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ellieellieoxenfree · 1 month ago

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i miss writing but i also cannot find the magical combination of energy and motivation to write things so here's a kiseki/pokemon crossover wip from like, months ago i wish i could actually fucking finish

Chen Yi didn’t quite understand how he caught the Deoxys — he wasn’t seeking one out; he wasn’t even really looking to add a sixth Pokemon to his team when he already had his hands full juggling five others on top of school, the family business, and, of course, Ai Di.

Ai Di was nearly a job in and of himself. He had just turned ten, which in his mind was most of the way to adulthood, and it was all that Chen Yi could do to keep him on the rails. Nearly every day, he had to drag Ai Di away from Pokemon battles on school grounds — his team was still green, only two strong, and Ai Di had earned their immense loyalty but was less capable at controlling their vicious tempers. Chen Yi had needed to get good at dodging acid attacks from Ai Di’s Bellsprout and sweeping up dirt from his Oddish, who he suspected was deliberately making a mess just to be antagonistic.

He was at what Chen Dong Yang called a ‘difficult age,’ a charitable way of calling him a pain in Chen Yi’s backside. He was, of course, Chen Yi’s responsibility, because Chen Dong Yang was too busy with the running of Yiyun Meng to look after an extra child, and Ai Di usually did the opposite of what Chen Dong Yang said anyway. Chen Yi could get him to listen sometimes, but those times seemed to happen with less and less frequency these days.

So walking in the door with a Deoxys was the last thing he wanted to do on a Thursday afternoon. He was already consumed with thoughts of math tests and a history presentation and how to get Ai Di to school in the morning without drawing too much blood, and then it — well, Chen Yi wasn’t sure how it had happened. He didn’t remember encountering the Deoxys; none of his Pokemon were strong enough to counteract one so powerful; and yet there he was, coming home with it hovering a few inches off the ground right behind him and occasionally emitting an unsettling, machine-like sound.

‘Are you mine now?’ he said. ‘Are you staying?’

The Deoxys made another sound Chen Yi couldn’t interpret. His Swoobat chittered a bit. The others were peacefully napping in their Pokeballs, so whatever their opinions were on the matter, he wasn’t sure.

‘I don’t know if I can keep you,’ Chen Yi said. The Deoxys was a little taller than him, and it kept waving its long, thin arms at him in a way Chen Yi couldn’t determine was comforting or terrifying. Its eyes were sharp and perceptive.

He tried again. ‘Are you looking for something?’

The Deoxys looked at him and was silent.

‘I don’t know how to care for you,’ Chen Yi said, and his Swoobat divebombed at him with an irritated sound, plucking at the straps of his backpack. It reminded him, as it often did, of Ai Di — small, insistent, and sometimes a bit of a nuisance, but it had been the first Pokemon he’d caught and he was as attached to it as he was to Ai Di.

His backpack started sliding off his shoulders without warning. ‘Hey!’ Chen Yi protested, twisting around, only to have it slide off completely and open of its own accord. He watched a pocket zip open and his Pokedex float upwards and hover in midair. The Deoxys looked at him pointedly and gestured at the Pokedex with one of its — arms? Tentacles? Chen Yi wasn’t sure what to think of them as.

‘You’re a space virus,’ Chen Yi read aloud from his Pokedex. ‘And you have psychokinetic powers.’ He swore that the Deoxys looked a bit smug about that piece of information. ‘But what do you want with me?’

His Swoobat flew up to the Deoxys — for such a tiny Pokemon, it truly had no fear — and peered at it. After a few moments of examination, he returned to Chen Yi’s shoulder and dug its little claws into his shirt. ‘Don’t do that. You’ll put holes in it,’ Chen Yi scolded him, only to have his Swoobat ignore him as usual.

‘Are you hurt?’ he asked the Deoxys. ‘Do you need to show me something?’

No reaction. The Deoxys just kept watching him with that same inscrutable expression.

‘I have to go home,’ Chen Yi told it, pointing in the direction of the shop. This was a mistake; the Deoxys just immediately began floating in that direction. ‘No! No. That’s my home. Not yours.’

He found out then that the Pokedex was not the only thing the Deoxys could control, and he nearly lost his balance as it nudged him to follow. Every time he stopped or lagged behind, it made sure he kept going.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. The Deoxys, for whatever reason was there and had clearly become fond of him and wasn’t planning on disappearing, and Chen Yi needed to do his homework. He also needed to check in on Ai Di, who had begged off school that morning due to a stomach bug. Chen Yi was reasonably sure the stomach bug was a lie, but Ai Di had locked himself in the bathroom and refused to emerge while his Bellsprout and Oddish stood sentry at the door until Chen Yi had to rush to school to avoid being late.

An Arcanine was snoring lightly at the entrance of the shop. When it heard Chen Yi approaching, it woke up and shook itself before noticing the Deoxys and summarily bolting inside.

‘Don’t upset anybody,’ Chen Yi told the Deoxys. He wasn’t sure if that would do much good with a space virus with a mind of its own, but he would at least try.

The Deoxys, of course, just looked at him and floated after the Arcanine. Chen Yi heard Xin Hao shout in surprise, and he ran in.

Xin Hao looked flabbergasted. Next to him, Qi Xian was trying to comfort his anxious Arcanine.

‘Where did that come from?’ Xin Hao spluttered.

‘It followed me home,’ said Chen Yi, which was the truth. He felt a sudden protectiveness about the Deoxys, which was just floating about looking at its surroundings and occasionally making its odd whir. It wasn’t quite like any of the other Pokemon he had ever encountered; it had a strange, powerful energy he couldn’t quite describe.

‘His little bat isn’t scared of it,’ Qi Xian pointed out. This was true; Chen Yi’s Swoobat was fluttering around the Deoxys and chirping happily.

A door slammed and footsteps stomped. ‘I thought you were sick,’ Xin Hao said, just as a murderous Ai Di appeared at Chen Yi’s elbow. His Oddish and Bellsprout clustered at his feet.

‘Whatever,’ said Ai Di. He looked at Chen Yi, then at the Deoxys, then back at Chen Yi. ‘Is he yours?’

‘Yes,’ said Chen Yi. ‘I think.’

Ai Di thought for a moment, then kicked Chen Yi in the shin. ‘You’re the worst.’ Before Chen Yi could even react to that one, Ai Di stormed back to his room, Pokemon toddling behind him, and slammed the door.

The Deoxys floated off towards Ai Di’s room. ‘Don’t — ‘ Chen Yi scrambled towards it, and the Deoxys turned, its tentacles twitching questioningly. It tilted its head at him. ‘Go sit down, or — ‘ He stopped himself before he could mention a Pokeball. Would a Deoxys be willing to go in the Pokeball? Would this specific Deoxys? ‘Just stay there and don’t do anything.’

He could hear Xin Hao and Qi Xian laughing in the background as he headed for Ai Di’s room. He had to check behind him to ensure that Deoxys wasn’t following him, which it wasn’t, but he was stymied at Ai Di’s door by a glaring Oddish and a Bellsprout that was clearly gearing to hit him with its worst.

‘Ai Di?’ he called from a safe distance. Ai Di’s Bellsprout looked as though it was considering launching itself at his throat anyway.

‘Fuck off,’ Ai Di suggested from behind the door. Chen Yi sighed. Ai Di’s filthy mouth had been getting him into trouble at school so often that Chen Yi had been trying to train him out of profanity, but it wasn’t going well.

‘I just want to explain what happened.’

There was a thump of something hitting the door. ‘Go away and fall in a hole. I hate you.’

‘I didn’t look for the Deoxys,’ Chen Yi said. ‘It just showed up and now it won’t leave me alone.’

‘You’re so special,’ Ai Di shouted from the bedroom. ’The special-est.’

Ai Di’s Bellsprout took a moment then to jab him in the leg — the same one Ai Di had just kicked him in. Its effects were immediate; Chen Yi felt the sensation go out of his calf and went a little woozy. He leaned awkwardly against the wall to brace himself. It wasn’t the first time he’d been poisoned by Ai Di’s Bellsprout, of course. It didn’t happen every time he got jabbed, but the chance was always there, and it was particularly humiliating to have to have the older Yiyun Meng members step in. Still, Ai Di’s Bellsprout could only do so much damage. At its worst, it sent him to puke his guts out for a few hours or thrash about with a fever for a day. It wasn’t exactly enjoyable, and he tried to avoid it as much as possible, but he supposed he was fortunate it couldn’t kill him.

He saw the Deoxys’ orange tentacle out of the corner of his eye, and he shouted, ‘Leave them alone!’

Ai Di yanked his bedroom door open so hard Chen Yi thought he’d rip it off the hinges. ‘If your stupid — thing or whatever it is does anything to my Pokemon — ‘

Chen Yi tried to situate himself between Ai Di and the Deoxys, which unfortunately required him to hop on one leg and try to maintain his balance while his other leg dragged limp and useless. ‘No one is doing anything to your Pokemon, and you’re not doing anything to mine. Got it?’

‘I hope your stupid Pokemon eats you,’ said Ai Di venomously, slamming the door again.

Did Deoxys eat people? Chen Yi wasn’t sure. He didn’t think it even had a mouth. Did viruses need to eat? ‘Come on,’ he said to the Deoxys. ‘Ai Di wants us to leave him alone.’

‘And don’t come back!’ Ai Di shouted.

Deoxys watched him hop along slowly for a moment, and then Chen Yi felt himself rising up off the ground a few inches. ‘I’d prefer not to float,’ he said, and Deoxys dropped him back down. Chen Yi’s numb leg promptly went out from under him, and he ended up a heap on the floor.

‘He’s upset again?’ Xin Hao called from across the shop. ‘Qi Xian, get him the antidote.’

The antidote had an astringent odor and its spray was harsh enough to make him cough, but Chen Yi could feel sensation slowly returning to his leg. ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that,’ he muttered to Ai Di’s closed door.

He knew Ai Di wouldn’t speak to him again that evening. He tended to sulk for days when Chen Yi brought home a new Pokemon, and even though Chen Yi had tried to explain numerous times that he was older and had more experience with Pokemon battling and catching and that Ai Di would catch up, Ai Di refused to listen.

‘I have to go do my homework now,’ Chen Yi told the hovering Deoxys, as though it had any concept of what homework was. ‘Do you want to sit with me?’

It did, apparently. It stood next to Chen Yi’s desk while he studied his math problems and waited patiently as he read out his history presentation. Its complete lack of reaction when Chen Yi stumbled over his notes made him feel better, somehow. ‘You’re a very good audience,’ he said. Deoxys extended a tentacle and patted him on the head.

Ai Di pointedly didn’t come to dinner, which was good because Deoxys hovered behind Chen Yi’s chair the entire time. Chen Yi figured the blowup about it would have been even worse than when he’d brought home his Abra, and that had ended in plates flipped in laps and on the floor and Ai Di tearing his room apart before falling asleep on the floor in the tangle of sheets and clothes he’d thrown around. Chen Yi had carried him back to his own room and let Ai Di sleep in his bed, but Ai Di had still woken up early the next morning and crept out and gone right back to giving Chen Yi the silent treatment.

Chen Yi worried that Ai Di thought of it as a competition, which it wasn’t. Or if it was a competition, it wasn’t a fair one — he was older and bigger and stronger and faster than Ai Di, and all of those things played a part. He didn’t want it to be one regardless of advantage or disadvantage. Managing the five Pokemon he’d had meant being careful to balance his time among all of them, and the stress of it would be even more challenging for Ai Di. Besides, Ai Di’s Pokemon were fiercely devoted to him, while Chen Yi sometimes looked at his Lunatone or his Bronzong and wondered if they cared at all.

And now he had a Deoxys to contend with, who seemed to be attached to him, but to what end? Chen Yi felt he had to keep it, but he still hesitated to take out a Pokeball. Was it right to? Would he be able to take care of it?

He told himself he’d figure it out in the morning.

—

Xin Hao greeted him with breakfast and the news that Ai Di had slipped out during the night. ‘What?’ Chen Yi said, half-rising out of his chair. Behind him, Deoxys made a humming noise. Abra, napping a foot to his right, ignored it all.

‘He’s ten,’ said Xin Hao. ‘He’ll be fine.’

‘He’s supposed to be in school!’ Chen Yi said hotly. Certainly, getting Ai Di to attend classes without getting into a fight with a classmate or talking back to a teacher was a challenge, but Chen Yi’s parents had always stressed the importance of education to him and he needed to stress its importance to Ai Di in turn.

‘You’ll miss school if you go look for him,’ said Qi Xian. ‘He’s a man on a mission.’

‘He shouldn’t go out alone. It’s not safe.’

Xin Hao rolled up one pant leg to show a healing acid burn. ‘That Bellsprout of his begs to differ.’

‘And that Oddish doesn’t even care about him,’ added Qi Xian, gesturing at his Arcanine. ��Never seen a grass Pokemon with so little fear.’

‘Let him be,’ Xin Hao said. ‘He’ll be back in his own time.’

Chen Yi scowled. He knew Ai Di could be better, if given half a chance, but the older members seemed content to let him roam free. Ai Di wasn’t their responsibility, though, so they didn’t need to care. Chen Yi had been responsible for bringing him in, and Chen Dong Yang had tasked him exclusively with looking after him as a result. He was torn. He needed to go to school, but Ai Di was reckless at the best of times and knew how to find trouble more often than a Zubat knew how to find a trainer in a cave.

‘We’ll keep an eye out for the little one,’ Qi Xian said. ‘Eat your breakfast. He’ll be alright.’

Chen Yi crossly ate his breakfast, and crossly got ready for school, and crossly informed Deoxys that it was not going to school with him. ‘Today is Abra’s day,’ he said. He had a very strict schedule about which Pokemon traveled outside of their Pokeballs each day and he hadn’t accounted for Deoxys yet. Besides, it likely wouldn’t be allowed in the classroom. The teachers generally frowned on larger Pokemon as a distraction.

Deoxys, of course, didn’t listen.

‘You have to stay home,’ Chen Yi told it, for the fifth time. ‘I’ll be back when school is over.’

Deoxys made its pensive noise and kept hovering. Chen Yi sighed and gave up. ‘You can’t go past the gates, alright?’

This seemed more or less amenable to Deoxys, who stopped patiently when they arrived at school and nudged him past the entry with one tentacle.

‘Is that a Deoxys?’ one of the older girls said. She had a Yamper sitting on her feet, which she immediately went to shield. ‘How did you get something like that? They’re really scary.’

Her friend, who was cradling a Pidove in her arms, shrank back. ‘Get it away from here. It’s gonna try and destroy the whole place.’

‘It’s not dangerous,’ Chen Yi said. ‘It’s been around other Pokemon and it doesn’t hurt them.’

‘Yeah, sure,’ said the girl with the Pidove. ‘It’s just trying to get you to believe that. It’s a killer.’

Behind him, Deoxys made its odd machine-like noise, a little sadly.

‘It could kill you in your sleep,’ said the girl with the Yamper. Chen Yi could see her backing away slowly.

A group of students was gathering, and the chatter was growing. ‘Where did you find it?’ somebody asked, while somebody else piped up, ‘I bet it could beat Mewtwo in a fight.’

‘It’s dangerous!’ one boy shouted, and another girl started crying a little and saying it was going to bring around the end of the world.

‘It’s not dangerous!’ Chen Yi shouted, planting himself firmly in front of the Deoxys. ‘It’s my friend. It found me and followed me home and it hasn’t done anything to any of my Pokemon. Look.’ He pulled out his Pokeball and released his Swoobat, who promptly went over and flapped around the Deoxys’ head. There was a collective gasp as the Deoxys reached one tentacle out to it, but it just patted Swoobat, to the bat’s delight.

‘For now,’ said the boy who’d called the Deoxys dangerous. ‘What happens when it gets mad?’

Chen Yi clenched his fists. ‘Only an idiot would make it mad. So do you wanna try?’

‘Break it up, break it up!’ a voice called. Mr Luo, Chen Yi’s history teacher, was coming over to the school gates, but he stopped dead when he saw the Deoxys. ‘What on earth?’

Chen Yi missed the way Xin Hao and Qi Xian had taken the Deoxys’ arrival in stride. Everyone here at school panicked about Deoxys trying to kill them, whereas at home, most of the men he lived with were convinced Articuno was a fairy tale. A Pokemon who, as his Pokedex had explained, was a space virus with unimaginable power, was treated with the same gravity as a freshly-caught Pidgey. If he’d tried to tell them Deoxys could blow up the whole building, they’d laugh him right out of it. As far as they were concerned, it was just a funny pet who could reach a tall shelf.

‘It’s a Deoxys, sir,’ one of the girls said. ‘He shouldn’t be here.’

‘That’s for sure,’ said Mr Luo. ‘You know the rules on Pokemon sizes at school.’

There was an immediate protest. ‘But it’s a Deoxys! Don’t you know how powerful they are? They — ‘

Mr Luo held up his hand for silence. ‘I have too many things going on today to learn facts about your Pokemon. The rules are clear. Whatever this ox thing is needs to go into a Pokeball or go home.’

Chen Yi turned to the Deoxys. ‘I need you to go home. Please. I’ll come home right after school. Just go home and don’t talk to anybody and don’t do anything until I get back.’

‘Listen to him,’ somebody said. ‘He’s so weird. It’s absolutely gonna burn his house down.’

The Deoxys looked at him for a few moments, then gave him its usual pat and floated off back down the street. Another flurry of murmurs followed it.

‘Now come on,’ Mr Luo said. ‘The bell’s about to ring.’

Chen Yi had to focus harder than usual at keeping his worry about Ai Di and Deoxys contained to sealed boxes in his brain. He was worried that Ai Di would get himself hurt — he’d spent plenty of nights cleaning up blood from split lips and scraped knees and it hadn’t even been a year ago that Ai Di had spent several weeks with a broken wrist over some incident he refused to divulge — and he didn’t know what to make of the Deoxys. It certainly was giving him no share of trouble, but he couldn’t just send it away. Unless it just left, which was a possibility Chen Yi didn’t want to consider.

Word went around that he had a Deoxys, which mostly meant all of his classmates giving him strange looks or avoiding him. A girl from two classrooms down asked if his Abra was safe with him, while his lab partner asked to be moved so that he didn’t have to sit next to someone who might be radioactive now. Chen Yi just tried to ignore them all and kept his head down. He would get through the day, he would go home, and then he would go figure out what to do with the Deoxys and he would find Ai Di.

—

The Deoxys was patiently waiting outside the shop, emitting a buzzing noise. Qi Xian was next to it, smoking a cigarette. ‘Does it always make this noise?’ he said.

‘Not always,’ said Chen Yi. It had been fairly quiet while he was asleep. It floated over to him and he let it give him its customary head pat.

‘It certainly likes you,’ said Qi Xian. After a wretched day at school, Chen Yi appreciated his entirely nonplussed reaction.

There was a rumbling as Qi Xian’s Golem rolled out into the sunshine. It yawned at Qi Xian, and he rubbed his knuckle into the ridges of its rocky surface. ‘New friend for you,’ he said, shrugging at the Deoxys. The Golem looked at the Deoxys, then yawned again and wandered over to sit in its usual spot, a slightly bowed bit of sidewalk. The Deoxys floated after it and ran its tentacle over the spot where Qi Xian had rubbed, which seemed to please the Golem.

‘He itches sometimes,’ said Qi Xian, by way of explanation. He took another drag off his cigarette. ‘And before you ask, no, Ai Di isn’t home yet.’

Chen Yi sighed. He knew that was going to be the case, but he had hoped against hope that just once, Ai Di would have been responsible enough to come home on his own.

‘Did he say where he was going?’

‘He said that only someone as foolish as Din Tai Fung’s xiao long bao would believe he’d tell us.’ Qi Xian laughed. ‘He isn’t very good at insults yet.’

‘He’s still young,’ Chen Yi said. ‘Leave him alone.’

His ears were burning when he went inside to go change out of his school uniform and gather his supplies for an Ai Di hunt. He knew Qi Xian was just teasing, but it bothered him when they did. Ai Di couldn’t help the way he was. He had started going to school so late that he was constantly behind other students and still trying to catch up with kids younger than him.

The Deoxys, which had followed him inside, poked at his ear. Chen Yi turned to swat at it, but it was just watching him with a curious expression. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Chen Yi said. He wasn’t sure what, particularly, it understood, but its buzzing changed tenor and it backed up a bit until he left the room, his school backpack swapped out for his trainer one, freshly loaded with antidotes and restores.

He had not the faintest clue where to start looking for Ai Di. There were plenty of places Chen Yi had found him in the past, but he had the feeling Ai Di wouldn’t go to any of the usual haunts. The Deoxys, though, seemed to have an idea, and Chen Yi just had to run to keep pace with it.

Chen Yi prided himself on being an active kid, but he was winded by the time the Deoxys started slowing. He was glad he had put on sturdy boots, because the Deoxys was leading him onto muddy, marshy ground. He kept a close eye out for wild Pokemon, but none appeared. Was the Deoxys keeping them at bay?

His heart stuttered when he caught a glimpse of Ai Di, still in yesterday’s red T-shirt, filthy up to the elbows with mud, crouching down with a Pokeball in his hands. He looked up and spotted Chen Yi, then scrambled to his feet, shoving the Pokeball in his pocket, and tried to squelch away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the combination of unsteady footing and his shorter legs meant that Chen Yi caught up to him fairly quickly, and Ai Di immediately retaliated by hurling a handful of mud at him. Chen Yi dodged as best he could, but a good deal of it still ended up on him. Ai Di flashed a brief grin, and then went back to trying to get away. Chen Yi caught him around the waist.

‘Come on. You’re filthy, and we’re going home.’

‘Fuck you and fuck home,’ Ai Di hissed, wriggling furiously. ‘I’m going out to catch Pokemon and I’m allowed to. I’m ten, so you can’t stop me.’

‘I can too stop you.’

Ai Di kept squirming, and Chen Yi realized he was trying to work one of the Pokeballs free. He pinned Ai Di against him. ‘You know your Pokemon can’t beat mine.’

‘Your Pokemon are stupid,’ Ai Di panted, ineffectually kicking at Chen Yi. ‘Go be friends with your dumb Deoxys and leave me alone.’

The Deoxys floated in front of him and extended a hesitant tentacle. Ai Di stiffened. ‘What the hell do you want?’

‘Stop it!’ Chen Yi shouted at the both of them. He didn’t want Ai Di to antagonize the Deoxys, but he didn’t want the Deoxys to upset Ai Di more than he already was. ‘Can you just please listen to me?’

‘No.’ Ai Di did his best to elbow Chen Yi. ‘I don’t care what you have to say. I’m not going to school and I’m not going home and I’m going to go be a Pokemon trainer.’

‘The boss isn’t going to let you become a Pokemon trainer,’ Chen Yi said.

‘I don’t care what the boss says. I can do what I want.’ Ai Di finally broke himself free of Chen Yi’s grip and folded his arms over his chest. ‘Anyway, if you try to take me home I’m just gonna leave again.’

‘Where will you stay?’ Chen Yi said. ‘What will you eat?’

‘That’s a secret.’ Ai Di picked at a bit of mud that had gone dry on his upper arm. ‘I don’t need you, so just go home.’ His voice was wobbling a little, and he lifted his chin up.

‘I’ll miss you a lot if you don’t come home,’ said Chen Yi.

‘Liar.’

‘Did you catch any Pokemon today?’

‘None of your business.’

‘Okay,’ said Chen Yi. ‘You win. I’m going to go home. I’ll tell everyone you went to be a Pokemon trainer.’

‘Good,’ said Ai Di.

‘Good. See you, then.’ Chen Yi turned to go. The Deoxys buzzed in a low tone somewhere behind his shoulder.

This was a familiar game they played. Sometimes Ai Di would start following him immediately, and sometimes Chen Yi would be halfway home before he heard Ai Di’s footsteps trying to keep pace with his. But he always came home, and more often than not, he showed up in Chen Yi’s room in the middle of the night and crawled into bed like he was a little kid only half his age. Chen Yi always let him do it. The boss said he was indulgent with Ai Di, but Chen Yi didn’t care how indulgent he was if it made Ai Di feel better.

This time, he didn’t like leaving Ai Di behind. The arrival of the Deoxys had clearly hurt him, but Chen Yi knew it was no use trying to get Ai Di to talk about something he didn’t want to. Talking about it was something Ai Di had to decide for himself, and he usually decided that he didn’t want to do it at all. Still, leaving him on his own was a bridge too far for Chen Yi. ‘Come on, let’s just go home,’ he said, only to turn back to where Ai Di had been standing and find the spot empty. He could see a red shape moving at a shocking speed into the distance.

Chen Yi adjusted the straps of his backpack. As stubborn as Ai Di was, his energy wasn’t boundless, and Chen Yi knew his willingness to chase him would last a lot longer than Ai Di’s ability to run.

He looked at the Deoxys, and the Deoxys looked at him, and they set off.

—

The Ai Di they brought home was worn out and filthy, but still ready to fight. He’d dragged his feet at the beginning, tried one last escape attempt halfway through, and finally had just resigned himself to hurling filthy insults the rest of the walk. Chen Yi warned him off using that kind of language, and Ai Di only sneered and cursed more.

Chen Yi said, ‘I know you don’t want to listen to me — ‘

‘So I won’t,’ Ai Di interrupted.

It didn’t do any good to lose his temper, because that’s exactly what Ai Di wanted him to do. He ignored it and carried on. ‘Nothing’s different between us, okay?’

Ai Di stopped dead in his tracks and jabbed an accusatory finger at the Deoxys. ‘That’s different.’

The Deoxys reached out a hesitant tentacle, and Ai Di slapped it away, to Chen Yi’s horror. ‘Don’t fucking touch me. I don’t care if you’re…whatever you are. Don’t touch me.’

‘He’s just curious about you,’ Chen Yi said.

‘I’m not curious about him. I hate him, and I hate you.’

‘Would you like it if I were rude to your Pokemon?’ said Chen Yi.

‘I don’t have to be nice to him just because he’s a god or whatever,’ Ai Di said, which wasn’t answering the question at all. ‘He’s a stupid Pokemon for a stupid trainer.’

Chen Yi understood Ai Di’s frustrations. He was still early in his Pokemon journey — his Abra hadn’t even evolved yet! — and a Pokemon as powerful as Deoxys felt like it should be reserved for a trainer with a much higher stature than him. But it seemed to have chosen him somehow, for some reason, and he took his responsibility seriously when it came to raising his Pokemon.

‘Just because he’s here doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you,’ Chen Yi said. He caught a hopeful sadness in Ai Di’s eyes for just a second, and then it was gone and Ai Di scoffed at him.

‘Go train your dumb Deoxys. I’m busy anyway.’

He pushed past Chen Yi on his way back into the shop. Chen Yi could see his hands balling up into fists as he went.

‘I don’t want him to be mad at me,’ he said to the Deoxys, who put a tentacle on his shoulder and buzzed and chirped a bit at him. Chen Yi wasn’t sure if it was trying to offer comfort, but he decided to interpret it as such. ‘Thank you,’ he said, politely, and the Deoxys whirred at him.

—

Ai Di, of course, wasn’t particularly concerned with Chen Yi’s feelings on the matter, as evidenced by the fact that he spent the whole weekend out hunting for Pokemon. He was gone in the morning when Chen Yi got up, and didn’t come home until it was dark. Chen Yi struggled mightily with not following him. Keeping Ai Di safe was his top priority, but he also knew how wounded Ai Di’s pride was. It would take time for him to recover.

They exchanged not another word that weekend. When he did come home, Ai Di was sullenly silent with everyone at the shop. Chen Yi hated not knowing what he’d done or where he’d gone, which Pokemon he’d battled or trainers he’d squared off against. Selfishly, he wanted to know every piece of Ai Di’s trainer journey, and he knew Ai Di knew that too, which just made everything worse.

And then came Monday. Chen Yi had a feeling that Ai Di would sneak out early to skip school, so he set his alarm significantly earlier than usual to catch Ai Di in the act. All he caught, though, was an empty bed and a messy room. Chen Yi couldn’t even imagine when he could have left — the moon must have still been out. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon now.

He had tried to be patient, but Ai Di had already skipped school on Friday and vanished all weekend. Chen Yi refused to let him do it again. ‘You’re good at this, aren’t you?’ he said to the Deoxys. ‘Knowing where he is.’

He made sure his stocks were replenished and all of his Pokeballs were safely tucked into his bag and a note was left on the table for Xin Hao and Qi Xian before he set out. The Deoxys waited patiently at the door for him. It clearly had a destination in mind, which mystified Chen Yi. He wondered how far it could see, or if it had some odd sixth sense. There was so much about it that was an enigma.

#kiseki: dear to me #ngl fam i haven't played a proper 'mans since sun and moon so if my lore sucks that's my b #ars is always trying to coax me back into it but i explained that i would get too emotional bc i couldn't catch every pumpkaboo #i have a few pokemon i would be too distraught about if i accidentally KO'd them #it's them and clefairies primarily but i'd probably also go into hysterics if i KO'd anyone from the dreepy line #he did specially breed a shiny pumpkaboo for me and i named her smuckers #she's a fucking beast and she absolutely wrecks #love u smuckers

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