#then Asopo said “you named all your pokemon after your trauma. Do you want to talk about it?”

[owlhead650]

hello noctor. you’re a very lovely amazing person. make sure to take time to relax even with uni going on. drink water, have a snack. much love from all the meteors

Thank you very much Meteors. I do love drinking water and I send much love in return. I like being your friend it's fun. Anyway it's been a year since I created my first oc, Asopo. He's the way in which I involved myself in the pokemon rebornverse oc culture. He's a large part of the means I used that led to me meeting you so this definitely matters to me. I do feel great attachment to this character I made. Here's a short story where I explore the dynamic between him and Melia and Erin from Pokemon Rejuvenation. This short story is about 3036 words long.

Also here's an epic versus sprite of Asopo created by aloepias on the Overseers discord server. Also @pokefangamebrainrot made an adorable portrait of him. Look.

I do love his expression in this. I find Mud Splash cute and funny too.

Pokemon Rejuvenation - Asopo's Letter

Asopo stared at the holographic file. It was filled with information about spells and how to make them. He and Melia needed to make one. They weren’t proud of it, so they had to keep their visits to zeight a secret. Even though basically all their friends already knew they were doing ‘something’ each night. Zeight was very quiet, he thought it was too much sometimes. Other times he thought it was perfect, it was peaceful. 

He looked away from the file and into the starlight abyss. Zeight had its own sky which seemed to be in perpetual cloudless night, yet if he fell off the platforms he’d land in this sparkly purple liquid. Maybe he should try swimming in it sometime. Or would that even be possible? Everything about Zeight was non-physical, mental instead. Maybe the water wasn’t even real. It provided only a nice aesthetic, as well as clarity about which way was down. Where was Melia?

It had been a little while since he last looked at her. He checked and she was just staring at a different file nearby. She’d been so quiet. As quiet as himself.

“Melia.” Melia flinched before turning around. He spoke very softly but seemingly any noise was surprising after hours of silence. Had it been hours? Time in zeight is weird. How did it feel for Melia to be here three months?

“Oh, hey Asopo. Is something wrong?” In general? Many things are.

“I want to talk to you about something important.” He realised that the statement might have sounded a bit intimidating.

“...Of course, you can tell me about anything.” Melia was kind. Sometimes she made Asopo feel warm, a lot of the time she made him worried and scared for her. Things just kept happening to her. “Can we sit down for this?” He looked at a bench he asked Mom Nancy to place which overlooked Zeight's expansive horizon. Melia went to it and sat down.

Asopo sat with her. He didn’t say anything right away. Even though he had promised this was about something, Melia waited. He was content to watch the waves with her. Even if no words were said, looking with someone else made the view feel even better. 

Waves.

Stars.

Light.

Darkness.

Warmth.

Company.

Peace.

“...Melia.” He said. “Asopo.” She said.

“Melia, I need to admit something embarrassing.” He knew she’d understand, he knew that she’d be as kind and patient when it came to this as anyone could be. It was still hard to say, even in somewhere as private as Zeight.

“Only if you’re comfortable. I’ll listen if you want.” Melia promised. She was beginning to get very curious though. There’s something exciting and cathartic about being confided in.

“What would you think if…” He trailed off. He wasn’t able to say anything else for a minute. 

“It’s alright. You aren’t forced to say anything you don’t want to.”

But he DID want to. He needed to. Asopo decided to approach the topic in a different way.

“How does it feel to love someone in the way that makes you want to date them?” His cheeks burned, but at least he said it.

“H-huh???” This was the last question Melia expected. “I… what makes you ask that??”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know why you asked?”

“No, I do know why I asked. I just don’t know the answer.” Being misunderstood was one part of talking that stressed him out.

“Well, I suppose you know it when you feel it? When I… when I realised I had feelings for Venam, I guess I just knew what the feelings meant? I suppose it can’t be taken for granted that you’d know. Lots of things about romance and dating and socialising in general aren’t taught to us. It’s just assumed that we’ll figure it out ourselves. Asopo… do you have a crush or something?” Melia felt like giggling, there was something about these sensitive topics that felt amusing and exciting in a weird way.

“Don’t call it that! This is about someone I love very much, but I don’t understand it. I don’t know what to make of my own feelings.” The word ‘crush’ definitely distressed him. It came with all sorts of expectations he didn’t like. Why was everyone limited to words that can be misunderstood? Why can’t Asopo just show people what’s in his heart?

“...Oh no, I’m really sorry Asopo. I really am, I shouldn’t of said that.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I wasn’t making fun of you I promise. I would never, ever, mock you for anything.”

“It’s fine.” He looked at her for the first time since this conversation began. “I’m feeling something for Erin that feels really similar to friendship, but what I want from it is different. I love her just like I love you and Ren and Venam and Aelita and Amber… But I want to touch her more. I’ve noticed I want to hug her even more than my other friends or pokemon. I see her hand and sometimes I want to hold onto it. When I do touch it, like when we pick something up at the same time or I pass something to her, or just anytime that’s incidental or practical, I really enjoy it. I want to hold it even longer…” Asopo trailed off again. This last part was the most embarrassing, but he wanted to get it off his chest. He felt Melia giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Her hand was sort of hanging off him. 

“Melia… I like how Erin smells.” He looked at her but turned away again after just a moment of eye contact. It was a lot to admit.

“It’s okay Asopo. There’s nothing wrong with feeling that.”

“But it’s confusing. I’m not in love with her, it feels too similar to friendship to be anything romantic. Romance feels intense, doesn’t it?” This was the hardest part. The biggest reason why Asopo kept it to himself for so long is because he doesn’t know how to describe it accurately, and the last thing he wants is for Erin to misunderstand it.

“Yeah, it’s really exciting when your feelings get reciprocated. But it’s intense too. Sometimes it’s too much, actually.” Melia thought about the time she had with Venam. But she was going through a lot of hardships. She couldn’t be a good partner to her while dealing with all that.

“I’m going to write a letter. Then I’m going to hand it to her and stand in front of her while she reads it. Do you think she’d like that?”

“Well if what you feel is hard to explain then taking the time to write it down in a way that makes sense to you could help. I think it would be important to say it to her too though. Saying it is hard, but it’s meaningful. It might feel good to say it.” Melia tried to make her advice sound like gentle suggestions. She didn’t want him to feel any pressure. It surprised her, to learn this about him. Asopo rarely said what he was thinking.

“I know Erin is busy with a lot of things, we all are, but I’ll try to get a word with her later today. How would she react if I asked her to speak in private?”

“I know that Erin really trusts you. I know she respects the need to leave some things unsaid, or for privacy. Go tell her.” By now Melia had taken her hand off of Asopo’s shoulder. The embarrassment had worn off and he didn’t want to hide his face anymore.

Asopo got up and looked at Melia. She was still sitting, from where she was she could see the starlight reflecting off Asopo’s hair.

“Melia. You’re one of the most important people in my life. I don’t think any amount of words could adequately explain how much our friendship means to me.” For some reason this wasn’t embarrassing to say. Melia grinned. She looked so pretty when she was happy.

“I would have to say the same Asopo. Without you I don’t think I’d still be here. Now go give Erin your adorable letter explaining your complicated, wonderful feelings to her.”

Asopo exited Zeight and entered the league HQ.

He found Erin in the lab reading a book on banishing curses and similar ailments inflicted by dangerous exposure to ghost types. She was sitting on a couch in the corner. Asopo sat next to her and waited for her to say something to him. He stared at her face. She had dark grey eyes, like Melia’s. He always loved the black bow and the white hair. She used to wear a white top that exposed her shoulders and this short black skirt, but these days she wears a long sleeved black shirt with white trousers and a coat.

The strange thing about Asopo’s relationship with attraction is that even though he was fully asexual, he still found girls pretty. Someone’s appearance is never really a factor in whether or not he ends up liking them or talking to them, but he still enjoys looking at beautiful people. It’s not the same as thinking another boy looks cool, so for the longest time Asopo assumed that this must be what people meant by being attracted to someone else based on beauty. He had since realised that isn’t true.

Erin looked up from her book. “Hey, Asopo. You have that look on your face. Did you want to ask something?”

“...Yes. But can we talk somewhere private?” He looked at the Sashila scientists at work. “This is personal.” Erin was interested by this. “That sounds very serious but I understand. Come on then.” She stood up. So did Asopo. She was taller than him by an entire head. They went to find a quiet room where no one would be listening in. Asopo was in a calm state of mind but he could hear his heartbeat. There was definitely some tension now that he was here, but it wouldn’t be hard. Discussing it with Melia and writing that letter had prepared him.

“So let’s hear it, Asopo. What did you want to say to me?”

“Read this.” He handed it to her.

“Oh? A letter? Why did we need privacy just so you could give me a letter? Or are the contents of the letter important? Should I read it right away? Is it something you’d struggle to say?” She read him like a book. Asopo was very confident in his own wit, but she was probably smarter than him.

“Yes.”

“Okay then. I will read it now.” Erin opened the envelope and pulled out the folded up paper without tearing any of it. It was written in blue pen with large uneven letters. 

To Erin,

I love you very much and I really cherish our friendship. I want you to know that the way in which I love you is a bit different to normal friendship, I think I feel something else too. For a little while I wondered if I was attracted to you romantically or sexually, but I know I’m not. I’m fully asexual. I think you’re one of the prettiest and most fashionable girls I’ve ever met but I don’t think that’s why I feel the way I do. 

The few times we hugged, I enjoyed it even more than I do with other friends. I want to hold your hand and in general I seem to enjoy physical contact with you more so than with other people. I honestly don’t know if there’s a word for what I’m feeling. It’s similar to friendship but I’ve never thought about how my other friends have a warm smell or gentle warm hands. I never ever want to make you feel uncomfortable, if any of these things are creepy then I’m deeply sorry and you’ll never hear of it again. I just want you to know that you’re one of the most important people in my life and I don’t want to ever go too long without seeing you or speaking with you. 

I consider you very smart, strong and kind. I always enjoy listening to your takes or comments on basically everything. I admire how confident you always are and how you’re always able to say what you mean.

When this journey ends and we’re all free to live a life where we aren’t in danger from anything then I want to continue being one of the friends you see every day. I love you very much Erin, I want to spend even more time with you and I hope that would make you happy.

From Asopo.

Erin finished reading the letter. She folded it up neatly and tucked it back into the envelope before pocketing it. The whole time she was reading it her expression didn’t really change. She finished it in just over a minute. “Asopo.” Here it was. The moment of truth. What does Erin think of his feelings? “Do you have any idea how lovely this is?” Erin asked with a very as a matter of fact tone.

“...Do you like it?” 

“Do I like it? Asopo I’m really glad you told me all this. For years I used to think there was something wrong with me. I didn’t have many friends growing up and many people treated me like I didn’t belong. When I never had any crushes on anyone, when I never wanted to be kissed or when the very concept of sex and marriage seemed repulsive to me, I thought I was broken. Do you know what changed?” 

Asopo thought about the question seriously, not treating it like the rhetorical question it was meant to be.

“Did you learn something new that changed your outlook?”

“Correct, actually. I learnt that being incapable of wanting the things that I was expected to want is not some defect, it’s normal. There are all sorts of people like that. I read it in a book and then it clicked. That made me feel much better about myself. The problem remains that I need to live with the challenges this state of being brings.”

“Which challenges?” Asopo asked. He had some idea but he wasn’t sure what specific issue she might have been referring to.

“Well not being able to want certain kinds of relationships makes you unable to have them. It seems that most people have a clear idea about where the boundaries between friendship and romance are set. There’s even the notion that if you have a close bond with some non-family member then it needs to be one of those two. The challenge for people like us is that we won’t really be able to have life-long partners. If you want something like that with someone then it’s sort of assumed you need to get married or at least be in love.” So far Asopo was delighted with how the conversation had developed. Just listening to Erin explain her reasoning contented him.

“Asopo, I won’t pretend we just found the solution to that. I also won’t say I’m fully sure that I feel the exact same way you do, but I am interested. You’re important to me, I value you. It made me happy to read about how much you care. And to clarify-” She put her hands on his shoulders, gripping them. “I never. Ever. Found you creepy. I know the bit about liking my smell is mortifying, but I respect honesty. I think I’ll hide this letter away somewhere safe, there’s no need for anyone else to know about it.”

“Melia knows.” Asopo interjected.

“I, what? Did you show Melia the letter?” Erin asked with a hint of frustration.

“No. I just told her I would be giving you one. It was hard to tell you, I admitted the embarrassing parts to her as practice for now. She was very understanding.” He thought about her smile. Melia was happy that someone she loved could trust her.

“Well I guess that’s okay then. If you want to spend more time with me that badly, then how about you help me with something? I want to find another book about medical science used to combat extreme conditions similar to genesis syndrome. I also need to find a book on crafting signature moves, it’s advanced stuff so I think you should read through it until you find the section on dark moves. I know you’re an expert on battling so finding that info should be well within your skillset. Will you come with me?”

This was another part that Asopo loved about Erin. She was so cunning. So efficient and logical in the best way. She wants to spend time with him but she’s also using the situation to her advantage and getting him to help her with work. He was delighted to help someone like her.

“Let’s be reading buddies.” Asopo said with dry humour.

“Yes. Let’s. Now would you like to give hand holding a try? Or actually before we go maybe a hug would be nice.”

“Yes please.” He smiled at her.

“Alright. Bring it in.” Erin opened her arms and put them around him. Asopo wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed. Due to their height difference Asopo ended up resting his head against her chest. Erin was resting her chin on his hair. Erin’s body was firm and warm against him. “Friend Erin.” Asopo said softly. Erin heard him and chuckled. “Yeah, friend Asopo. This is nice.”

They held it like that for a while. Eventually they had enough. “We have a Braivery taxi to catch. The landing stop isn’t far but would you like to take that hand holding idea for a spin?” Erin considered that just because Asopo said he wanted it in the letter, that wouldn’t mean he’s guaranteed to want it right away just because she did.

“Yes. Let’s walk through the sand together so we can find the bird.”

“Great idea.” Erin reached out and offered her left hand. He gripped it and she led the way.

So how was the short story? Did you find it cute? Cringe? Both? Either way I really like the idea of Asopo and Erin being together like this. It was one of the earliest ideas I had for him but I didn't do anything with it until now. Thanks to whoever reads this far, thanks to those who like my ocs and double thanks to anyone who ever made content for Asopo or my other characters. I really appreciate it. As of the time I'm writing this it's getting late. I've really enjoyed Asopo's first oc birthday it was fun to talk about ocs today.