Warden. I believe Miss Irelia would agree with me that the recovery of Lord Kleavor is thus part of his duties. However, as she and Sir Adaman are busy looking for any stragglers outside of the Dungeons, I will take command of the situation for the time being.” That...seemed like solid logic, damnit. Hopefully the Sliggoo could move properly, she reeeeeally didn’t want to be the one dragging his heavy shell on a sled this time ‘round. Help or no help.

Well, the sound of steel scraping on wood made those hopes real, the door opening to reveal the Warden in question who began dragging himself into the room. “I...I heard you needed my help with calming Lord Kleavor?”

Kamado blinked, then nodded with a huff as Lian pulled his way next to his two rescuers. “Indeed. I take it you will be joining them?”

“Y-yes, but I’d rather we not set out right yet-”

*WHAM!* And in the air they all went - again (that is a strong fist there, Commander...). “What possible reason could you have to delay? Are the Lords not important to you? Is your Lord not-”

“It’s nothing of the sort! I’d like to prepare some offerings to take with us.” Nicely timed rebuttal, Lian. The Commander shut up to listen. “I-I’d think that having some food for him could prove to be useful in calming him down... at the least, the scent should shake him from the Frenzy briefly.”

Eyes fell on the Sliggoo, silently asking “How do you know?”. To his credit, the Warden didn’t draw into his shell at the gazes (although if you asked Akari, that might be just the blindness).. “B-because...” A deep breath. This...must not be a nice reason. “Because I...I think my hat was the only reason I didn’t go crazy sooner.” And now everyone was leaning in, eyes open wide (and having jumped a bit from Kamado slamming his hands on the desk). “The first few days, I could...I could feel myself starting to slip. At the time, all I knew was that it was instinct, a need to protect myself...a-and fight.” He clenched (through his shell, and Akari was impressed she caught that!), the air in the room growing heavy from implications. “I...I didn’t want to fight. Not when I couldn’t see. And the smells of Warden Ingo and Lord Kleavor on my hat...they gave me something else to think about. At least until...” He trailed off, leaving the known bout of insanity out of his story. They already knew about it, anyways.

The Snorlax leaned back with a *hmph*. “Well, alright. I won’t deny that this feels like a stretch to me, but it’s probably worth a shot. Alright... you have 2 days to make the offerings, then you need to get over there.” A short, sharp nod - spraying goo everywhere - as the Sliggoo made to head off... And turned around right before the door. “Erm, sorry, but I’m gonna need some help, what with the blindness and all... you two mind?”

“Oh, sure!” The Pikachu scampered over towards the shelled ‘mon as Akari thought for a bit. She could spend the time working out tactics to deal with the Dungeon, especially if this Lord was going to be an even harder fight than Lian, but at the same time...

“Alright, count me in.” Good way to build camaraderie in a team, especially since they had no choice but to take the mission together. That, and while she knew Rei somewhat, she had no clue what Lian could do when he was of sound mind (he was a good shot with those Water Guns in the fight, but he was crazy at the time. That never counts). Not to mention, she had no idea who this Kleavor was, outside of some high-ranking official. Wonder why a human official had a “Warden” for a caretaker...wouldn’t “Butler” be a better fit? She had her answer the next day. “Wait, Kleavor is a type of Pokémon?!?”

[embretheworld]

I Hate You I Hate You I Love You (Final Part)

Adaman finally pays Irida one last visit, this time not physically injured but mentally instead. 

-linebreak-

The last time he comes to visit injured like this, it isn't a physical injury but instead an emotional one.

A few days late, after the previous incident Sabi had swung by her tent giving her thanks in the form of a homemade art project which was a woven basket. She placed it next to the bunk beds in her room and made sure none of her Pokemon pawed at it or used it as a scratching post. She also got a heartfelt letter from Mai and although not as heartfelt as Mai's was, a thank you letter from Melli. The next time she had met up to chat with Palina she ended up being joined by Iscan who gave his sincere thanks as well, Arezu also extended her thanks in a free haircut of her liking which she politely declined.

Thanks to ensuring the safety of the rival clan's leader when she really didn't have to were strongly extended which in some way led the two clans to build a semi-stable foundation in their newly kindled friendship. And that's not even mentioning how she and Mai have been gossiping lately on the weekends, especially about her brother and his leadership as well, she'd gotten some pointers and tips though from the older girl mind you.

Gossip over potatoes mochi has become her favorite past time she can't even lie about that.

It's not until weeks later, two and a half but that's not an exact point of reference. It's that amount of time later where she had just gotten her shoes to do a nightly check in on the people in her clan when the door is suddenly kicked open and in walks in a familiar blue-robed figure.

"Wha- How did you?!" She can hardly get out a word until he uses the heel of his foot he shuts the door behind him, there's a bag thrown over his shoulder and a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. With how many times he's stayed here he might as well move in here at this point. "Sabi brought me here," He places a hand on his hip as he talks. "can I stay here for a bit? Just a few nights, till further notice," She had noticed looking back on this, he didn't elaborate much about it after that, those were the only details he seemed willing to give. It seemed like the wound was still fresh at the time, festering under his skin with a seething rage.

"Why do you even need to stay here in the first place?!"

"Well..." With now gritted teeth he looked away, scratching his chin. For once in her life, she thinks she's actually seen him... Genuinely hurt, or was it uncomfortable? Whatever it was it was new and it was worrying her. Yet her worry aside, Adaman shook his head and turned on his heels with a  dejected expression. "You know what, I'll just find another place to stay, it's nothing, it's fine," Yet somehow she thinks it's the exact opposite.

"Wait, no-" Her body surges forward, grabbing tightly at his wrist to tug him further into the house.  "Y... You can stay, I don't mind I'm just... Surprised..."

Now, his once tensed shoulders relaxed and he hummed, wearing an oddly tiring smirk on his face which no longer held its usual joyfulness or smugness which she never thought she'd ever miss. That didn't matter, it didn't, all that mattered is that whenever he did smirk at her he was either happy or smug but now he wasn't, not by a long shot at least. "It better be that instead of pity,"

Forcing herself to smile, she nodded while clasping her hands over each other at the same time.  "It is, you trust me right?"

He just shrugs his smile growing yet it didn't reach his eyes like it used to. "Not fully but better some than none right?"

Irida nodded at him. "I'm fine with that,"

He clapped a hand on her shoulder and let out a hollow laugh, she had the feeling he didn't seem keen on elaborating on what happened yet she had one thing she needed to check on before they proceeded.

"You're not injured... Are you?" He shakes his head, lightly laughing with a small 'no' and Irida considers that a win. She's started to associate him with the smell of blood. It seemed like he read her mind because as he passed by her to throw his bag on the bottom bunk he nudged her shoulder grinning down at her. "Don't worry, I plan to be non-accident-prone for the rest of time!" It managed to get a giggle at of her which made him chuckle in return and she nudged him back feigning an angry glare up at him.

"You better not or else I'll get Mai on you!" She giggled to herself a fair bit after that, shutting her eyes as she rocked a bit back and forth on herself until she didn't notice any laughter from the other man. Slowly but surely her laughter lessened as she peered up at the other man and upon seeing his expression her laughter devolved into awkward chuckling at best until it grew quiet.

Adaman looked genuinely hurt- uncomfortable?- at the mention of her, like a wounded animal somewhat, and that's not even mentioning how he refused to look at her as well. Did something happen to her? Is that why he's here? But wouldn't he want to be with her? Irida opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself.

If he did then he didn't mention it for a reason. She never talked about her mother after she left so if something happened to Mai then he wouldn't so she wouldn't push it. She looked away from him, silently kicking herself as she felt a pit in her stomach. And we were just starting to get along too, she thought, scowling at herself, damn it, I messed it up again, I guess that isn't much of a surprise though knowing me.

Quietly she excused herself to go do the nightly check-up of her clan's people, taking her time giving the other time to simmer down if needed she came back to a sight that really shouldn't have had as much as of an effect on her as it did.

Irida watched with heated cheeks as he let his hair down, cascading down his shoulders like a river, it had a slight wave to it thanks to being put up so long but was pretty nonetheless. She watched as he fluffed it up, running his hands through it and she wouldn't deny wanting to run her hands through it and see if it was as silky as it looked. She hadn't noticed how long she was staring until he was staring her directly in the eyes quirking a brow at her with a now bigger smirk.

"Like what you see?" He tossed his hair over his shoulder giving her a wink that made her face flush even brighter. "I can see why you've been constantly asking me to strip now but I don't mind, I don't blame you."

This time Irida is sure she's as red as the blood currently running through her veins. "A-Adaman!" For someone who's bled in front of her which is akin to showing the weakness them as leaders, aren't supposed to show he sure had lost all common sense with it. Maybe he hit his head a little too hard.

"You still gotta court me first though~" Irida just glared at him, frowning deeply. "Oh yeah, when you strip I'm gonna take that jacket and suffocate you with it."

"Irida that's a crime,"

"Your worth getting exiled for,"

"Oh! How flattering, I'm flattered to see that I'm worth risking your life over."

"It's not a compliment, sleep with one eye open tonight," The other clan leader just winked at her, and at that moment she started to regret letting him stay the night, not for too long, she never did that feeling of annoyance always being replaced by a lighter fleeting feeling. She ignored both of those feelings often, no point in mulling on something since it was fleeting for a reason.

No reason to think about it, nope, not at all.

So she doesn't not at all, nope not once, not while Adaman's running a hand through his hair, nor while he occasionally laughs at a joke she makes or whenever he takes a sip of the soup she made that night, not at all. That'd be wrong to assume so, completely so! She does not think about it whatsoever and has no idea what you're talking about!

She doesn't think about it when she wishes him a good night and when she's settling back into bed and she'd not thinking about it now. She has better things to worry about like the conversation she's having with the supposed man right now. It seems as if he couldn't get any sleep as well.

"You know about Mai... Right?" Just like beforehand, he gets straight to the point, not wasting any time at all.

"Your older sister? Yeah, she came to get you that one time, remember?"

"Yeah yeah... You're right,"

"...Did something happen to her?" Irida was praying to Mighty Palkia that nothing did.

"...No... I..." She heard him sigh as he shifted, the sheets ruffling in response. "It's stupid, this whole thing is stupid being here was a stupid decision,"

As careful as she could she stripped the blankets off the top of her and folded them off to the side. She rolled to the other side of the bed, the edge mind you, peeking over to see the other clan leader, she saw him with his back facing her, curled up a smidgen while he faced the wall. "I don't think it's stupid,"

"You wouldn't feel that way if you heard it,"

"Then tell me,"' She folded her arms on top of each other and laid her head on them. "I'll tell you if I think it's stupid or not,"

"Mai..." He hesitated, "Mai lied to me," then after that, he paused before running a hand through his hair with a huff. "and that's not to say she hasn't lied to me before because she has but it's what she lied about that made me so upset."

"What'd she lie to you about?"

He paused before flopping on his side eyes shut closed with a frustrated groan. "It's just so stupid! The more I think about it the more stupid it is yet the more aggravated I get!"

"As I said, I don't think it's stupid if it's getting you this mad,"

"But it is, i-"

"Tell. Me. Adaman."

He was silent, eyes flickering up at her, meeting each other before looking away, he sighed, flopping on his side, and remained silent.

"Well? Are you-"

"Mai's been dating someone for a month and a half and she didn't tell me, I found out by accident. Melli of all people told me and it was just to get back at her."

Irida is shocked into silence. "...Oh..."

"She's not dating Melli- thank Mighty Sinnoh- because if she was I can't handle it, instead she's dating- guess who?!- Akari, Hisu's very own savior along with the very reason I left in the first place. Can my life get any more weird and complicated?!"

Then somehow, someway she's shocked into even more silence than before.

"That's... That's a lot,"

"Tell me about it," He moves around, the sheets moving with him to stare up at the bunk above him. "it's like life's trying to hurt me this time, some big scheme to make me suffer that's what it is and I'm suffering cuz' of it. I'm in hell and I hate it."

There's silence, so much silence because once again that's a lot to think about. The person who you could possibly say played a role in traumatizing you starts dating your older sister, and it's a lot to handle and she's just got the gist of it. But from what she's heard from her conversations with Mai, or gossip as the older girl put it she cared for Adaman, a lot. It didn't take her prodding her about what she did as a leader to know what. But Adaman wasn't around for that, nor any of the two's prior interactions before that.

If only there was a way to transfer memories but there wasn't, sadly.

"I don't think Mai would try to hurt you, she loves you and she cares for you too."

"You don't know that,"

"I do, when you were asleep she told me,"

"Everyone in your clan is close, like a big family or something but as she said it doesn't change the fact your her little brother and she cares for you the most out of everyone there. She believes in you, she believes that you know what you're doing but at the same time, she's worried about you."

"If something were to happen to you I'm not sure what she'd do but stepping down as a warden is a definite idea. If she didn't care about you then she wouldn't have come down here immediately after Sabi told her, and even if she did she certainly wouldn't have stayed."

He doesn't respond to her after that, but Irida swears she hears something so she strains herself to hear only to hear... Sniffling?!

"Are... Are you crying?!"

"Shut the fuck up," It's followed by another sniffle as he buries his face in his pillow and that's when she takes it as her cue to climb down and sit by him a gentle hand placed on his shoulder. She doesn't hug him but instead settles with just being there for him instead, knowing that if it were her she'd want the same time. Time passed and she moved to rub circles on his back until her hand found its way twirling a strand or two around it. It was as soft as it looked, huh...

"You really can't keep your hands off me, huh?" It's muffled and a little nasally but it has its desired affected, snapping her out of it and Irida could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. In a grand melodramatic gesture, she turns away from pouting with her arms folded over her chest, she heard him laugh and it only made her cheeks grow hotter.

"I hate you,"

"No you don't, stop lying to yourself,"

"I do, I hate you, I..." Then it hit her, it hit her all of it... A blank expression crossed her face as she stared far off, and slowly shook her head. "I don't hate you...?"

"I hate that I don't hate you..."

"See, I told you you don't hate me, you should listen to me more often."

"I... I don't hate you..."

"Yeah, we've already established that,"

"But I do hate you at the same time,"

"Okay, now were backtracking, great, fantastic,"

"I hate the way you... You make me feel,"

"Wha... What?"

"I hate the way you make me feel, the way you make me feel things..."

Silence, pure dead silence.

"I hate this weird feeling I have around you but I know it's a good feeling is the thing..."

"You're... You're joking right?" Anger comes over, frustration bubbling over like how water bubbles over the pot.

"Of course, you wouldn't believe me! You never believe me! If I told you right now that I love you, would you even believe me?"

"Huh..."

"'Huh'? 'Huh'?! Is that seriously all you have to say?!"

"This is an unexpected development,"

"Us getting along was an unexpected development so are you really surprised?"

"No, it's not that,"

"Then what is it?"

"I'm getting to it!" He oddly enough sighed at her impatience and shook his head. "As I was saying this was an unexpected development, the same day I figure out my sister has been dating someone behind my back I technically start dating someone behind her back? I..." Shaking his head once more, he placed a head on his forehead with a look of bewilderment. "This is too confusing, I'm going to sleep,"

As he sits back in bed, hair forming a halo around him and she takes that as her signal to leave and beelines it for the ladder, climbing up its rungs making haste. She flits the blanket over herself and settles back into bed snuggly. But the thing was Adaman was not a man to go down easy, or appease really. He needed closure, especially since time was a consistent variable in his life, his beliefs so she really should have seen this.

"Hey," Adaman repeats, "Hey,"

"Hey Irida,"

"Hey,"

"Hey."

"What? I thought you were going to sleep," She sharply asks and she can hear the slight snarkiness in his voice making her immediately regret her choices.

"You have to tell my sister you want to court me now,"

"Oh my Mighty Palkia shut the fuck up and go to sleep,"

She hears him snicker followed by the shifting of sheets. "What are you going to do if I don't?"

"Your not going to sleep here, that's one thing for sure,"

"You can't, not any more not after what you just said."

"I can still kick you out, you know that right?"

"No you can't," She hears a light laugh leave his chest far different from the ones she heard before and it makes her heart strangely flutter. The sheets shift as she hears him exiting from him and standing up on his two feet, leaning against the top of the bunk looking up at her with an impish look on his face. "You can't get rid of me now,

"I can and it's called go to sleep or I'm bringing you back to your sister,"

"You have to tell Commander Kamado to, oh your in for hell,"

"Go to sleep or I'm sicing my Glaceon on you with no remorse." In the dark, she can faintly see him roll his eyes and then not see him anymore as he drops down accompanied by the shifting of sheets. "Fine fine, I'm going to sleep,"

With a blissful sigh, she snuggles deeper into her sheets a small smile growing on her lips until it's rudely interrupted. "You still have to tell them~" Which is when she grabs a small pillow and throws it at him from on top of the bunk and with a surprised sound followed by muttering he gets her message and goes to sleep soon enough.

As it turns out getting injured can bring people together in the strangest of ways, though personally, she wouldn't really recommend it.

Maybe she should try it next, and that is where Irida decides to sleep on it and wakes up the next day with her heart and shoulders a little lighter than before.

-linebreak-

A/N: Also, I might do a follow-up part of this where Adaman gets some closure having to do with Dialga

Ao3 Part 1 Part 2 

[wyverndollface96]

Adaman x Female Reader: Pain In Two Ways pt 7

Since hearing about the son of the previous Lord of the Isles, your ex has been accused and arrested for his death. But you all find out later on he didn’t do it. Who did it?

Y/N = Your name

E/N = Ex’s name

It was the next day you and Adaman joined Irida, Iscan and Palina into laying the drowned Arcanine to rest next to his father’s grave at the Coastlands. Palina was crying while Irida and Iscan were trying really hard to comfort her. The large Growlithe in training sat by the grave and howled into the air, saying goodbye to both lords. And due to your emotions partially caused by your pregnancy, you cried, too. Death was too difficult for you to handle. Adaman held you close, holding your head to his chest. He, too, felt sad about Arcanine, though he was one of the Pearl Clan’s lords. You could hear him sniffling above your head as well as feeling him breathe shakily. You could tell he was crying. You could feel his tears fall on your head. You held him tighter, letting out some more tears.

It has been months now since Arcanine’s death. Palina had been training the large-sized Growlithe to fill the lord’s seat once again. Then one day, there was some shocking news. It’s been told that at the event of Arcanine’s death, (E/N) was not at the Cobalt Coastlands. He was knocked out while passing through Crimson Mirelands after a certain Rhydon used a Rock-type move on him instead of his Pokémon. And who’s Rhydon would that be? Yep! Charm of the Miss Fortunes bandits. And they blamed (E/N) for Arcanine’s death when he hadn’t met him yet. When Security Corps members found him, he was knocked out on the beach on Firespit Island by the bandits. Supposedly the bandits carried him there. They didn’t think the bandits had set him up, they just assumed he killed Arcanine, had him arrested and brought to jail. So he was released and ready to continue his excursion.

Meanwhile, you and Adaman were taking a bath together. You were resting in his lap; Adaman’s hands gently placed on your now oversized belly. You were about a week away from having the baby. You and Adaman found out you were carrying a boy. Knowing you two were gonna have a son, Mai went to making some clothes for him. Even pulling out Adaman’s old baby clothes. Your body felt slightly achy since having your bump growing; yours and Adaman’s baby growing inside you. You were also tired; you would cry out of nowhere sometimes. Your hormones got the better of you. Every time Adaman noticed even a single tear come out of your eye, he would immediately pull you into his arms to comfort you. When he heard you tummy grumble, he would quickly dish out whatever you were craving and feed you. And when you needed to go to the bathroom, he would wanna be in there with you, just to make sure you were okay. He’s become alert lately, watching out for you in case you did go into labor. You reminded him several times you got only a week to go.

As you were relaxing in the bath with Adaman, Adaman was slowly rubbing small circles on each side of your bump and kissing your head and neck and shoulder. “Hey in there, Jr,” he says, “can’t wait to see you.” You chuckled softly. “‘Jr’?” you repeated. Adaman kissed you on the ear. “Why not? Adam Jr,” he says, “sounds fitting, right?” “It’s cute,” you say, placing both your hands on Adaman’s hands, “I like it.” Just then, there was a loud knock on the door. “Adaman! (Y/N)!” It was Arezu. You and Adaman got out of the bath; Adaman wrapped you in a towel as well as wrapping one around his waist. He went to answer the door. “What’s going on, ‘Rez?” he asks. “That guy, (E/N), got banished from the Galaxy Team sometime after quelling Avalugg! I mean the sky looks horrible now!” Arezu points up to the sky for Adaman to see. Adaman’s eyes widen. “Shit!” he gasps. He then looks back at Arezu. “Hope he’s not accusing (Y/N) about it.” Arezu placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’s not, Adaman,” she says, “he’s been warned too many times about gossiping about her. With that and the sky turning into a disaster was enough to have him kicked out. And now Kamado’s going up to the top of Mount Coronet to try to stop the disaster himself; to take down almighty Sinnoh.” “Well,” Adaman says, “who’s helping him?” “Volo’s helping him gather the materials he needs for what’s called ‘The Red Chain’ while Irida’s dealing with Kamado. Also…” she looks past Adaman to see you, still wrapped up in your towel, then continues, “both you and (Y/N) are expected to show up.” Adaman puts a hand to his face and exhales frustratingly. “Why include her? I mean do you see her right now?” “Still,” Arezu says, “pregnant or not; if she’s dating the clan’s leader, she is to be included. No other option.”

To be continued…

[ariannadi]

One Step Closer

Part 3/? Of ”A Girl Out of Time”, Adaman x OC

Background context + entire series thus far on Ao3!

—————————————————————————

“…And we’ve noted that Paras, and in the same vein Parasect, actually use the spores from their mushrooms, which they shake to spread further, as a means of self-defense. The resulting condition is rather random but-“ Hikari looked up from where she was writing in her Pokédex, and sent an apologetic smile in her companion’s direction. “I’ve been rambling for the better part of an hour now, sorry about that. Surely you have other things to attend to.”

Adaman, who, for the entirety of her cataloguing, had been resting his head in his palm and studying her with a dopey smile, just shook his head. “I enjoy hearing you speak, Hikari. And I don’t think it wasted time to learn new information about Pokémon that could very well save someone’s life at some point.” His heart fluttered in affection at the shy smile that appeared on her cheeks upon hearing his compliment.

By Mighty Dialga, she was absolutely lovely.

”Well… if you’re certain,” Hikari uttered, tucking a strand of long, flaxen hair behind her ear as she flipped to another entry in the notebook. “I could go over the means in which Cherubi pick which trees they choose to occupy, but that could very well take another hour to cover, and I’m starting to get hungry.” Rising from the table they had taken up in the Galaxy Team library, she asked, “Care to join me at the Wallflower? You don’t have to cook this time - though, I must admit those dumplings you made last week were quite delicious.”

Adaman grinned easily at her, matching her movements. “I’m pleased to hear you say that. I’d like to think my skills have improved somewhat since Beni agreed to teach me. That being said, I’m always up for simply partaking in a meal.” 

Exiting the Galaxy Team headquarters, the pair made their way to the canteen across the street, where Beni was busy tidying up the previously occupied table. When he spotted them approaching, the older man rose an inquisitive brow.

“Visiting Jubilife again, Adaman?” he asked, placing a stack of bowls on his tray. “This makes the… what, fourth time this week?” Adaman didn’t miss the way Beni’s knowing eyes flickered towards Hikari as he pointed out said fact - and the clan leader felt his face heat in response.

”Adaman’s been helping me record previously established knowledge on Pokémon from his clan’s records,” Hikari explained, waiting for Beni to finish cleaning up before taking a seat at the table. “Like for instance: Lord and Lady Pokémon. They’re still one of the biggest mysteries; so any help we can get on their behaviors is a plus.”

”Hm… I suppose that makes sense. Though, in Adaman’s case, I think these gatherings have a more selfish implication.”

”Beni!” Adaman barked in mortification. Hikari just looked between the two men in confusion. 

“Am I missing something here?” she questioned, twisting her lip. “Adaman hasn’t been selfish in the slightest, Beni. Both he and Irida have actually been rather open with the Galaxy Team when it comes to sharing their culture and ideals.”

Beni, ignoring the death stare from the Diamond Clan leader, nodded once. “Ah, my mistake. Anyway, what can I get you two this evening?”

”I suppose the usual. Unless, you wanted something different, Adaman?” Hikari asked of the still-fuming young man, who snapped out of it long enough to answer her.

”No, the usual will be fine. In fact, why don’t I assist you with making it, Beni?” Adaman bitterly insisted as he moved to follow the chef inside, only to turn back towards Hikari with a smile. “Shouldn’t be long. I’ll ensure the potato mochi is fried extra crispy, just the way you like it.”

”My hero,” Hikari laughed, and waved him off. “I’ll see you in a little while, then.”

”Alright, what was that all about?” Adaman demanded once he and Beni were inside the Wallflower’s kitchen. “Are you trying to make me look like a fool in front of Hikari?”

“You don’t need my help in accomplishing that, boy,” Beni huffed as he went about gathering the necessary ingredients for the meal. “We’ve all observed the way you’ve been tailing after her like a lost Lillipup for the better part of two months now. When are you going to man up and make your intentions known?”

The clan leader opened his mouth to argue, but found that he didn’t have a rebuttal. Beni just shook his head at the likely pained expression on his face.

”She’s the Savior of Hisui, and an otherworldly beauty; to boot. There are quite a few interested men within our ranks who have spoken out about courting her. You have the advantage over them of actually knowing her as an individual, but if you don’t act, you’re eventually going to lose your chance.”

As the levity of the elder’s words sunk in completely, Adaman felt his throat constrict. The mental image of a faceless stranger with his arm around Hikari’s waist came to the forefront of his mind, and Adaman decided in that moment that he very much hated it.

”Would she even be familiar with courting customs?” he questioned, not knowing at all where to begin. “I mean… my clan has some procedures when it comes to marriage and whatnot, but...” 

“She came from the future and adapted to life here, did she not? Just let her know you wish to be with her, in one way or another.” Beni then chucked an apron and bandana directly at the younger man’s face, catching him off-guard. “Now, enough groveling - we’ve got food to cook.”

————————————————————————— When Mai stopped by her brother-turned-clan leader’s residence that evening to update him on matters in the fieldlands, the last thing she expected was to find him sprawled out in the middle of the floor, evidently drowning in piles of parchment.

”Did you get into a fight with a book?” she asked semi-seriously as she closed the door behind her. Adaman lifted his hand from where it had been covering his face, only to groan upon seeing her and replace it once again.

“I’m not in the mood for your teasing, Mai,” he replied, his tone rather frustrated. The woman blinked once before moving to examine the mess strewn about, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

”Are these… love letters?” she questioned, doing everything in her power to hold back a smile. The whole scene suddenly made a lot more sense: her baby brother was finally acknowledging his feelings for a certain outlander and at a loss of how to go about it. How adorable. 

“Butt. Out. Mai.” Adaman hissed. The warden, shaking her head in pity, did the exact opposite, however.

“You need to stop trying to think so hard on this; you’re going to end up popping something in your head.” When she began tidying up the space without permission, Adaman finally made a point to get off the ground. He snatched the letters she had collected with a disapproving look, and Mai held up her hands in surrender. 

“Don’t even act like you have a better solution,” he scoffed, setting the (now neat) pile of parchment on his table. Mai caught the way he stared at them with an almost sad expression, and suddenly she felt a little bad for giving him a hard time.

”Hikari is smitten with you. I don’t know if you needed that clarified, but she is.” Apparently this was news to Adaman, because he flipped around with a look of surprise.

“She… is?”

It took everything for Mai to not roll her eyes at him. “Trust me when I say: you’re not the only guilty party when it comes to openly staring after the object of your affections. On top of that, she tells Arezu everything; and Arezu doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut.” 

Her brother was quiet for a moment as he stared towards his feet, only for the tiniest of smirks to appear as he truly came to terms with what he’d been told. “Could it really be so simple?” Mai could hear him mutter under his breath, and then she did roll her eyes.

Honestly, these kids were about as oblivious as they came.

”You know, Hikari’s birthday is in a few weeks. I’m sure she’s mentioned it to you—and if not her then you’ve definitely heard it from Arezu by now. You could use it as an excuse to give her something that’ll get your point across,” Mai suggested, shrugging.

”You mean, give her a courting token for her birthday?” Adaman asked, scratching the back of his head. “That’s a little forward, don’t you think?”

”Well, you do want to court her, right?” Mai stressed in response. “You don’t have to be so obvious—leave it up to interpretation. Ensure it’s something she’ll treasure, but that it properly expresses what she means to you.”

Adaman looked to be seriously considering the notion, if the way he brought a hand to his chin said anything. Finally, he nodded.

“I think I may have an idea. But I’ll likely need assistance from our craftsmen if I hope to execute it properly.” Looking up at his sister with a grateful smile, he uttered, “Thanks, Mai. I appreciate it.” When the woman made a point to walk over and affectionately ruffle the pile of hair on top of his head, he let out an undignified squawk.

“All will be fine. Have a little faith in yourself,” she reassured him, and snorted as he proceeded to swat her hand away.

—————————————————————————

 A pile of food, new clothes, and various supplies awaited Hikari when she opened the door to her quarters the morning of her nineteenth birthday, and for a moment she simply stared down at the blockade with a blank expression.

”Hey, good morning, Hikari—and happy birthday!” called Arezu from the salon across the way. “I see the townsfolk have delivered on their promise to shower you in gifts!”

”Arezu…” Hikari started with a look of exasperation, “Did you tell everyone it was my birthday today? I told you I didn’t want a bunch of people knowing for this exact reason! I didn’t want anything extravagant!”

”And I know as your hairdresser that, had everyone been unaware, you likely would’ve been moping about all day since it’s your first birthday away from your original era,” Arezu retorted. “You’re the Savior of Hisui, girl! People aren’t going to overlook that, or you. Embrace your special day!”

Hikari didn’t have it in her to argue; and so she just sighed and began hauling the pile of gifts off her porch and into her quarters. She really did appreciate the people of Jubilife taking the time to express their gratitude, but she also didn’t want them feeling obligated. At this point, she’d likely be spending the day visiting each individual who brought her a present so she could graciously thank them. 

As she was tucking away the various new kimono and yukata she’d been given (some of which Hikari found she actually adored in terms of material), a series of knocks came from the front door. Letting out a hum, she rose from the floor and went to answer it, only for her brows to rise slightly upon seeing who stood on the other side.

”Oh, hi, Adaman. It’s been a little while,” she said in greeting, then sheepishly looked over her shoulder at the pile of goods she had yet to sort through. “Er… ignore the mess; apparently the townsfolk got the unanimous memo that my birthday was today.”

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” the clan leader in question chuckled. “I’m pleased to know everyone is eager to celebrate you. In fact, that’s why I happen to be here, as well. I have something for you.”

The warmth Hikari felt blooming in her chest in that moment was inevitable, and she offered him a touched smile as she tilted her head the slightest bit. “That’s very sweet of you, Adaman. But you didn’t have to do that.”

”Nonsense,” he replied, and pulled out a rectangular wooden box from the pocket of his haori then held it out to her. “I made this for you. I hope it’ll properly express just how grateful I am to have someone as wonderful as you in my life. Happy birthday, Hikari.”

It took her a moment to take the box from his hand, but once she did, she was entirely careful about removing the lid and setting it to the side. When her eyes fell upon the object tucked away inside, the tiniest of gasps left her lips.

It was a hairpin, crafted out of what looked to be a quality blue quartz. The end piece, which was pentagonal in nature, had the Diamond Clan insignia carved into it, with beaded chains hanging from the edge. It was absolutely beautiful. Possibly one of the most beautiful things she had ever been given. Adaman had made this for her?

”Oh, Adaman…” she breathed, and lifted the pin from the box, running her thumb over the cool smoothness of the exterior. “It’s so beautiful, I-I don’t know what to say…” Looking up at him with glossy eyes, she peeped out, “I can’t accept this.”

“Of course you can; I would be disappointed if you didn’t. May I?” he asked, gently reaching for the pin and gesturing for her to turn around. Hikari nodded and did as was requested, and soon felt Adaman’s fingers brushing her curtain of hair together to pull it upward.

“As you can probably tell, I’m quite familiar with tying hair into updos. Forgive me if the end result isn’t as polished as Arezu’s handiwork, however. I know you wear your hair up when crafting or surveying, so I thought you might appreciate a little flair while undergoing such tasks.” Once he was satisfied with his work and the pin was properly secured, he quietly uttered, “There.” 

Hikari moved to examine her now-pinned-up hair in the small mirror next to her entryway, and grinned. “Wow… it’s so lovely!” she exclaimed, turning her head back and forth a few times so she could get a better look at her new accessory. Glancing at the man still standing at the door, she then said, “Thank you, Adaman.”

”You’re welcome,” he responded, but his eyes remained fixed on her face, and it appeared he had more to say. If Hikari didn’t know any better, she would say he was nervous.

”I really do love it,” the young woman softly spoke in an attempt to ease whatever dilemma was on his mind. Feeling bold in that moment, she approached him once again, and leaned up on her toes to press a sweet kiss to his cheek. Adaman’s eyes widened considerably in response, and his face flared a deep scarlet.

“H-Hikari,” he sputtered, but whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by an unanticipated Professor Laventon appearing out of the blue.

”Oh! I didn’t realize you too would be here, young Adaman!” the professor spoke jovially, but quickly turned his attention to his underling. “Dear Hikari; seeing as it’s your birthday I was hoping to treat you to a special lunch at the Wallflower. Are you available?”

”Um, yes, I believe so,” Hikari answered. Not wanting to shove Adaman to the wayside so quickly, she turned to him and asked, “Would you care to join us?”

The Diamond Clan leader once again looked conflicted, but was quick to nod in agreement. After Hikari had closed up her quarters, Laventon led the trio down the street towards the Wallflower—babbling about something or other for the entirety of the trek.

Hikari, meanwhile, nonchalantly slipped her hand into Adaman’s as the pair walked side-by-side; sending him a gentle smile when he stared down at her in surprise. It took him a moment, but he returned the gesture by flashing a toothy one of his own.

And if his fingers managed to lace with hers at some point and remain that way under the table for the entirety of lunch… well, neither cared to bring it up.