TEEN: - Ongoing Attie's Collection of One-off Fics

[illogicalatlas]

Hey y'all! Throwing my drabbles, oneshots, and shorter multi-chapter fics ((generally around 15k words/5-10 or so chapters max)) into one thread here.
ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Most of these are just silly little General-rated oneshots ((mostly featuring the Gen2 gang, as Johto hyperfixation goes brrrrrr... but occasionally others will wiggle their way in)), but a few do veer into darker topics so I'm deciding to rate the thread itself as 13+. Each fic will have the rating included, so if you prefer to keep to the lighter stuff just know that it will be marked as such.

As more is posted, I'll keep this up as a bit of an index below. If you're looking for a particular ship or theme, take a look here and see if you can find what you're looking for!

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Fics by character

Spoiler

Bruno
Leftovers

Bugsy
Lovebug

Falkner
Lovebug

Janine
An Act of Mercy
Lovebug

Karen
My Human's Human
Leftovers

Koga
An Act of Mercy

Lance
Dragon Claw

Lorelei
Dragon Claw

Morty
Lovebug

Silver
Leftovers

Whitney
Lovebug

Will
My Human's Human

*****

Fics by length

Spoiler

Less than 500 words
None added ((yet!))

500-1000 words
My Human's Human

1000-3000 words
Dragon Claw
An Act of Mercy

3000-5000 Words
Leftovers

More than 5000 Words
Lovebug

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I'm open to constructive criticism and most opinions, but mostly I'd love to hear your thoughts on the stories themselves!
((read: I just write as a hobby, so a "missing a comma here" is appreciated but not as much as a "I thought no one else cared about these characters" or anything of that nature.))

I hope you enjoy! ⸜(ˊᗜˋ)⸝

 

[illogicalatlas]

Karen usually takes her lunch breaks with either Will or Lance. But when neither are available, she finds herself trying to make sense of Paldean cuisine with an unlikely companion.

Main characters: Karen and Bruno
Notable ships: Karen/Will, Ethan/Silver, Falkner/Janine(referenced), Lance/Lorelei((suggested past relationship))
Rating: General
Words: 3,942
Content warnings/Author’s notes: Mentions of some vague sickness going around, and Grimsley being... well, Grimsley.

Spoiler: Leftovers

Will was out sick.

Which was fairly inconsequential to the two men sitting across from one another in the clearing behind the Indigo League Building. Blue and Clair were riding on the highs of their recent winning streaks - as if either of them needed the ego boost - so no new challengers were arriving. And the other thing that Will tended to keep at bay?

It wasn’t as though either Koga or Bruno were Karen’s Plan B. That was Lance.

Lance was also sick. He had still shown up to work, of course. Nothing short of a global catastrophe would keep him away.
But he was holed away in his office. Giovanni Jr - a name Blue had once called the boy on a day that his attitude was exceptionally sour, before Lance called the current Viridian City Gym Leader into his office for a solid four hours - standing guard just outside the Champion’s quarters. Snapping at anyone who dared to even consider bothering the ill Champion. Karen was no more safe from the redheaded brat's curses than anyone else, regardless of her being the most powerful person inside of the League outside of Lance himself.

Not that Silver cared at all about Lance's well-being. He would tell you that himself.

The kid wasn't exactly known for his unyielding honesty.

As amusing as it was to tease Silver, and as easy as it was to get him all flustered as she wrapped him up in her trap of “Well who’s your dad if not Giovanni? Isn’t it Lance?” Karen knew that there were better ways to spend her time. Especially as the minutes inched closer to her official lunch break. Because she had totally spent the entire morning focused oh-so intently on her paperwork. It wasn’t like she needed someone to keep her in check.

No no no. She simply worked better when she and her dearest William body-doubled such tasks.

In no way had she spent the entire morning in a heated discussion on the phone with Grimsley about just how much The Tale of Two Moons - the same vapid show that they had both watched dozens of times, and somehow always begrudgingly returned to - really did not get Liepards at all and just wrote them as edgier Persians.

It was, what, 2:47AM in Unovan time? Totally preposterous to even think that Grimsley would be awake.

Not as though both of them were night owls whose sleep schedules were even more disturbed by having their best friend living on the other side of the planet.



She really needed to tone down the mental sarcasm. It was a habit formed from those times that Will got too curious and peeked inside her thoughts. He didn't even do it that often. Such abilities aren't exactly the gift that most common folk take them for.
Will limited his abilities most days to harmless little tricks and better understanding his Pokemon. Those were far less debilitating than telepathy. Will liked those sorts of fun and silly things that didn't hurt his head too much.

But Karen was nothing if not perpetually prepared.

Karen was also very hungry. And it was probably time that Grimsley actually got his entire two hours of sleep for the night.

And she knew better than anyone - even Will - that her thoughts tended to drift to unpleasant topics if she was left to her own devices for too long.

Which is how she found herself in the clearing, her cyan eyes shifting between the two men lost in meditation. They both knew she was there, yet neither acknowledged her.

Bruno and Koga continued to sit in silent contemplation, unmoving. Unbothered. The pair was a stark contrast to the woman staring at them with her hands on her hips, waiting for one of them to give her some sort of opening to break them out of their daily meditation.



If you ignore a docile wild Pokemon for long enough, it will go away.

But this was no baby Caterpie. This was Karen. And she wasn’t going anywhere. She had never once taken her lunch break alone since she was appointed her role within the Elite Four. And she didn’t plan on starting now.



Karen wasn’t the only one watching them.

Bruno hadn’t caught it yet. But Koga?
He knew. He knew in the subtle shifting in a nearby tree. He knew in the way a nearby flock of Pidgey all avoided a particular branch. He knew in the way one too many leaves fluttered to the ground.

He knew because he was wholly responsible for this fourth party. He had taught her well, but not well enough.

“Lunch time already?”

His eyes drifted up to the exact spot where Janine had hid, carefully holding a bento in each hand. His daughter's expression shifted from practiced patience to a sheepish smile.

“It’s…actually a little early,” she began. “But Falk-”
A pause. Janine quickly caught herself. The faintest blush spread across her face as she stammered momentarily before she continued.
“The friend that I was training with today got caught up with gy-”
Once again, the young kunoichi stopped mid sentence. One of these days, she was going to either slip up and confess that she had a boyfriend, or she was going to gain the courage to confess that she had a boyfriend. Today was not the day for either outcome.
“Totally random battles with eager-eyed trainers!”

Karen smirked silently as she watched the young Fuchsia City Gym Leader leap out of the tree, landing with a soft thud in front of her father. As stealthy as she was, Janine couldn't be more obvious if she tried. Which is why Karen totally expected it when Koga shifted onto his feet and spoke calmly - a little too calmly for his daughter's liking.

“I was looking into the Gym Reports across the board yesterday. Violet City’s numbers are looking better than previous months.”

The color faded entirely from Janine’s face as Koga’s words sank in. Before she could stutter any sort of half-baked response about “Oh, yeah! I did mention…um… the Sprout Tower…this morning? Didn’t I? That’s why you’re bringing Violet City up, right? Right, Father?!” Koga’s stern expression shifted ever so slightly into the faintest of smiles as he motioned towards Janine's hands.

“You mentioned this morning that you were trying your hand at your mother’s gyoza recipe, correct? I’m looking forward to them. I do rather miss her cooking.”

Oh, that's just cruel. The poor girl's gonna be on guard all day now and you know it.

Karen couldn't help but snicker to herself, knowing how Janine was dying on the inside. She made a mental note to tag along with Lance during both Fuchsia and Violet's next gym inspections. Last thing anyone needed was for either Gym Leader to become Ghost-type overnight.

Janine composed herself as best as she could as she turned her attention to Karen. Unfortunately she had only made enough for herself and Koga. She'd offered to make extra for Bruno on numerous occasions, but he always had other plans. So it was just easier to stick with two portions.

Karen gave a warm smile as she assured the young Gym Leader that she was capable of feeding herself.

Though she was starting to realize she was looking at slim-pickings in terms of company as the ninja duo made their way towards the trees, undoubtedly to watch for any wild Pokemon while they ate.



"And then there were only two."

Bruno's voice was flat, his frame unmoving and his eyes still closed. But it confirmed that he knew Karen had been there the whole time. She couldn't decide if the living mass of muscle ignoring her was annoying or creepy or hot or just plain weird. But she quickly regained her composure. After all, her team had wiped the floor with his many times over. She wasn't about to be intimidated by a little bit of small talk just because she couldn't exactly read him.

"So you've noticed me all this time?"

"You're kind of difficult to ignore."
Karen could have sworn there was the faintest smirk curling at Bruno's lips - and something not unlike a chuckle in his tone - as he finally turned to look at her.

"If I didn't know any better," Karen drawled, knowing she was likely pushing the envelope too far - but not about to be outdone by Bruno of all people - "I'd say that almost sounds like you're flirting, Big Guy."

"It's not."
Well there goes that idea. Of course he was unfazed by her teasing. But she did have to admit, it was the longest the two had spoken outside of their battles or League meetings in...well, probably ever.
Yet as if they were old friends, Bruno continued.
"You haven't ate yet?"

She wasn't sure if her stomach growling had given her away, or if it was the earlier conversation with Janine, but she couldn't deny it. It was obvious what was coming - it was exactly why she had sought her fellow Elites out to begin with - but it still caught her off guard when Bruno was the first to mention it.

"There's a sandwich shop just off Victory Road that I go to just about every day. You want to join me? Skipping meals will only make you..."
His normally stoically composed nature trailed off for just a moment, carefully weighing his words.
"...more frail."

Of course, Bruno wasn’t exactly known for small talk or social graces. As effortlessly as he spoke, he had almost immediately managed to dig himself straight into a hole. Karen couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of the Fighting Master trying to punch himself out of a crater.
Coming from anyone else, being called "frail" would have felt like an insult.

But least he was trying. At least she wouldn’t have to spend her break alone with her thoughts.
And at least, worst case scenario, she’d have some horror story to pass along to Will that night.


__________



Karen had heard of A Piece of Paldea, of course. It was the only eatery that had been bold enough to set up shop so close to Victory Road, just down a grassy path that veered outside of the cave. A path that had previously been a dead end that both baffled and stumped many trainers. A false lead that many newcomers hoped was a shortcut to the Indigo Plateau.
Which made it a favorite among Ace Trainers and Wannabe Champions. Bruno must have been such a regular fixture that both patrons and workers barely batted an eye at the Elite. A handful did pause when they noticed that he wasn't alone, but most quickly returned to their meals.

It was night and day from the usual grand entrances that she and Will would make to whatever diner Xatu teleported them to on any given day. It was also far more casual than any lunch with Lance, on those rare occasions she actually managed to pry him away from the Plateau for a total of twenty minutes. No one ignored Lance. Even when he wanted them to... or especially when he wanted them to.

Bruno led her to a booth near a large window, with a fantastic view of a pair of Teddiursa cubs and their Ursaring mother rolling around in the tall grass outside. He watched them patiently, a rare chuckle escaping him as one of the cubs tumbled awkwardly off of a rock it had just climbed. Karen could have sworn she heard a "Try again, little guy." escape him. But her attention soon shifted to the sound of giggling from somewhere behind them. She glanced over to the counter and noted the way three young waitresses giggled among one another, their eyes all fixed on him. Proceeded by a round of rock-paper-scissors. The winner’s smile beamed as she made her way to their booth.

Bruno wasn’t just a regular here, it seemed. He was a favorite.
Karen wondered if he was even aware of the way his fangirls must have spat at one another for the opportunity to refill his water


Tofu? Yogurt? Apples? Anything that could be stuffed between two pieces of bread was meant to be stuffed between two pieces of bread. At least that was the Paldean way. At least that’s how the menu made it seem. Karen couldn’t help but raise a brow at some of the options. Of course, there was the classic jambon-beurre advertised on the front page. It appeared to be the safe choice for folks as baffled as she was.
But Karen didn’t want to just go with something so basic. The safest option was usually the most boring one. And that just wasn't her.

“The herbed sausage is pretty great.”

Bruno had already sat his menu down, his gaze fixed on her. His smile still lingered. She tilted her head in consideration, tapping at Bruno's recommendation, then to two other choices, then back in a pattern. She had no reason to not trust his taste. But that also just wasn't clicking for her.



A small bell chimed as yet another pair made their way through the front door.

"I’m telling you, this place has a killer dessert sandwich!”

As if Arecus himself knew of her uncertainty, one of the boys chimed his own recommendation. Though not to Karen. To the other boy who grumbled as he followed behind. Two young faces that everyone in the Indigo League knew well.

“And I’m telling you that anything called "dessert" is categorically not lunch. Idiot.”


Looks like Lance's little Arcanine is off the clock for a change.

Karen stifled her laugh as she took a sip of her water. After a beat, she caught Bruno's gaze.

"Didn't know you were bringing me to a dinner and a show. You're pretty fun after all, Big Guy."

While his eyes never veered from his fellow Elite, he couldn't ignore the two as they made their way to a booth on the other end of the restaurant. Ethan was also a regular here. The two had shared several lunches, with Bruno entertaining all of the boy's questions about battling. Depending on how quickly they would finish their sandwiches, they would have a battle before returning to the Indigo Plateau. Ethan was one of the few capable of defeating Bruno, and the older man would joke that he demanded a rematch. An official battle within the League. And unless Blue was joining them, Ethan always took Bruno up on the challenge.
Naturally, Ethan would claim victory yet again. Every time.

But he was with Silver this time. Which meant his full attention was dedicated to teasingly assuring him that Lance would survive for a couple hours without his little shadow following his every move. Besides, Silver had skipped breakfast. So Ethan was not about to let him get away without a proper lunch. He may or may not have used the "Lance would be disappointed if he wasn't half-asleep" card, before rambling on once again about how great the dessert sandwich was.

Karen could never figure out if Ethan was the smartest or dullest kid around. What she could pinpoint was that the redness in Silver's face wasn't exactly the sign of anger that he always tried to play it off as. There was a certain gleam in his eyes with every glance. And that maybe Ethan reciprocated. In his own way.



Having decided on the smoky sandwich with extra vinegar, Karen returned her menu to the waitress and absentmindedly pulled out her Pokegear. The two sat in silence - not quite uncomfortable but not quite entirely casual either. Fearing that she had reached the limit on just how much socialization she was going to get out of Bruno, she needed something to entertain her.

As if on cue, she received the latest in a string of texts from a man who was definitely not fighting sleep and in a questionable state all around.

Grim Reaper - 12: 13 PM
bet I can't get Chili to make a fool of himself at the next League meeting
Grim Reaper - 12: 15 PM
i know you said no bets
Grim Reaper - 12: 16 PM
lame
Grim Reaper - 12: 16 PM
so take that with a grain of salt. an expression
Grim Reaper - 12: 21 PM
wait didn't you get a raise last month????
Grim Reaper - 12: 23 PM
we can TOTALLY make it a real bet
Grim Reaper - 12: 23 PM
it'll be fun
Grim Reaper - 12: 24 PM
↜₍^ -༝-^₎



Maybe she wouldn't have scoffed if those timestamps weren't only for folks in the greater Indigo Region. Which Grimsley was not. As she began to type out a response, Bruno's gaze returned to the window with a thoughtful expression. After sending her rebuttal to her favorite Unovan idiot, her eyes followed. The pair of Teddiursa cubs followed after their mother as she made her way to a nearby tree. The joy that followed as she pulled a few berries off of the branches was infectious. Though while Karen giggled softly, Bruno's expression soured slightly.

"Pecha. Looks like I'm out of luck."
Karen's laugh was cut short as she turned back to him. Before she could put her confusion into words, Bruno continued.
"I thought they may have been Persim berries at first glance. I grow Persims for my Pokemon, but my last harvest was...lacking. Machamp has been pretty disappointed ever since."

Bruno? The embodiment of physical discipline? The unyielding, undecipherable elder of the Elite Four? Tending to a small orchard just to make one of his Pokemon happy? And foraging when that failed?
Karen had no idea he had such a soft side. Especially not one that she could relate to so perfectly.

"Funny, William and I also grow our own berries." Her usual smirk gave way to something softer. "Qualot, Sitrus, Lum..."

"Sitrus are difficult. I've tried."

Karen beamed at the comment for just a moment before continuing. She leaned in slightly over the table, casually commanding Bruno's full attention, as she began to delve into a story of how she discovered a trick for those fickle little things.

The air started to shift. The lingering, awkward heaviness that had followed them since they first left the Plateau began to lift. A sort of companionship that could potentially exist outside of their titles. Truly an unusual pair in every way. But one that felt less forced by the time their sandwiches arrived.

The smoky sandwich was absolutely the right choice. The fillet was near perfection, and the watercress brought out the flavors of the sauce wonderfully. She still wasn't certain about some of the other offerings though. Her expression of bewilderment returning as she watched a waiter bringing out what appeared to be all the makings of a sushi roll haphazardly sandwiched between two buns. It seemed Silver had opted to go as far in the opposite direction of Ethan's suggestion as he could.

Karen talked about everything and nothing at the same time. There were times that Bruno would chime in and times that he simply nodded quietly. The Teddiursas outside had fallen asleep at some point, splayed out in the afternoon sun as the Ursaring calmly watched a Jumpluff floating above them.


Occasionally their attention shifted back to Ethan and Silver, somewhere between bickering and subtle affection. Ethan suggested that the pair see a movie together after this. Silver stammered awkwardly until he was reminded that Lance would survive. And that Ethan already had two tickets to the new Proteam movie. Sure, Ethan’s mom had been the one to buy them, but she didn’t really follow the series at all. And Ethan knew that Silver adored it.

Karen couldn’t help but remark how Silver was at least beating his daddy dearest in one regard. She couldn’t remember the last time that the words “Lance” and “date” were put in the same sentence. Bruno hummed in agreement, mentioning how that ship had already sailed all the way out to the Sevii Islands before silencing himself with a chug of his water. No amount of prying from Karen made him crack any more. She’d have to figure out just what he was talking about herself apparently. No big deal. Karen was good at figuring things out. Especially things that others tried to keep hidden in the dark.



The two were laughing at some poor little curious Sandshrew that had gotten spooked by the Mama Ursaring and was tumbling away awkwardly when Karen’s Pokegear rang. Bruno, who had finished his sandwich already, excused himself - sneakily paying for both of their meals before she could object - as Karen picked it up off the table. She couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh as the screen flashed for an incoming video call.

William

No sooner had she swiped to accept the call did a feeble, not-at-all over-dramatic moan reach her ears. His hair was a mess, his face was flushed, and his head bobbed lazily as he spoke.

“I am dyyyyying, Karebear. I mean it this time.”

Though she rolled her eyes, there was no real heat in her actions. Will was nothing if not dramatic. Almost always intentionally so, except when he was under the weather. Then he was just pitifully so.
And she couldn’t help but love him for it. Even when he was a dork. Especially when he was a dork.

“I don’t remember performing a seance. How are you calling me if you’re dead, love?”

Karen’s teasing was met with yet another low moan from Will. He gave what she imagined he intended to be some sort of witty comeback. But his speech was too slurred and he was cut off by a sneeze.

She waited for him to steady himself enough to actually look into the camera, to meet his eyes, before continuing. Her expression was soft but her voice was firm.
“You’re supposed to be resting. Is everything okay?”

Will’s head tilted to the other side as he hummed for a moment, though his gaze did not waver from hers. He gave a pout for a moment before responding.
“I just wanted to check on you. I noticed the time and needed to make sure you’re not going hungry.”

He was too caring for his own good sometimes. Looking out for her while he was the one wrapped up in what looked like every blanket they owned. Karen assured him that she had indeed eaten. He was skeptical, sleepily informing her that barbecue chips did not count. To prove her point, she pointed her camera to the remaining quarter of her sandwich. Knowing full well that she couldn't bring herself to finish it right now. As delicious as it had been, it was quite heavy. Will hummed in acceptance before pondering outloud just how she wound up at some Paldean place.

Even as half-dead as he was, there was no masking his surprise when she relayed how Bruno had brought her here. The wide-eyed expression remained as she read him the daily special advertised on a chalkboard in front of the counter. But the disbelief gave way to curiosity as a waitress scurried past with a curry sandwich.
They would definitely have to come here together sometime. Maybe with Bruno. Maybe with Koga and Lance as well. Make it a sort of work-family dinner.
But also at least once, it would be just the two of them.

As for the remainder of her sandwich still on her plate?
Well, someone had to make sure that Lance ate too.

 

[illogicalatlas]

After a Pokemon in the Safari Zone attacks a visitor, Koga must follow protocol to ensure safety for future guests. Leading a young Janine to face the reality of the Poison that they wield.

Main Characters: Koga and Janine
Notable ships: Koga/Janine (Familial)
Rating: Teen
Words: 1,669
Content warnings/Author’s notes: Wild Pokemon attacks against humans, death of a nameless child, euthanasia of a wild Pokemon. Nothing graphic, but all very much there.

Spoiler: An Act of Mercy

"How could you let this happen?!"
Koga kept silent, his free hand rested at his side as his eyes focused on the document that had been handed to him. Duty called, and it was even louder than the woman's cries.
"Which one of you thought this was a good idea?! Which one of you thought that a park full of wild Pokemon was ever a place for children?!"

A Ranger attempted to rationalize with her. It was not uncommon for students to visit Fuchsia City. And yet, this sort of thing had never happened. That perhaps it should be the school that she should air her grievances with. But that only caused her screams to grow louder. More feral. An older Ranger subdued her before she could reach his junior.

A place for children.
Koga's brows furrowed in the most miniscule manner as he confirmed just how everything the woman said lined up with the dotted I's and crossed T's of the Rangers' official report.
The boy was only six years old. The same as Koga's own pride and joy.

Folding the paper in his hands, he turned to face the bereaved mother. He spoke a beat later than he normally would.
"My condolences, miss."
Because what else was there to say? Though he stated that the young boy's short life would not be forgotten - that Fuchsia Gym would personally cover costs for the memorial, that he would ensure that he spoke directly with the best florist in all of Kanto - his words fell on deaf ears.
Nothing would ever bring her son back.

Warden Slowpoke cleared his throat, stepping closer to the woman. Koga had ensured he had his teeth before they'd entered the registration gate, as to make this as professional as possible. The pair had set arrangements for a day such as this long ago. Neither anticipated they would ever have to act according to such careful planning.
But one was neck-deep in Gym Battles while the other paced through a waiting room, eager to greet his granddaughter. And the Trainers' School in Viridian had not exactly been keen on rescheduling their yearly field trip.

"NOTICE: Pokemon in this Safari Zone are wild, kept in carefully preserved spaces meant to emulate their natural habitats. Guests are advised to exercise utmost precaution."
Not a notice that a young child would pay any attention to. And one that many teachers had become far too comfortable greeting them year after year.

No one outside of the Safari Zone staff paid it much mind until that very day. Until that boy snuck away from his group, eager to get a better look at a flock of Doduo. Three infuriated heads were the last thing he ever saw.

For a brief moment, Koga's eyes met the boy's mother's. And yet again, duty gnawed at him, as he turned his attention thereafter to the Warden.
"Have the Rangers tag the Pokemon in question. Standard procedure will be followed."

Standard procedure. The term felt cold on his tongue. Yet he knew he was the only one that could carry it out. At least, that was currently the case. One day, that torch would be passed.
Janine was only six years old. Perhaps far too young. But he hoped he would never have another chance.
Koga didn't sleep that night.

---

"You are to accompany me in the Safari Zone this morning."

As always, Janine was thrilled by her father's words. Patrols through the grounds had become a regular part of her training, and every visit excited her more than the last. There was a pride that normally welled in his chest at her fascination. She wore the scrapes she'd earned through climbing trees with more honor than most Gym Challengers carried their Soul Badges.

And better still, her mind was brilliant. She could name every tree she conquered. Every Pokemon they spotted. She knew every path they took as well as their own home - and she giggled as she darted through, free from the invisible walls that continued to confound her within the walls of the Gym.

And she knew Poison. At least, she thought she did.
She knew what Koga had permitted her to know. Given clearance from Warden Slowpoke himself, the pair would often sulk into the deeper marshes with his Pokemon. She would always linger with him in the shadows, clinging to the fabric of his shozoku with bated breath as their unlucky target would succumb slowly.

It always ended the same way. The wild Pokemon would faint, and he would walk her through the process of administering the antitode. She would far-too-innocently relay the lesson back to him. She had begun to take note of the differences in his Pokemon's attacks, and had even begun to show favoritism to certain Pokemon that he used.

The girl was far too jovial regarding a matter that terrified most. Because the wild Pokemon always recovered in the end. In her little mind, that was how it always was.
That would change today.

"There is a Pokemon in this area that should have a red tag on its paw. Can you help me spot it?"
"Um… there's a tag on that one's talon. Does it have to be a paw?"

Koga blinked at her quick reply. His gaze followed hers as she pointed eagerly at a particular flock of birds. Three small Doduo, all napping innocently next to a much larger Dodrio. The mother bird - or birds, she pondered silently - just as Janine pointed out, had a tag on its left talon. And Koga couldn't help but smile, raising a hand to ruffle at Janine's hair. She beamed at the praise - a breath of a laugh escaping her before she quickly caught herself, throwing her tiny hands over her face to stifle the noise. Her eyes widened in embarrassment as she looked up at her father for a beat before glancing back over to the wild Pokemon. None of them appeared phased by the noise. And the relief crinkled her eyes as she turned back to her father once again.

That hint of devious delight? That subtle, stealthy smile that he knew she concealed behind her palms? Koga's heart warmed at her very existence. If there was such a creature as Arceus, he knew he'd been blessed.

Perhaps that's how the mother of that boy felt as well, every morning and night. Perhaps that boy had cackled as he climbed into his parents' bed every morning, bouncing like an overeager Nidoran charging into a Body Slam. Perhaps that boy had been a fussy eater. Perhaps that boy had wild hair that stuck up on its ends when he got excited. Perhaps that boy had put on a brave face when delt a bad dream, only to latch onto his parents' arms as he dozed back to sleep. Perhaps that boy had sang off-key in the bath. Perhaps that boy had an affinity for bugs. Perhaps-

Perhaps-

Perhaps Koga was hesitating. Perhaps Janine was too young to witness what was coming. Perhaps he was too eager to protect her innocence. Perhaps she wouldn't understand. Perhaps she would never understand.

Perhaps his hand lingered on her shoulder for a moment longer than it should have.
"Watch carefully, my girl."

Before he could allow himself to ponder any longer, he reached for three specially prepared kunai with a gloved hand. Using his free hand, he held her in place as she observed the weapons. His hand braced against her shoulder, tightening as he caught the way she leaned forward ever so slightly.
She thought the blades had just been polished. Perhaps it was a distraction - a trick that she'd fell right into - as he could have easily- sneakily - pulled a Pokeball from his belt.
There would be no battle that day.
It would be years later before she would fully connect the dots.

It was over as soon as it began. A breath of life, a slice through the air. An audible set of blows so close in succession that one could mistake them as echoes.
The young Doduo jumped awake at the sound, and they dashed away on instinct. Mere self-preservation, nothing more.
They would return hours later. Koga would at least spare Janine that sight.

But as the small birds scurried away, Janine couldn't bite back her excited laugh, clapping her hands together at her father's victory. She looked back to him, his eyes fixated on the Dodrio.
When had he lifted his mask?

The girl was ever-moving. And before one curiosity could be satiated, another rose.
Because Janine was utterly fascinated by life itself. She had carefully memorized the pulse points of at least a dozen Pokemon. It was a familiar pattern by now, as she stumbled out from their spot in the shadows, closer to the bird.
Perhaps there was some part - some bit of humanity deep inside her - that was unsettled by the stillness. Perhaps that was why she always sought out the rhythms of life in their targets.

In the end, her eyes always grew wide in wonder as he would administer the antidote at the end of their usual training.
But Koga stood still as the curious light in his daughter's eyes dimmed, giving way to confusion. She met his gaze with a tilt of her head.

"Father? Is this a new poison that doesn't need to be healed?"

Perhaps he had been wrong. Perhaps Arceus had not blessed him - but rather, cursed him.
Perhaps his mastery of manipulation had led him to the cruel fate of explaining such things to his precious daughter.
Perhaps this was but a taste of the pain his inability to save that boy had earned him.

His jaw clenched as he stepped closer to her. She did not catch it under his mask.

Because Poison was not only the upper-hand she knew in Pokemon battles.
And one day, Janine would have to understand.
On very that day, Janine was all of six years old.

 

[illogicalatlas]

Bugsy seems rather preoccupied with impressing some mystery girl. Which means that Whitney is rather preoccupied with helping her friend net his biggest catch yet.The only problem is that Whitney's own love-life is a bad soap opera at best. Fortunately, she knows exactly who to rope into helping solve this dilemma- no matter how reluctant they may be.

Main characters: Whitney and Bugsy
Notable Ships: Bugsy/Whitney(Platonic), Bugsy/Viola(Platonic), Morty/Falkner(Platonic), Falkner/Janine, Morty/Eusine, Jasmine/Volkner, Hassel/Brassius,
Rating: General
Words: 13,288
Content warnings/Author’s notes: Whitney is really, really bad at reading the room. That's about it really. Oh, and she had Miltank attack a man once.

Spoiler: Lovebug

Spoiler: Chapter One: A Friend in Need

“That’s it, Kricketune! Now close in with X-Scissor!”

“Don’t let ‘em trip you up, Bucky! Let’s Play Rough!”

Kricketune’s melodic cry filled the air as it charged towards Sawsbuck, who huffed as it braced itself for its counter the moment its opponent left itself open. On either side of the Indigo Plateau courtyard, their trainers stood with bated breath. The boy with messy violet hair and freckles dotting along his scraped-up limbs gasped as Sawsbuck quickly composed itself from the direct hit before taking after his partner with breakneck speed. The girl with bubblegum twintails and a smile too wide for her small face clapped her hands together as her partner’s attack sent Kricketune flying.

A beat. Silence.
Then the boy chuckled as he raised a hand to his head, scratching at his hair with a defeated smile.
“Aaaand I think that’s a wrap, Whit.” He held out his Net Ball to withdraw the fainted Bug. “I really thought I had you there for a sec, not gonna lie. But you seriously know your stuff!”

Whitney wasted no time in skipping over to her Sawsbuck, giggling as she gently scratched at the deer’s ear, tilting her head to note the dark green leaves dotting its antlers as the hellebore bulbs seemed to sense the warmer weather approaching. The victors chattered with one another for a moment before turning their attention back to their opponent, Whitney flashing a sweet smile.

“It was reeeeeally close, Bubs! But I ain’t as brainy as you! Bucky and I just have really great chemistry!”
Sawsbuck huffed as if in agreement as the pair took a step closer to the Walking Bug Encyclopedia of Azalea Town, Goldenrod City’s own Incredibly Pretty Girl holding a hand out.
“Speaking of, I wanted to ask you-”

Whitney stopped just short of shaking Bugsy’s hand, watching the way he fumbled awkwardly with his ascot, a growing look of disappointment forming on his face.

“Ah, darn it… this was my favorite one too…”

Whitney raised a brow, tilting her head as Bugsy pointed out the tear in the fabric. It wasn’t at all unusual for him to look a tad disheveled on most days. Any time that he was out of Azalea Gym being spent in some forest or ruins doing weird science-y stuff that she didn’t quite understand.
Usually he just laughed it off.
Never before had she actually seen him give any sort of actual interest in his appearance.

“That’s your best accessory?”
Whitney’s expression turned incredulous as she placed her hands on her hips. She really needed to give him about fifty crash-courses in fashion. Demand he take notes. Tell him there’s a test after. Maybe he’d pass Fashion 101 and advance into the Second Grade of Color Coordination then.

Bugsy nodded with a sheepish grin, his arms falling to his sides as he sighed.
“I’m meeting up with a friend this weekend,” he mused awkwardly. “She’s always so pretty and put-together. I was thinking of wearing this so I’d be a little more polished, y’know?”

Wait.
Waaaaaait wait wait wait wait-
Bugsy? Dressing up for some girl? For the weekend?
Whitney’s mouth was left agape as her brain short-circuited.
Did Bugsy have a date coming up?!

“Whit?” Bugsy’s brow furrowed as he waved a hand in front of Whitney’s unblinking face. “Earth to Whitney! You in there?”

Whitney snapped back into reality with a gasp, sharply inhaling the breath she didn’t realize she was holding before quickly shaking her head to snap out of her spiral. Though she didn’t exactly manage to compose herself completely. Her look of shock turning one into eager mischief as she tilted her head at him.

“Wait, what are you dressing up fo-”

“Attention! All Johto Gym Leaders!”
Her questioning was cut short as Will stepped into the courtyard with a dramatic flair, twirling before he bowed in their general direction. After a beat, he straightened his posture and raised his hands to the sky. Bellowing at everything and nothing in particular at the same time.
“Your monthly regional meeting will begin in teeeeeen minutes~ Please begin to make your way to the Champion’s Quarters~”
Whitney and Bugsy both stopped to glance at their Pokegears. 10:50 exactly. They exchanged sheepish grins as Whitney withdrew Sawsbuck. Neither had realized how time had escaped them during their battle.
“I repeat! Aaaaaall Johto Gym Leaders! Please proceed to-”

“Hey, Mask Freak! Get back to your room so I can crush you again!”

The Gym Leaders both turned their gazes to the voice that oh-so-rudely dared to interrupt Will’s world-famous theatrics. Silver’s face was as red as his hair as he stomped towards the Elite with a scowl.

Will blinked away his offense before giving the boy a puzzled look.
“Did…did you not just defeat me five minutes ago?”

Silver merely huffed in response, holding out an Ultra Ball in his direction before nodding back to the Indigo League building.

Will’s look of confusion shifted into amusement as the situation dawned on him.
“Did Bruno beat you again, little lad?”

Bugsy and Whitney both covered their mouths to stifle their laughter just as Silver opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by yet another voice.

“He didn’t even make it to Bruno this time. Koga’s on a roll today.”
Karen gave Silver a smirk as she stepped next to Will, wrapping a far-too-casual arm around his shoulders as she mused in exaggerated disappointment.
“I was really hoping you’d pay me a visit today, kid.”

The infamously grumpy trainer began to yell a string of curses at not one, but two Elite Four members. Quickly escalating into three as he dragged Koga into the mess despite the fact that he wasn’t even present. An outburst that would have likely got him kicked off of the premises if it wasn’t an open secret that he was The Champion’s favorite.

Karen simply smirked through the tirade before sneaking a glance over to Bugsy and Whitney, still watching the scene in quiet amusement.
“You two had better get to that meeting. Lance is in that whole I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed kinda mood today. Best to not keep him waiting.”

“Yes, ma’am!”
The two nodded in near perfect unison, making their way towards the entrance just as they could hear the show getting intense behind them.

“William, do not. I know that look.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, my dear Karebear~”
“William. Do not-”
“H-hey!? What the-”
“...and you’re levitating the child. Of course.”

---

Bugsy’s precarious situation continued to wiggle its way to the forefront of Whitney’s mind as they made their way through the halls to their meeting. Bugsy was saying something about his predictions on who ranked highest and lowest among the Leaders, but Whitney didn’t register any of it.
Okay, so a date! Bugsy’s going on a date! I can absolutely get him cleaned up! I kinda owe him for that ice cream last week anyway. But what are they even doing for the date? Does he even know what dates normally entail?

The pair made their way into the meeting hall connected to Lance’s battle room. Without a moment of hesitation, Bugsy made his way to the front row to take a seat next to Jasmine.
Arceus, he’s such a goody-goody nerd. There’s no way he knows what he’s doing with whoever this girl is… not that my past couple dates have been all that great either... But that’s totally not my fault! Those loser jerks-

“Wait, can Meowths even have burgers? That can’t be healthy…”
“...not the point, dude.”

Whitney’s thoughts were interrupted by two voices in the middle of the room. Falkner starred in bewilderment at whatever it was that Morty was showing him on his Pokegear, not quite seeming to understand the concept of some old meme that Morty insisted was a classic.
Those two were sooo lame. But somehow, they were also in actually stable relationships. Relationships that hadn’t burst in flames after two weeks. Heck, Morty and Eusine were a thing long before she even met him, apparently.

Whitney didn’t get it. Maybe Eusine and Janine were just desperate.
Or maybe, just maaaaaaybe-

The two both blinked in equal parts confusion and surprise as Whitney promptly plopped into the seat next to Falkner, flashing a sugary sweet smile that they both knew meant that she was up to no good.
“You two are joining me for our lunch break today. Got it?”

Morty arched an amused brow as he tilted his head in consideration. Falkner was less interested in the whole ordeal, but before he could voice his opposition, a certain Champion cleared his voice at the head of the room.

Falkner groaned as he turned his attention to the statistics and technical stuff that Lance read through, trying to ignore the fact that he was stuck sandwiched between the glances that Whitney and Morty kept exchanging. Whitney wiggled her eyebrows at one point, nodding her head in Bugsy’s direction a couple rows ahead of them as if trying to telepathically explain the situation to Morty in great detail. The medium looked to Bugsy and Jasmine, pondered silently for a moment, then looked back to Whitney with an even more confused tint to his lazy grin. Whitney huffed with a dramatic pout, to which Morty shrugged apologetically.
Falkner wasn’t convinced that they weren’t wrestling over some singular brain cell. Or whatever it was that Morty had explained to him that one time. Apparently Janine found that one hilarious too.

“-on that note, Jasmine. You ranked top in last months’ overall metrics,” Lance explained with a proud grin as his gaze lifted from his paperwork to the aforementioned Leader in the front row. “You actually have the highest Challenger Satisfaction rating that we’ve seen in years.”

“Second, you mean. She ranked second.”
Clair, who refused to sit in a chair like a normal person, instead having found her place sitting on the edge of Lance’s desk, leaned back to sneak at the paperwork in her cousin’s hand.

“No, I do in fact mean first,” Lance corrected, holding the paper to his chest before she could look. He only ever announced the top performer in these meetings. Opting to not put a damper on the mood by revealing the bottom performers. Of course, the bottom four always knew by the end of the week. Those totally-random visits by whatever Elite Four member just-so-happened to be in the area weren’t actually random at all.

“No way! You just can’t read your own writing! I’ve seen your writing! It’s atrocious!”

“Clair. Enough.”

Clair did not agree that it was enough. In one swift movement, she reached out and snatched the paper out of Lance’s hand.
“I did not lose a single match last month! There’s no way I-”
Her eyes grew wide as she skimmed the paper. Lance groaned as he pinched his nose, beyond done with her attitude. Though the tiniest part of him did take great pleasure in letting her cause her own downfall. He’d never admit it, of course. At least not in a meeting like this. Some things were better kept in the family.
“Wha-I tied for third with Pryce?! Wha-”
The disgraced self-proclaimed dragon master stammered in disbelief as she leaned in closer to the document.
“Second pl- Bugs-”

“Enough.”
Lance snatched the paper back, his voice stern but the faintest crack betrayed his amusement.

In the front row, Bugsy met Jasmine’s look of shock with one of his own, before giving way to small, proud grins. They giggled as they high-fived just under the table, hoping it would be subtle enough that no one would notice.
Of course, everyone did notice.
Morty watched intently before turning back to Whitney as if to decipher if this was what she was trying to get him to understand. Whitney in turn stuck her tongue out. He really was clueless.

In the front of the room, it appeared as though the fabled Great Rift of The Blackthorn Clan was underway. Clair waved her arms as she spat, Lance simply giving The Champion’s Stare in return.
Perhaps he would fudge the paperwork. Perhaps he would swap Clair and Morty’s positions before sending in his final notes to the International League. Phasmophobia really did seem like a poor reason to rank so poorly. But there had been such a push for challenger input in recent months, and he would have to figure out a proper reason to justify overriding that. He could already hear his fellow Champions during their conference call next week.
But maybe if he could brief it with Cynthia first, she would agree with him.
Because seemingly without fail, whatever side Cynthia took on a matter seemed to become the general consensus at the end of the day. That woman’s charisma was almost as terrifying as her tactics.

Whitney was two seconds from just giving up with the cryptic looks and telling Morty and Falkner exactly what she was freaking out over. But just as she opened her mouth, there was a knock on the door.

“Mister Champion, sir? Am I late?”

Whitney watched as Bugsy’s attention immediately shot to the back of the door. A small gasp accompanied his wide-eyed wonder.

The very sort of look that made it dawn on Whitney that he was going to be thoroughly distracted for the rest of the day. That she would be free to scheme without worry of being caught.
Perfect.

Spoiler: Chapter Two: Panel of Experts

Whitney couldn’t prove it, but there must have been some naturally-occurring nerf at play. The smarter someone was, the less put-together they were. At least, that had to be the case in human males. If Bugsy wasn't proof enough of that, then Professor Elm most certainly was. An entire light novel worth of scribbled-on reports fluttered out of his coat pockets as he appeared in the doorway. His embarrassed, yet friendly smile almost – almost! – distracted everyone from the coffee stain on his shirt. And it was anyone’s guess which of the two drinks that he carried would result in the next.

Usually, interruptions to these oh-so-fun Gym Leader meetings were met with either a “Leave it on my desk ” or an “I’ll find you in half an hour or so.”

Neither came as Lance cleared his throat and stood up at his desk, shooting a blink-and-you’d-miss-it glare towards Clair, silently telling her to behave. With practiced patience, he offered a smile and held an arm out in the man’s direction.
“Everyone, I’m sure you’re familiar with our native Johto’s own top brain. I’ve invited him to join us today to discuss some matters regarding some Challengers you may find in your Gyms in the upcoming months. Come on in, Professor.”

The Professor’s awkward grin widened as he nodded, making his way up to the front of the room. All of the Gym Leaders in attendance exchanged confused looks at one another. Or rather, all except for two of them. Chuck could only chuckle as he collected the papers that flitted in the air like a trail waiting to be formed.

And Bugsy?
Bugsy’s eyes reflected a light that seemed to be pulled from the stars in the night sky as he watched with bated breath as Elm made his way to a spot adjacent to Lance’s desk. Whitney didn’t get the appeal at all. Sure, Professor Elm was still relatively young and had already made a name for himself. Definitely things worth swooning over. Except that swooning wasn’t exactly the word she would use for Bugsy’s fanboyisms.

He had stated many times in the past that he wanted to become a Professor himself one day.
Which meant that the Bug-Boy-Wonder was in danger. He was looking at his future dead-on and he was thrilled.
Whitney really needed to make sure that he didn’t mess things up this weekend.

Apparently the influx of Bayleef and Quilava and Croconaw that each of the Leaders had noticed in recent weeks was by design. Encouraged by the successes of young trainers like Ethan and Silver, Professor Elm and the sweet old couple running the Day Care had started working together to make said Pokemon more readily available for promising trainers.

Of course, Whitney only cared enough to remember how many of each evolutionary line Miltank had properly flattened with a nice Rollout. But Bugsy was deeply invested, raising his hand every few seconds until the lecture just turned into some high-spirited conversation between the two brainiacs. Even Lance, ever able to command a room with just a look, struggled to get a word in.

Most importantly, the moment Lance decided to adjourn the meeting early, Bugsy shot up to his feet and found himself by Elm’s side in a single blink.

The boy couldn’t be bothered to notice the way Lance couldn’t seem to clear all of the walls of text on his computer screen fast enough, biting his lower lip in excitement the moment he managed to pull up live footage from each of the Elite Four battle rooms before setting his focus on Silver and Bruno locked in an intense match-up.
No mind given to the way Clair scoffed at all of them before announcing she was going to grab two egg sandwiches from the cafeteria, poison one of them, then come back and let her least favorite cousin take his pick of the two. To which Lance just chuckled and waved her off, reminding her that she had no other cousins and was thus also her favorite, amber eyes following Alakazam’s every move on-screen.

Most pitifully, Bugsy didn’t realize that he had left poor Jasmine awkward and alone, barely able to rise to her feet before the pair had walked out the door deep in discussion on breeding moves that his Challengers seemed to use the most.
But Whitney noticed. And Whitney remembered how Jasmine had some super cute foreigner boyfriend.

“Jazzy~”
Whitney’s chipper voice broke straight through Jasmine’s Steel-Clad Defense as she yelped, nearly dropping her notes on the upcoming Intraregional Tournament being held in Celadon City. Morty flashed an apologetic – though mildly amused – smile to try to calm her nerves, while Falkner shook his head and reached down to collect the papers.
“Soooo nice of you to join us for lunch today!”

“I-” Jasmine tilted her head in bewilderment at Whitney’s declaration. “I am?”

“Best you don’t fight it,” Morty shrugged. “We’re all stuck in whatever boat Whitney’s the captain of today.”

“He’s right! Besides, the cafeteria’s supposed to have that tonkatsu stuff that you love so much today! I’m sure if you ask nicely, Falkner will pay for yours just like he is mine and Morty’s!”

“Wait, I’lll what now-”

"Cafeteria's free, y'know," Morty shrugged. "Maybe not the best lunch option, but hey. Gets us all fed."

Jasmine thanked Falkner as she accepted the notes she had dropped, stammering in embarrassment as she straightened them back out. After a deep breath to collect herself, she looked back to Whitney with a nervous smile.

"Okay... I suppose I am. Shall we all go then?"

The moment the words left Jasmine's lips, Whitney took a firm grip on Jasmine's wrist with one hand and Falkner's with the other. That same deviously innocent smile forming as she led the way. Promising that everything would make sense once they've all grouped up properly.
Something told Morty that none of it would make any sense. But that it would at least be interesting.
And Morty typically trusted his sources.

---

And so there were three experts on love – or whatever it took to make relationships last – and one very excited Whitney standing at the head of the table. As her Panel of Experts took their time getting themselves sat, she took a chug of her water before clearing her throat. All the possible ways to explain the situation in great detail played through her mind. She nearly acted on all the flowery, juicy, almost lecture-y ways she get this conversation started.

But she instead opted to cut straight to the chase.
“Bugsy’s got a girlfriend!”

She expected to be met with equal enthusiasm. Instead, two pairs of eyes looked on in confusion as the third arched his brow annoyingly.
“And… that means what to us, exactly?”
If there's one thing Falkner had going for him, it was the audacity .

Whitney met his annoyed look with one of her own, placing her hands on her hips as she leaned over the table, getting far too close in the face of the so-called Elegant Master of Flying Pokemon that really just wanted to drink his soda in peace.

“Well, if we’re being technical, I don’t think they’re an item yet,” Whitney continued. “To be honest, I’m not sure. He’s saying ‘friend’ and all that silly stuff. But he’s trying to be all handsome and cool and stuff so it’s clear he’s whipped for this girl!”

Jasmine stopped mid-bite, half of one of her three plates already cleared. She couldn’t imagine that Bugsy would have found someone without telling her. The two spoke nearly every day, as he was really the only fellow Gym Leader in Johto that she wasn’t painfully nervous around. And she herself was one of the few who actually didn't mind listening to Bugsy's theories and discoveries for hours on end. But she decided to keep quiet, lest she risk Whitney moving from Falkner’s personal space and into her own.

Morty wasn’t as concerned about such things.
“You wanna take a couple steps back and tell us exactly what’s got you so sure of this, Whit?”

Whitney glared at Falkner for a moment longer who looked thoroughly unamused as he took a sip of his soda. He sat it down just as she plopped back into her seat, meeting Morty’s gaze with an excited smile.

“Okay, sooooo-”
Whitney took one long, deep breath. Then unleashed the full story of that morning’s pitiful fashion faux pas in one go. Mimicking the occasional cracking of Bugsy’s voice as she went into a monologue of just how hopeless he was. Waving her arms between them all as to demand their attention. Her hand bumped into Falkner’s drink two times. Then a third. Then he nearly shot up to his feet to leave – muttering something about hanging out with Chuck instead, only for Morty to remind him that the meeting had been cut a whole fourteen minutes ago. Which meant that Chuck had already long scarfed down whatever he was eating and was too busy trying to pull Bruno into some match for him to take the time to divulge Falkner in old stories of his dearest dad.

“I can handle the looks! I can get that boy cleaned up like a real star! Buuuuut I don’t really do the whole… dating thing...”
Her expression faltered slightly, fighting back a whine as she continued. Balling her fists at her sides, she took another breath before regaining her motivation.
"The thing is, I - nay, our sweet, hopeless Bugsy - needs help!"

Whitney sighed dramatically, slamming both palms against the table for effect. That soda was going to fall straight into Falkner's lap by the end of this mess, and he knew it. Or at least he would if he could swap places with Morty for two seconds.

"And y'all somehow seem to get the whole relationship thing. So it's up to you to give me ideas to help him out!"

Morty took a bite of his fruit salad to conceal his chuckle, allowing just enough time for the absurdity of the situation to fully settle on Falkner and Jasmine before smirking lazily.
“So… what you’re trying to figure out is what the three of us do on dates? To try to pass ideas on to Bubs so that he doesn’t blow it?”
Another bite. Then a pause.
“Wait, Whit. You’re saying you're single? What happened to that Wannabe DJ-Guy you were talking to? Donny, or whatever it was?”

All of Whitney’s enthusiasm vanished in an instant. A deep red spread across her face at the very mention of that loser Duncan, her most recent of many exes. The only Bad Boy he had been was Total Bad News ™ .

Just as she opened her mouth to list the fifty million things he’d done wrong, Jasmine set her fork down and raised her hand– perhaps a third plate was too much, perhaps not enough. She wasn’t quite certain yet. Needed to give herself a moment to decide.
“Wasn’t he the one you had Miltank use Rollout on… because he said that the actress in that movie you watched together was pretty?”

“Yes! And it wasn’t just any actress!”
Whitney gave a pitiful stomp, about to drop the worst line any man could ever say.
“It was Sabrina! Sabrina!”

Falkner rolled his eyes.
Morty shook his head in amusement, saying some half-hearted line about that was just a bit too extreme.
Jasmine decided that finishing her third plate before saying anything else that could set Whitney off again was ideal.

“Wait a sec-”
Whitney threw her hands over her mouth, shooting an embarrassed glance through the cafeteria as her voice hushed as if she’d just been caught stealing Burn Heals from the Department Store.
“The Kanto gang ain’t here too, are they…?”

“Nope. Their meeting is always on the first Wednesday of the month, just like ours is the first Tuesday. Always has been, and I don’t think it’s likely to change anytime soon.”
Bird Boy and his attitude strikes again.

"Wait, you know her schedule...?"
Whitney's eyes widened momentarily before she shot another glare, pointing an accusatory finger.
"That is soooo rich! So, what? You've got the hots for her too? Is that it?!"

Falkner choked on his soda, his face paling as he stammered to regain his composure after such a ludicrous accusation.
“I- you- be seri-”
He stammered for an awkward beat before finally forming actual words.
“No- I know Janine's schedule! You know, Janine? My girlfriend? Isn't that why I got dragged into this mess to begin with?"

Morty cleared his throat, waving a hand between the two as to slice through the tension brewing. Their lunch break was ticking away. And unless this conversation was to drag on into the later half of the meeting and then continue for days on end after that, he knew it was best to just get things back on track. To just go ahead and give Whitney what she wanted.

“Speaking of Janine,” he cooly interjected, “the two of you took this past weekend off together, right? You do anything interesting?”

Jasmine blinked, thoroughly impressed by the way the Mystic Seer of the Future managed to unravel a mess so stuck in the present.
Whitney also blinked, seeing his move less about diffusing the argument and more so as genuine investment in the cause that brought them together in the first place.
Falkner fell straight into the trap, a faint blush forming as a reminiscent smile curled at his lips.

“We went to the jump park in Saffron.”
His gaze lowered as he circled the edge of his soda can, faintly sheepish in his movements.
“It… she enjoys practicing her gymnastics. And I get to feel like I’m flying for brief bursts without my Pokemon.” His eyes lifted towards a nearby window as he continued, his smile growing noticeably. “And if you’re ever in Viridian? There’s a smaller park, but they allow for Pokemon battles, and-”

“A trampoline park? Aren’t those for little kids?”
It was Whitney’s turn to be unimpressed, her arms crossing over her chest as she shook her head.
“We’re looking for romance here, Bird Boy! Not-”

“But… Bugsy’s still a kid himself, isn’t he? I think that sounds like a great idea.”

"Whose side are you on here, Jaz?"

"I'm... not picking sides?"

Whitney sighed, shaking her head as one hand brushed against her forehead. Totally exasperated. Was she really going to have to do everything by herself?
"Fine. Then what do you and..." Her brows furrowed as she struggled to match the name to the face in her mind. "...Volleyball? No, that's not...Vaca- that's not it either..."

"Volkner...?"

"Yes! That guy! The cute, broody one!"
Whitney clapped her hands together as her usual sweet smile returned. Because the name had totally just been on the tip of her tongue the entire time and she didn't just always call him That Sinnohian Hottie.
"What do you and Volkner like to do together?"

If what Falkner had done previously could be described as blushing, then Jasmine looked utterly feverish. Her hands rose to her chest as she stammered awkwardly through the small smile beginning to form.
"I- we... I mean..."

"We're not looking for some scandalous lighthouse rendezvous, Jaz," Morty chuckled, giving an encouraging smile. "Just something simple."

"Speak for yourself, Morty! I am looking for scandalous! Something exciting! The hotter, the be-"

"Whit, you'll give the poor girl a heart attack."

"If it's to keep Bubs from becoming Elm Junior, I'll give myself a heart attack!"

"That's a bit much. I think you're taking this too seriously-"

"This is serious! He needs our help!"

Falkner rolled his eyes and proceeded to take another sip of his soda, only to choke as Jasmine suddenly stiffened and spoke a little too loudly next to him.
"We just- we just kind of enjoy each other's company! He... he works on his inventions! A-and I- I usually read medical journals! Just... just being together is nice..."

Whitney paused, mulling over Jasmine's words.
Falkner dabbed at a newly formed stain on his haori.

"Parallel play," Morty nodded understandingly. "That's a good one, really. When you've found the right person, it-"

"So... nothing?"
Whitney pondered over the very thought for another moment, failing to compute the simple intimacy of just being.
Being sounded boring.
"Arceus, y'all are no fun."

"I'm... sorry?"

Whitney sighed loudly, shaking her head as she peered straight into Jasmine’s soul. Then Falkner’s. Then finally, she turned to Morty.
Third time’s a charm, right?
“You’re up, Mort! Pleeeeaase tell me you’ve got something good! You and Eusine actually seem really fun together, soooo-”

Unlike the others, Morty didn’t blush. There was no need for it. His smile was comfortable as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking upward as he pondered out loud.
“We like checking out abandoned spots together.”

For the first time since the group began brainstorming, Whitney’s eyes sparkled in excitement.
The mystery! The intrigue! The privacy! This was where the magic happens, right?!
Her fists balled up eagerly as she leaned in closer, silently nudging for him to continue.

And continue he did, his smile souring slightly as his voice lowered.
“Though there was that time we found a dead Marow-”

Nope. Nooooope. Nope nope nope.
Whitney groaned in defeat, burying her face in her hands.
It really was up to her and her alone to save the day.

---

Whitney was surprisingly attentive during the second half of the meeting. At least that’s what Lance took her scribbling furiously in her journal as.
In reality, she was breaking down every movie she’d ever seen, carefully ranking iconic scenes from the most to the least romantic.

As the day came to a close and the Gym Leaders left the Indigo Plateau one by one, she chased Bugsy down, offering to walk with him to the train station and back into Johto.
Nothing unusual there. Totally innocuous. It wasn’t uncommon for them to accompany one another at least part of the way home after these meetings. So Bugsy thought nothing of it.

He also didn’t think much of it when she offered to meet him at a boutique in Goldenrod on Thursday. It was his day off, and her offer to help him get a nice outfit for his meetup with his friend that weekend seemed perfectly innocent.

For such a clever boy, he really was clueless.

Spoiler: Chapter Three: Bees and Berets

Thursday morning, Arceus had smiled on Whitney. Or whatever it was that Arceus did. She didn’t really care about the semantics of The Creator - she just thought that the name Arceus was cool. Cooler than Ho-oh, at least. No matter what Morty said.

Two hours ago, she certainly wouldn’t have thought so. Sleeping through her alarm, hair being totally disagreeable, the snooty barista at her favorite coffee shop completely butchering her name. All leading into her finding the door to Goldenrod Gym unlocked by the time she stumbled in.

Which could mean only one thing. She had company. Elite company.
That sort of company could have gone any number of ways.
Karen was cool.
Koga was scary.
Will was… Will.
But Bruno?
Dear Arceus, she could stare at that man all day.

And stare she did, for the entire hour she was graced with his presence. Whitney couldn’t even remember to shed a single tear when he challenged her for observational purposes and floored every member of her team with a single move. Much less be bothered to check the buzzing of her Pokegear in her pocket.

Only when he said his goodbyes, presenting her with some motivational book to help her with "her inability to accept loss" - apparently Lance's idea, even though it didn't exactly work for Clair - did she check her messages. Sipping the remnants of her Nanab tripleshot cappuccino that had long gone cold, she was greeted with the super-secret Johto Leaders Groupchat blowing up over the rest of the Elite Four making their monthly rounds through the lower-ranking Gyms.
Not to be mistaken for the far more boring official League Groupchat that was all professionalism and reminders and none of the fun stuff that Lance didn't need to know about, of course.


West side warrior- 8:44 AM
lady of the nights here stay sharp

Pryce Ásgrímr - Mahogany - 8:47 AM
Perhaps it’s not wise to call Karen that.

West wide warrior - 8:47 AM
its fine

#Blessed - 8:49 AM
I called her that to her face once

#Blessed - 8:49 AM
She laughed

#Blessed - 8:50 AM
Just don’t say it in front of L

Pryce Ásgrímr - Mahogany - 8: 54 AM
I side with the Champion on this matter.

#Blessed - 8:56 AM
You’re both lame


Two down, two to go. Whitney giggled to herself as she sent a sneaky photo she had taken of Bruno before setting her Pokegear down. Not caring to wait around for Pryce's scolding her for taking an Elite's photo without his consent.
Old man's mind must be failing him in his old age. He just didn't get it.

She was only working a half day today anyway. So she really didn't have time to sit around and not take care of the things that only she could do right before throwing everything else onto Cathy. The Lass was capable, sure. Whitney had appointed her as her second-in-command for a reason. But she wasn't Whitney. And Whitney wasn't about to leave the Gym without first calling DJ Ben to request all the best battle bops to play throughout the day. Or sneaking and giving each of her Gym Trainers' Pokemon Rare Candies so there would be no risk of any challengers getting far enough to even notice that the Leader was missing.
Cathy could do the boring things. Like the paperwork and pruning the greenery and keeping Youngsters' dreams contained to their pillows.

Whitney would miss checking in with the Day Care to see if there were any new cuties in need of a forever home.
But that was a price she was willing to pay to get Bugsy into the best boutique in all of Indigo and get him all spruced up and spiffy.

Her Pokegear started going off once again just as she had sat down to cuddle with Victoria's gaggle of Sentrets. She first assumed that it was Bugsy letting her know that he was on his way and made no effort to get up and read the text. But it shortly went off again. And again. By the eighth buzz, she sighed and struggled to reach out to the incessant notifications, not daring to risk waking up the sleeping babies in her lap. Her fingers just barely grazed the device, but didn't manage to get a decent grip on it.

Victoria made her way into the office just before it hit the ground, arching a brow as she glanced at the screen before handing it to her Leader.
"Group chat," she shrugged.

Whitney tiled her head with intrigue as she caught up on the latest updates.

Aerial Ace - 10:42 AM
hELP

Prof. Bee - 10:44 AM
You okay???

⛯Jasmine⛯ - 10:44 AM
Are you OK? What happened?

Get Spooked - 10:45 AM
?

Prof. Bee - 10:46 AM
You there?

Aerial Ace - 10:49 AM
kOGA

Aerial Ace - 10:51 AM
kOGA’S HERE AND jANINE LEFT HER JACKET HERE

Aerial Ace - 10:52 AM
iT’S IN MY OFFICE AND i CAN’T HIDE IT without BEING obvious

Pryce Ásgrímr - Mahogany - 10:55 AM
Falkner, I believe you have your Caps Lock on.

#Blessed - 10:56 AM
Nice knowing you

Aerial Ace - 10:56 AM
i AM GOING TO DIE

Prof. Bee - 10:56 AM
Oof.


Ooooh, Bird Boy's gonna get it now~
Whitney gave Victoria a devious grin, to which the Beauty shook her head knowingly as she scooped up one of her Pokemon.
Ignoring the woman's judgement, Whitney giggled as she joined in on the fun.


Itty Bitty Whitty - 10:59 AM
oof x2


One of the remaining Sentret in her lap stirred awake from her giggling. She nuzzled into its fur for a moment, eliciting joyful chirping from the Pokemon while sneaking a look to Victoria that silently screamed "See? She still knows I'm a good person!" before watching the chaos continue onscreen.


Get Spooked - 11:02 AM
That’s rough, buddy. :/

Get Spooked - 11:04 AM
Don’t worry. I’ll keep in touch.

#Blessed - 11:05 AM
Nice one

West side warrior - 11:06 AM
dang mort

Aerial Ace - 11:06 AM
mORTY


Whitney's giggling turned into full-on laughter as her index finger hovered over the screen, just about to continue picking apart poor Falkner's bad luck. But two letters into her message, Bridget shrieked from the main room. Putting her best super-serious Gym Leader face on, Whitney shot up to her feet, barely noticing the two Sentrets rolling to the ground. Victoria called out, something about being careful with her babies.
But Whitney couldn't be bothered to listen. With a surprising quickness, she grabbed her Pokeballs from her counter and darted out of the office.

The sight that greeted her was utterly pitiful.

Bridget was clambering in the corner, trying to reach out to grab Whitney's arm with one and while the other pointed into the disgusting thing that had flown straight into their gym.
A Vespiquen. And next to the queen bee?

Oh dear Arceus, Whitney was in for a loooong day's work.

Bugsy was dressed in an oversized Heracross t-shirt – one that Whitney recalled he had received as a birthday present from a friend in Sinnoh that was apparently just as buggy and lacking-in-fashion-sense as he was – and a pair of old joggers.
She would have guessed that he'd just rolled out of bed... just without the bed. Had he fell asleep in the woods again?
The broken twigs in his hair and dirty fingernails made her wince.

She pried her arm out of Bridget's shaky grasp as she clicked her tongue at her fellow Gym Leader as he looked to the shaken Lass huddled in the corner with a pout.

"Queenie's not scary! Honest! She wouldn't hurt a Cutiefly!" Bugsy's pout faltered into a slightly sheepish grin, his tone lowering. "Well...not unless I asked her to..."

"She's big! And she's got those eyes! And those wings! And-"

Whitney cleared her throat, shooting Bridget a look that screamed "Get your act together, you big baby!" before sighing and placing her hands on her hips, stepping closer to Bugsy.
"I didn't think you'd be here for another hour, Bubs."

Bugsy shrugged as he reached out a hand to his Pokemon, who nuzzled into his palm with a contented buzz.
"We camped out in the Ilex Forest last night. Cuts the travel time a bit."

Yep. Just as Whitney thought. Typical Bugsy.

---

Runway Rouge had three rules:
1) Know your style.
2) Own your style.
3) Your hair must have been washed within the past 12 hours.
Bugsy was breaking every single rule.

Whitney stomped her foot at one of the workers whose face she recognized but whose name she couldn't be bothered to remember. Said worker ignored her.
Normally, everyone here would jump at the chance to help Goldenrod's own golden girl.
But normally, Whitney was not accompanied by such a hot mess.

Bugsy had sighed as he withdrew his Vespiquen - musing as to just why other patrons could keep their own Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs but they were the exception.

"It's much too big," the only worker brave enough - or new enough to be stuck with them - explained with as much faux sweetness as she could muster.

"So my Combee's okay then?"
"The customer's always right" rang in her mind like a curse as his smile beamed.
At least the Pokemon in question was smaller than typical. Had she cared to ask, Bugsy would have explained that she had hatched too early from her egg- but that she was otherwise very healthy. Just tiny.


Whitney was already three steps ahead as the conversation came to a close. Eyeing a coat rack, she grinned deviously as a pop of color caught her eyes.
"Oooh, hey Bubs~ How do you feel about dusty rose?"

Bugsy blinked in confusion, holding for a beat before answering as only a clueless boy could.
"Are…are the flowers at the register dirty? I could maybe call Erika if you think we should help take care of-"
So, so very clueless.

Whitney threw a hand to her face to stifle the exasperated groan that pulled from her chest before yanking the garment off of the rack with her free hand. She held it up to him.
"The color!"

Fortunately, Bugsy grinned as he inspected the car coat. His excitement buzzed almost as loudly as the Combee that fluttered curiously around him.
Unfortunately, he then opened his mouth.
"It's like a trash-cloak! I love it!"

Dusty rose was suddenly very out of-the-question.
Whitney knew that he would likely find a way to relate whatever they settled on to Bugs in some way. And sure, there were creepier crawlers than whichever-bug-it-was-that-wrapped-itself-up-in-whatever-it-was-around.
But she was not about to lead him into the battlefield of love only for him to stupidly declare "I look like trash!"

"It's supposed to be warm Saturday night." Whitney deflected as she threw the coat back onto the rack. "You don't need somethin' so heavy."

Though there was still a hint of disappointment in his eyes, Bugsy smiled sheepishly as he nodded.
"Yeah, I guess that's true. We'll be indoors the whole time anyway."

That actually caught her off-guard. She had half expected him to drag this poor girl through the National Park the entire time, pointing out bugs and trees and maybe a few stars in the sky if Miss Mystery was lucky.

"Actually, what's on the agenda anyway?"
She realized too late that she probably should have started with that. But better late than never.

"The International Poketographers' Collective's Spring Exhibit!"
Bugsy placed his hands on his hips as he answered with a tone that was somewhere between pride and excitement.
Whitney blinked once. Then twice. Waiting for the collection of words he put together to mean literally anything to her.

"That big photography shindig?"
The worker who still regretted not putting her foot down earlier - her eyes nervously landing on Combee as she landed on top of Bugsy's head - supplied with an arched brow.

The boy nodded with an eager grin, his hands rising from his hips to ball into fists.
"Yeah, that's the one! My friend is part of the show! She's really, really amazing!"

Well ain't that something!
Bug Boy was straight up bragging about this girl. If he wasn't such a disaster, maybe he'd be boyfriend material after all.

Lance may have been the Champion of the League. Or maybe it was Ethan?
Whitney wasn't sure anymore. One seemed to win all the battles while the other was the one doing all the public-facing stuff. Maybe there was something that would have helped her understand that a bit better in the Indigo League Gym Leaders' Manual that had always made for a solid paperweight back when she knew where she kept it.

But Whitney was rolling down an even better Victory Road than either of them ever had.
She was going to make this work. She was going to be the Champion of Love.

"W-wait! You have something on your head- please don't-"
The poor worker's screech knocked Whitney back into reality. The woman awkwardly waved her arms in Bugsy's direction as she stepped back with a look of disgust.

And Bugsy?
He didn't notice her at all. His gaze was fixed on a nearby mirror, carefully watching his own reflection. More specifically, he tilted his head as he adjusted the beret that he'd found.

And the more he looked, the bigger he smiled.

It was a clearance item from last season. A green that wasn't exactly sage but also not quite mossy. Whitney remembered just how lame some particular designer had been with their most recent winter collection - and just how upset she had been when this boutique received all of his collection and none of the Valerie's holiday drops.
It really was no surprise that there were leftover pieces.

But somehow on Bugsy? It worked.
At least it did until the buzzing coming from under the hat became too frantic to ignore.
With a sheepish chuckle, Bugsy lifted the hat off of his head and apologized to the little bee that flew out from under its temporary wool prison.


The boy laughed. And Whitney couldn't help but giggle in response.
After a beat, he composed himself well enough to face the worker with a smile that was far too innocent for the wild child that kept bugs in his hair that she - only slightly correctly - perceived him as.
"Ma'am? How much for this hat?"

Combee, sensing her trainer's excitement, fluttered over eagerly to the woman.
Who shrieked again as she took several steps back, stammering pitifully.
"I-it's free! Take it! Take whatever you wa-I-keep that thing away from-"

"Come now, miss~ Are you really going to send them off without a full get-up?"

The pair of Leaders blinked first in confusion. Then bewilderment, as they turned their attention to a familiar voice. Not a familiar face though - it could quite literally never be a familiar face.
Will's mask was familiar to them, though.

As the woman continued to try to encourage the two of them to leave, Will cut her off by flashing a ridiculous pose before waving her off.
He could handle this. Despite what one would believe of a psychic like himself, he did not actually suffer from entomophobia.

Will typically wasn't one to push his power around like that. But an actual boutique employee had just given two gym leaders free reign to his favorite store. He'd be a fool to not get involved.
Besides, what would the shop staff do? Tell the League?

The Psychic Elite heard it before Whitney said it.
"What are you doing here?"

"I am most certainly not stalling, if that's what you're thinking~"
"It's not. Why would I-"
"…now it is."
"…okay, yeah it is! How did you-"

Bugsy continued to stare in awkward silence for a moment. But their voices trailed off into the background as he decided to continue this search all on his own.
Will could go into all his fantastical details of how he had a full schedule today and was not simply terrified to walk among the ghosts in Ecruteak, and thus was most certainly not stalling in his duties as an Elite.
Whitney could forget that Will could literally read her mind.

But Bugsy? He had a goal.

And after about an hour of carefully scouring through this confusing maze of silk and sequins with Combee, he found it.
Had Whitney not been so distracted by Will's presence, she likely would have objected. Earthy tones that blended with his new favorite piece of headwear, with the most dramatic thing about them being the pinstripes on the shorts.

But there was one final touch that did stand out.
After all, Bugsy had a friend he was meeting up with later that night. Not her, but a friend he was to pick up at the airport, and that he would host for a weekend in Johto.
And that friend would most certainly be able to teach him how to tie a proper tie.
Because the Vivillon-patterned accessory was perfect.

Oh yeah! And that trash-cloak too! Just in case!

Spoiler: Chapter Four: Lights, Camera, Action!

Guys in Kalos are strong-willed. Johtonians are family men. Find a man in Sinnoh and you'll never be lonely. A Hoennian guy will always dress nicely, while Kantonians are great listeners.
And Unovan men? Pretty eccentric.

Whitney remembered reading something like that in a magazine once. But now, she was convinced there had been a typo.
Unovan men were pretty and eccentric.

Burgh was his name - Bugsy's Unovan friend who was in town for the same fancy photography event that Bugsy was attending. At least it seemed that being a Bug specialist didn't mean that lacking any fashion sense whatsoever was mandatory.
The tophat-and-Butterfree-ascot combo was maybe a bit over-the-top, even for Whitney. But he wore it well.

But the best thing about him? Judging by the phonecall he was in when the Bug-duo had arrived at her apartment, he had a boyfriend. Or at least some guy that had Burgh threatening to lock their joint-bank-account if "that handsome devil didn't get his act together."
Whatever they were, Burgh was no competition when it came to the pursuit of The Future Mrs. Bugsy.


"I thought you were gonna catch up with some old softball teammates tonight, Whit?" Bugsy mused as Whitney combed carefully through his hair. "That dress seems a little... much."

Whitney paused as she fought to will away the awkward smile she felt creeping up.
Her story was a lie, of course. But it was necessary in order to make sure that tonight went perfectly.
"Y-yeah, I am! We're… going to a, uuum…. a movie premier! It's a reeeaaally fancy-schmancy deal."

She continued working through his hair as Burgh piqued up from her perfectly plush couch.
"Would that be that horror flick remake? The Murkrow in the Tower, I believe it was?"
He leaned forward slightly as he watched her with interest.
"A fellow I know back in Unova is starring in that one. I had intended to attend myself, but naturally scheduling conflicts came up. Can't say I'm terribly disappointed, horror isn't really my thing."

Bugsy tilted his head curiously, only for Whitney to grab the top of his head and coax him back into position as she continued to work at a particularly stubborn knot.
"Wait, I didn't think you liked scary movies?"

Cracks were beginning to form in her grand plot. But she shrugged as nonchalantly as she could as she fumbled around some story about how one of her friends did like those things and that Whitney herself was just joining in to see the who's-who of the event.

Which wasn't exactly a lie - not entirely. One of the friends joining her tonight did enjoy those ghastly things. And Whitney was indeed planning on spending the evening people-watching.
Not that Morty was one for movie premiers though. She'd tried getting him to join her time and time again, but he always found some dumb excuse about Leader duties or leads on Ho-oh or whatever it was.

But Bugsy didn't need to know that her favorite babydoll dress was also her spy gear.
The Intraregional Poketographers Collectives' Spring Exhibit would be a full house for sure. And Whitney would be in the thick of it, there to catch whatever moment she could of her buggy friend's venture into romance.

Once his hair was thoroughly brushed out - which would promptly be ruined by his beret - she reached for her old makeup bag. She pulled out two tubes of liquid eyeliner, holding them up against his cheeks to carefully inspect his complexion. She furrowed her brows. Then muttered something as she reached for a pencil liner instead. She promptly ignored the look of mild terror in Bugsy's eyes - as well as the squeaky "Is that really necessary?" - as she continued to try to make sense of his undertones.

Burgh opened his mouth to provide some very valid artistic input, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Just a minute-just-just five minutes!"
Because of course those two had to believe in things like punctuality. And didn't possess any of the sneaky finesse that Whitney herself had. She schooled her voice into its sugary sweet cadence, but the tightening grip on the pencil liner caused it to crack.

"Really? She drags us into this nonsense and leaves us standing out in the hallway? I'm going ho-"
"Nah, you're not."
And that's when Bugsy should have figured out Whitney's lie. But of course, he didn't. Even if he did raise a brow at those voices.
"Wait, isn't that-"

Whitney cursed under her breath as she handed her makeup bag to Burgh, moving to reluctantly open the door. Morty lifted a single hand to wave as Falkner starred in annoyance.

"Hey! What are you two do-oh! Oh no-"
Bugsy winced as his eagerness caused him to jolt up just as Burgh had begun applying some blush - opting for a far more natural look than whatever Whitney must have had in mind - just enough to bring out the boy's eyes and freckles. Burgh pursed his lips as he tilted his head, inspecting the damage. Fortunately the smudge was minimal - nothing that a brush of his thumb couldn't fix.

"So, yeah! These two were headed to the movie too!"
Whitney beamed - though her eyes did seem unusually sharp as the trio closed the door behind them.
"But they both… don't know their way around that part of town, sooooo I'm just leading the way!"

As much as Whitney would have preferred Jasmine's company, she was kind of relieved that she had taken some trip to Sinnoh this weekend. Jasmine was a notoriously bad liar and likely would have slipped up and told Bugsy everything.
Unfortunately, Falkner wasn't much better. The moment Burgh had inquired what other flicks the two enjoyed, he was far too overzealous in naming every horror movie he'd ever heard of… butchering the titles in the process.
Morty gave him a sly jab to his side, silently telling him to stop overselling it.

Burgh must have just assumed that Falkner was just socially awkward but otherwise very excitable, as he continued the conversation in earnest.
It wasn't a topic that Bugsy was very familiar with. So he instead took the moment to reach for his backpack - the one he'd brought with him, but Whitney insisted that he just leave here at her place because it didn't match his outfit at all.
"Why the heck would you need to lug that thing around at some fancy art show anyway, huh?!"
She had asked him that when he and Burgh had first arrived, but before he could even answer she was already on to the next topic about how spiffy he would be and how happy she was that he'd asked for her to help him clean up for tonight.
"Wait- wasn't she the one to ask to help out…?"

Absentmindly, his fingers dug through notepads and field supplies before he found just what he was looking for. An old camera - older than himself, he later found out- that he'd found once tucked away in some second-hand electronics store while looking for parts for the PC he'd been repairing. He had never been particularly artistically inclined, but in the weeks leading up to tonight he wanted to give it a shot.
"Literally or figuratively?"
His friend Aaron had asked with a chuckle during a recent phonecall. Only to stop himself with a sigh.
Not at his own joke, of course. But at the realization of just how unfortunately timed this whole thing was. The photography exhibit was to take place during a major tournament in Sinnoh. And naturally, being a member of the Elite Four, Aaron knew he'd be needed to help moderate the battles.
"So much for a Bug Buddies hangout…"
To which Bugsy promised to capture the night to the best of his abilities, as to share the memories with him later.

"We're going to get a show from the darling dynamic duo, are we?"
Burgh's hand on Bugsy's shoulder halted the boy's thoughts, grinning warmly as he nodded towards the camera.
Bugsy's own grin was slightly sheepish as he stammered something along the lines of "dynamic is pushing it, don't ya think?"

Maybe it was.

But Whitney was sure that it would be quite the show indeed.
And as the two made their way out of the apartment, the tantrum Whitney had been holding in - just waiting to be unleashed upon Falkner and Morty for nearly blowing their cover - faded into excited giddiness.
She physically held her companions in place there in her apartment for exactly three minutes and forty-seven seconds, to create a realistic distance between them and their targets.
And then-
It's showtime!

---

Whitney thought she understood photography decently enough. Her glittery edits of her adorable Miltank could fill albums aplenty, and her selcas were known to cause certain circles of the net to implode.

She'd often wondered what it would be like to see all of those numbers on her Pokegear screen as actual faces. Perhaps that was what Goldenrod South Gala felt like right now.
If that were the case, this certainly wasn't what she'd dreamed it would be.
When she had first arrived, she expected the flashing lights and excitable screams typical of every other five-star event in this part of town. But this? It felt more like the after-after-afterparty. Mature adults with their heads on straight, quirky art students with big dreams networking their way into the scene through their tunnel vision, and nary a Shotspot filter in sight.

Somewhere hidden between all of the landscapes, closeups, and mid-battle blurs, Bugsy was undoubtedly barreling towards the girl of his dreams.
But Whitney was struggling to find him. Crossing her arms over her chest with a dramatic pout, she scanned eagerly through the room before Morty ruffled at her hair, smirking with a hint of concern as he motioned her towards a staff member with a full tray of refreshments and rather impressive waves of hair framing his face.
"C'mon, Whit. You're wearing me out just watching you. We can't have you passing out on us. Let's get a bite of something in you then we can find Bubs."

"And maybe some of us can stay by the food….to stand guard? Or something…?"
"Nice try, Bird Boy. Let's all scarf us down a poffin or two, then get back at it!"
"You really thought she'd buy that one?"

And so it seemed that they had opted for the perfect time to refuel. The man with the refreshments chuckled as he held the tray out proudly, explaining that fresh treats had just been made up and that the three of them were the first to get to try them.
Crostini shaped in fun Pokemon shapes, blocks of freshly-imported Gogoat-milk-fudge, rows of roasted berries. For just a moment, their entire reason for attending this event was lost under the temptation of such sweets.
Morty arched and amused brow as he took a Shedinja-shaped pastry, admiring the accuracy in the details.
Falkner hummed appreciatively as he took a skewer of Cheri and Lum berries.
Whitney picked a small Teddiursa-shaped piece of fudge, her eyes sparkling as they darted back and forth from the treat to the chef.

"Did you make all of these?! This is just tooooo cute!"

The man laughed as he shook his head, motioning towards somewhere within the crowd.
"Nah, just them skewers! That fine lil' lass ov'there I taught made the rest of'em!"

The trio's eyes followed his direction, and suddenly they were reminded of exactly what they were supposed to be doing in the first place.
Because standing next to the sweet young lady in question was none other than Bugsy.
Burgh was still there too, of course. But the night was still young. And surely he wouldn't third-wheel the entire time, right?

The chef proceeded to say something else, but Whitney tuned him out entirely as she carefully snuck closer. Carefully ducking between other attendees, holding her breath as if it made her invisible, before she finally found a decently-sized Rotom statue in the middle of the room that she hid behind, pulling Falkner and Morty into the shadows with her.

Whoever this woman was, she was both talented and pretty. Whitney covered her mouth to conceal her excitement as she watched how Bugsy grinned ear-to-ear as she spoke. At how he seemed to tuck his own hair behind his ear mirroring her movements as she did the same with her minty curls. And how he leaned into her side as he laughed at something she said.
Then Falkner pointed out how Bugsy did the exact same things with Burgh.
But surely that was just coincidence, right?

Though whatever Bugsy had going on with either of them was nothing compared to the two men standing in front of them, unknowingly concealing their view from the photo that the three of them were trying to get a better look at.

"Well, this one is the one I wanted to show you-"
The woman began awkwardly, placing a hand on Bugsy's shoulder.
The olive-haired man tilted his head in careful observation at the same exact moment the blond man did.
"-it's a nice shot of a pokemon using Fury Cutter-" she continued as the three of them shifted to the other side to try to look over the mens' shoulders.
Only for the pair to simultaneously bend in that very direction, once again in unison. Unaware of the group behind them.
"-as soon as Vivi told me about this one, I knew you needed to see it, but…"

Bugsy eagerly stood up on his tiptoes to try to get a better look, nearly dropping his camera in the process. He hopped awkwardly to try to get a better view. And the men then stood up straight.
Then the synchronization broke as the blond raised a shaky hand to his face, to which the green-haired man placed a comforting hand to the small of his back.

"This one is by one of your students, correct?"
A choked nod was the only reply he could muster at first. Before scrambled words followed unceremously.
"H-he's a good kid! H-he and some friends came across-they-they came into hard times… b-but they're all doing really well now, and… a-and this boy, he typically expresses himself through music, b-but- but he told me he wanted to branch out for a project, a-and he and I worked together with his Pawniard here-and-"

Bugsy, Burgh, and the pretty chef lady all exchanged awkard glaces.
As did Morty, Falkner, and Whitney from their hiding spot.
The taller of the two men continued to ramble for some time, the pair unmoving from their spot. Until the woman cleared her throat and spoke up firmly, but considerately.
"Um, Brassius? Mister Hassel? Do the two of you mind…?"

The pair turned at the sound of their names. The crying man choked back a sob as a smile curled at his lips.
"K-Katy? Pardon me, I-"

Katy? So that's her name?
Whitney perked up at the revelation. So much so that Morty and Falkner both quickly moved to cover her mouth with their hands before she shrieked. Neither knew exactly when they had gotten so invested in this whole ordeal. But here they were. Might as well ride it out.

"Do you know each other?"
Bugsy tilted his head as the blond moved to shake Katy's hand…which she awkwardly pulled away from. Not being rude, of course. But just being mindful of how unsanitary it would be when he had just been blubbering into his own palm- and how he was still sniffling.

"I do! Brassius is also a gym leader in Paldea, and Mister Hassel is a member of our Elite Four. Both are artists by trade as well. Sirs, this is Bugsy. And this is Burgh. They're also Bug-type Leaders, and-"

"Artists?"
Burgh couldn't help but interrupt, placing a hand on his hip with a pleasant grin.
"How lovely, to meet someone who shares in the pursuit of beauty."

Before Katy could continue, Hassel stepped aside to allow the three of them a better view of the photo. His lip quivered as he began to explain some sort of long-winded, behind-the-scenes tale of the day the photo was taken.
Which led to Burgh bringing a thoughtful finger to his lips as he mused out loud.
Neither Bugsy or Katy - or especially not their three little spies- knew exactly what direction the conversation was headed in as Brassius nodded, chiming in with something very artsy as well.

But as Brassius pointed a finger to yet another photo in the exhibit, the three of them continued to talk eagerly.
Leaving what Whitney thought was the cutest pair of lovebugs she had ever seen alone in front of the Pawniard print.

The air around them seemed to quiet as Bugsy's wide-eyed wonder focused on the streaks of light caught against the golden glow of the Pokemon's eyes. His mouth agape, hands holding tightly to his camera, tiny limbs shaking.
Katy observed the artwork for a moment before smiling proudly at the boy.

Yet he didn't even seem to notice her gaze. Which caused Whitney to groan as she ran her hand down her face.
"He's supposed to look at her like that! What gives?"

Falkner wiped a bit of Lum Berry juice from the corner of his lips as he spoke in a far more hushed tone.
"Are you really sure about this?"

Whitney opened her mouth to speak, but Morty beat her to the punch.
"Yeah. I mean, are you sure she's the one he was talking about? Didn't he say something about her being part of this exhibit? I doubt he would've worded it that way for some catering staff…"

Wait. Morty actually made sense.
Which kept Whitney from spiraling as the chef man from before called over to Katy. Who then apologized to Bugsy as she made her way back towards some room in the back of the venue.

The three watched with bated breath as Bugsy seemed to ignore the world around him for some time. Continuing to stare breathlessly at such a unique capture of the move that he himself had first discovered some time ago.
He had no idea that it had become such a household name that non-Bug-types would use it so commonly.

And he had no idea that four pairs of eyes were watching him so intently.

Morty was the first to spot her. The badge dangling from her neck indicated that she was a guest of honor tonight - which was no surprise, judging by the camera she carried. If he had to guess, that thing costed at least three months' worth of their salary. As well as the way some of the other guests called out to her- which she quickly shushed, waving her arms as if to indicate that no one should give away her presence as she sneaked in closer behind Bugsy.

She stood and watched him for a long, silent beat.
And just as he raised his hands to attempt to take a photo of, well, the photo-
Click!

The flash of light spooked Bugsy, who yelped in surprise as he turned around sheepishly.
And his surprise gave way to a wide grin the moment he saw her.
At least Whitney assumed he was grinning. She couldn't quite see his face as the two stepped closer before the lady wrapped her arms around Bugsy's shoulders with a warm smile.

Whitney was bouncing in her heels as the hug continued, and Morty, chuckling, had to physically restrain her before she made a scene.
Even Falkner couldn't help but smile in relief.

When the two pulled away, the woman laughed triumphantly as she showed Bugsy the candid image she'd captured. Bugsy blushed with a goofy grin before tilting his head. His voice was a tad too low for anyone else to hear, but judging from the way he then fumbled through the buttons on his own camera before showing something on the display to her, he was asking for advice.

How had Whitney not thought of suggesting the two hit up some overlook to take pictures together the moment she'd found out that this girl was a photographer?
Even with the way it seemed Whitney herself was the one fumbling this whole date, everything was seeming to fall into place perfectly.

With a nod, Bugsy's Miss Mystery turned both of their attention to another shot on her camera. Pointing at some detail on her camera, then to Bugsy's, then she clicked to another photo she had taken, then to the Pawniard picture in front of them, then finally back to Bugsy's photo.

Bugsy arched a brow at the explanation, his expression indicating that he wasn't entirely sure he understood.
Which is when she took his hand, leading him to another photo in the exhibit to better explain whatever photographic hiccup he seemed to be having.

And as the two walked hand in-hand towards the woman's own masterpiece- some large closeup of Vivillon wings- Morty had to shove the rest of his pastry straight into Whitney's mouth to stop her from screaming right then and there.

The three of them managed to keep quiet for a moment as they watched the two smiling and laughing and jabbering about Bugs and photography.
Completely oblivious to everything else happening in that grand hall, until-
"Okay, so why are you all spying on Bugsy? And why are you all so bad at it?"

The sudden intrusion caused the trio to all jolt back and stumble awkwardly into each other - Whitney's half-eaten fudge falling to the floor as Morty stepped on Falkner's foot.

Whitney first found the eavesdropper to be incredibly rude, and unreasonably nosey And Whitney knew a thing or two about being unreasonably nosey. But after a beat, she found herself on guard for yet another reason.
The girl's flowery haori? Adorable. The way she styled it with simple black leggings? Impressive. Violet hair shaped into twin buns with pink bows on either side?
This girl was cute. Whitney had always made it a point to know who all the prettiest girls were in case any of them ever thought to steal her crown as the pretty girl.
Yet Whitney had never seen this one in her life.

At least, that's what she had thought. Then Falkner stammered in disbelief.
"Jan? What are you doing here?"

Wait, Jan? …as in Janine? That Janine?!
Come to think of it, Whitney couldn't recall ever seeing the Poisonous Ninja Master of Fuchsia City without her mask and full battle-read garb. Much less all dolled up like this.
How did Falkner get so lucky?

Before Whitney could continue to spiral, Janine crossed her arms over her chest and gave a quizzical look to the trio before turning her attention to Falkner - at which point something similar to a pout tugged at her lips.
"I could ask you the same thing. Not like you to come out to something like this without inviting me."

"You said you were attending some fancy event with your dad, to see some Elites from far away?"
"Yeah, this is that event!"

The realization dawned on Morty first. He chuckled awkwardly with a hand on his hip as he asked for the clarification he wasn't sure he wanted.
"Wait, so where is Koga?"

The kunoichi nodded towards a group deeper in the crowd, where sure enough her father calmly took a sip of his drink as he listened intently to a seemingly jovial discussion between Lance and the crying artsy man they'd spotted earlier. The Champion occasionally jestured to Silver, who appeared as if he'd much rather sink into the floor than be there.
The entirety of the Indigo League was there. And Whitney was too focused on just how criminal it was for Bruno to wear a shirt to pay much attention to the others from Hoenn or Kalos or wherever that none of them recognized.

"They all spotted you guys too, by the way. Not before Father and me, of course. But you're not exactly subtle…"

Falkner awkwardly brushed a hand through his bangs. Morty sighed with a defeated grin.
Whitney mulled over it for just a moment before returning her back to the Vivillon print, where Bugsy his should-be-would-be girlfriend were still standing.

"Yeah? Well, maybe they should be watching them instead! Just look at that chemistry!"
"Wait, is this about Viola?"

Viola? Even her name was pretty.

"Yes! Bubs and Viola! She's a little older than I expected, sure, but look at them!"
"All I see are a couple of bug fans chatting about bug things. Not a couple of… well… not a couple."

Ah, so there is was.
It was their cluelessness that connected Bird Boy and Toxic Girl.

Whitney shot Janine an unimpressed glance, to which Janine blinked in confusion before continuing.

"I'm serious! Viola's already seeing some other gym leader in Kalos! Rock-type, I think? She and Bugsy are just friends. Like, all of the big-name Bug-specialists are friends! I mean, Bugsy and I hang out a bit, and he tells me about them all the time."
Whitney blinked with an expression somewhere between surprise and doubt before Janine continued.
"My Ari's such a cuddlebug-"
Falkner rolled his eyes, to which Janine giggled deviously. Apparently he'd heard that one more than a couple times.
"-and she really loves the attention! Usually it's just Father and me that aren't creeped out by her."

"Okay, so how do you know there's not something scandulous going on behind y'alls backs?"
"Because I know things. Easy to figure things out when you're a ninja! I know things about everyone."

The pink-haired girl responded with a skeptical look, to which Falkner shook his head.

"She does. It's… kind of frightening sometimes."
"I thought you found it surprisingly charming? Your words, not mine."

Janine's pout returned, to which Falkner waved his hands in the air between them with a flushed expression. He struggled to form words for a moment before Janine's pout gave way to a playful grin - as if it couldn't be any more obvious that she was teasing him.
Okay, so maybe only one of them was clueless.
"I think you need some fresh air, Birdy."

Whitney and Morty exchanged glances as Janine beamed, taking Falkner's hand into her own. The two quickly realized that their group was about to dwindle to half of their numbers. A theory proven correct as Janine said something about heading to the balcony, snickering as she ignored Falkner's awkwardly jesturing towards the Elites across the room.
Though he had to admit that there were probably worse ways to die than Koga spotting them sneaking off. Not many, but maybe at least one or two. Maybe.

And just as Janine had said, some man joined Bugsy and Viola. He took her other hand and smiled at Bugsy, who gave a silly little grin in return. Not an ounce of jealousy in his eyes as Viola rested her head on the man's shoulder.

Whitney made a mental note to remind herself to never get on Janine's bad side. Then she sighed defeatedly.
"Okay, so maybe I was wrong."

"So it would seem."
She thought to throw her snack at Morty, only to realize she was empty-handed. She stomped her foot and huffed, fists balling at her side. The love that never was nearly turned into one of her world-famous sob stories . But Morty knew her well, and was able to effortlessly dodge the bullet.
"So… there was some big movie premier tonight, right? You wanna check it out? Can't be any more crowded than it is here."

---

Morty nearly regretted the suggestion the moment he said it, but it was far too late as they made their way downtown. All the flashing lights, loud voices and even louder emotions causing his muscles to tense.

But at least it would keep Whitney occupied for the rest of the night. Maybe he'd be able to sneak off once she found some hot actor to stalk for the night. Maybe someone else who didn't have any romantic attachments.
Maybe Whitney could focus on her own love-life for a change.

And she did, regrettably enough. Because as they shifted through the crowd, a certain obnoxious voice caught their attention.
"Coming to you live from the place to be! At the premier of the season! No, of the year! Of the decade! It's-"

Oh, boy.
DJ Duncan.

Whitney froze as she watched him slyly moving from star to star, trying to find someone - anyone - who would give him the interview that would catapult his career.
It wasn't exactly easy when DJ Mary was also present. But somehow, he did manage to find a familiar face near the edge of the crowd. Because Morty wasn't the only one not exactly enjoying the overwhelming noise of strangers' excitement.

And Whitney's fists balled at her sides as he called her name.
Not her name, of course.
"Sabrina! Sabrinaaaaa! Please, a moment!"

Morty placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder as the pair watched the DJ stumble over to where the actress was silently trying to sneak into the cinema. He could tell that neither girl wanted anything to do with the man. And overhearing some of the questions that he bombarded the Master of Psychic Pokemon with, he couldn't help but wonder why Whitney hadn't dropped him like a moldy Figy Berry much sooner.

Not that it was any of his business.
Nor was there any connection between his judgement of Duncan and the fact that later that night- when Whitney spotted some Kalosian actor that she just had to get to know better- Morty managed to sneak away to find Sabrina for a friendly little chat away from the crowd.
In no way did the two of them talk about the trashy interview that Sabrina had gotten roped into. And when her emotions got the better of her, he totally did not encourage her to act upon her frustrations.

So when a handful of Johtonian Leaders met up at the National Park two weeks later- as per Bugsy's request because he was eager to test out camera techniques - regarding Whitney's pulling Morty aside, flabbergasted about strange frequencies that kept interrupting Duncan's broadcasts to the point that he had to pull away from the Radio scene, Morty knew nothing.

 

[illogicalatlas]

Two members of the Indigo Elite Four find themselves leisurely strolling through Celadon City. It's here that Lance discovers a secret interest of Lorelei's. Which pulls him into his most difficult challenge yet - the dreaded Claw Machine.

Main characters: Lance and Lorelei
Notable ships: Lance/Lorelei
Rating: General
Words: 2,059
Content Warnings/Author’s notes: Pre-canon dumb fluff. Lance being stubborn. Mutual pining that neither are ready to admit. Giovanni tries to con a couple Elites.

Spoiler: Dragon Claw

The data was clear. There were no up-and-coming trainers who would make their way to the Indigo League. Every Gym Challenger that appeared in the past two months had met their match; often Sabrina for those in Kanto or Clair for those in Johto. So while the League was open for business as usual, two of the Elite Four taking their time while gathering supplies in Celadon City really didn’t hurt business at the end of the day.

They had already grabbed everything on their list. They had also grabbed the extra Rage Candy Bars that weren’t a necessity, but would spare everyone Bruno’s grumbling. So practically a necessity in their own way. Making their way back to the Indigo Plateau would have been the next logical step. But neither seemed to be in any hurry.

Besides, the both of them had to admit that they were among good company. Though Lorelei had only remarked that it was nice to get some fresh air, to get away from Agatha’s Ghosts lurking around every corner, and Bruno’s…well, Bruno-isms. She was not about to admit that she had a favorite among her fellow Elites.

Lance, for all of his talk about not being the most sociable guy out there, seemed to be adjusting rather well to the crowd around them. Ever alert, he would occasionally murmur observations about passers-by to Lorelei. The Ice-specialist listened more intently than she let on. She knew which responses would get the best reactions out of him. She knew just how to get that chuckle out of him; which the Dragon Master would quickly catch and compose himself, mentioning that it was below them to gossip .

That chuckle was a warm contrast to his usually stern composure. Coupled with the gentlemanly way he had insisted on carrying all of their bags, it was obvious why Lance had become an absolute heartthrob among trainers. A fact that he seemed clueless about, despite seeming to catch onto literally everything else around him.
That rare, clueless side of him was oddly endearing.
Lorelei was more than okay with dragging this day along a little more than needed.

Springtime was the peak season for most shops in Celadon City. But this year was even more lively. Erika’s outstanding work within the Gym had inspired citizens to beautify their surroundings. Hyacinths and tulips dotted the edges of the pavement, and several shop owners opted to display vibrant pots of foliage to draw attention to themselves.

Flashing lights battled against the sun, drawing the pair’s attention to what Lorelei could best describe as an eyesore of a building: the newly-opened Rocket Game Corner. Many natives felt it was a sore spot in their otherwise lovely town. But it drew in many more tourists, a small line of them gathered outside waiting for their own chance to strike it big.

Lance had only heard of the establishment before now. Upon delivering his own Gym Battle Reports last month, Viridian’s own Gym Leader had suggested that Lance and Bruno should join him for a night out in Celadon. To Lance, it seemed a little out of character. But everyone had their own vices. He just wouldn’t have guessed gambling to be one of Giovanni’s.
The Elite had been far too busy to take the Gym Leader up on his offer, though.

As they often do, most establishments scurried to find ways to capitalize on the growing market. Some followed the example of the flashy lights. Some advertised new points-for-prizes programs for their loyal customers. Some opted to tuck arcade machines under their awnings.
One such machine caught Lorelei’s attention.

TAKE US HOME!
˙ᵕ˙
ONLY 100 ₽ PER PLAY!

The cutesy hand-written sign taped to the side of the machine betrayed the legacy of every claw machine in existence. Within the confines of the glass sat several stuffed pokemon dolls, all haphazardly piled on top of one another. An unfortunate existence for those poor, plush babies. If claw machines weren’t notoriously rigged, and if Lance wasn’t accompanying her, she’d likely give in to the temptation to take them all home.

Her steps slowed in spite of herself as she scanned each of the dolls with a bit more intensity than she would have liked.
Pikachu… Oddish… Eevee... Nidorino… Abra…oh! A Seel! How precious…

“Is something wrong, Lorelei?”
Lance’s voice broke through her thoughts. At some point, she had stopped walking and fell a bit behind him. He now looked back at her with a raised brow. Lorelei quickly composed herself, shaking her head as she stepped towards him. But it was too little too late. He had followed her gaze and took note of just what she had been distracted by.
“Did you want to give it a go?”

“...absolutely not.”
Her voice came out hesitantly as a faint blush spread across her face. Clearing her throat, she adjusted her glasses before continuing.
“Those things are scams. It’s shameful that such a respectable business would resort to such tactics.”

Lance held her gaze for a moment before turning his attention back to the establishment in question. This particular bait shop wasn’t exactly known as being respectable . The owner was known to get into spats with patrons, and deliveries out of the store were often missing items.
He knew better. He knew that Lorelei knew better. And he knew that Lorelei was lying.
“Uh-huh…”

“I’m serious,” she continued.
The smirk he gave her spoke volumes.

After allowing her to ramble on for a moment longer, the Dragon-specialist took a couple strides closer to the machine, inspecting it carefully. His amber eyes moved from plush to plush before spotting a certain one squished under a large Meowth.
“The Seel?”

Lorelei raised a brow, feigning ignorance. But Lance once again shot straight through her defenses, repeating his inquiry. Less of a question this time. He already knew the answer.
He has no right being this perceptive! Couldn’t he just be like every other cute guy and have Geodudes for brains?!

Before she could put her objections into words, he had made his way over to the machine, setting the shopping bags down as his feet and reaching into his pocket.

“You can not be serious,” she spat as she made her way next to him, placing both hands on her hips.

“Dead serious,” his smirk widened as he slid a coin into the slot.

The machine came to life with a jingle and some synchronized flashes of light. As his hand rose to the joystick, Lance peered at the plush battleground that he had thrown himself into. He never threw himself into battle without a plan. And he wasn’t about to start now. That Meowth was going to be an obstacle. The Pikachu next to it could be hazardous as well. But a bit of Seel’s tail was out in the open. That was his target.

Something within Lorelei fluttered as she watched his face shift from thoughtful consideration to a proud determination. It wasn’t a new look for him or a new feeling for her. Every time she had watched him battle, he displayed the same intensity. Every time, she felt her breath catch. But it had always been so easy to excuse herself before. “This matchup is simply intense!” was a line that she had long perfected.

No claw machine carried that same weight. Yet they both fell into the familiarity of their roles.

As the claw lowered and grabbed at the Seel’s tail, the pair held their breath. But as it began to rise, the weight of the Meowth proved to be too much and the prize slipped unceremoniously out of its grasp. A huff escaped Lance as he moved his hand away from the joystick to scratch at the back of his neck. His gaze remained on the obstacle before him as Lorelei spoke up.

“I told you, these things are designed to make you lose.”

“I never lose,” Lance replied bluntly.
Coming from anyone else, it would have come off as foolishly arrogant. But if anyone could back that statement up, it was the Dragon Master of the Elite Four. Lorelei stared silently as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another coin.
“I just need to try a different strategy.”



Round two began with the same mechanical fanfare. Lance bit at his lower lip as he guided the claw towards the Pikachu. Most would have aimed straight for the Meowth, to get it off of the Seel. But Lance knew better. The Pikachu pressed up against the Meowth in just such a way that kept the larger plush in place. If he was to reach the Seel, he would have to take down each opponent one by one.

As for the bonus stuffed dolls that his strategy would win him? He would find a home for them in due time. They were an afterthought. Getting Lorelei that Seel was his top priority.
At least, in the beginning they were an afterthought. But as he pulled the Pikachu out of the prize chute, he noticed the way something in Lorelei shifted. He had thought to discard the plush, to shove it into one of the shopping bags next to them. But there was a softness in Lorelei’s gaze as she looked on at the doll. A sort of longing that she was doing a very, very poor job of hiding.

And that’s when it clicked. The Seel may have been Lorelei’s favorite, but it was less the fact that it was a Seel and more the fact that it was a soft, cuddly toy that had drawn her attention.
For all of the professionalism that the Ice Queen had been known for, there was a soft side of her.
Lance’s smirk shifted momentarily into a softer smile as he carefully handed her the Pikachu. He was quite pleased to get the honor of seeing this side of her.

The Meowth proved a bit more difficult, even with the Pikachu out of the way. His first two attempts to catch the cat left him empty handed. The third lifted the doll up into the air, but it dropped halfway into its ascent. Which allowed a Slowpoke that the pair had not yet noticed to flop on top of the Seel’s tail, while the Meowth plopped back onto the Water-type’s head.

Though Lorelei covered her mouth the moment it happened, Lance caught the gasp that escaped her as the Slowpoke made its appearance.
Looks like I just have to get her that little guy as well.
It took four more rounds to net the Slowpoke. But the gleam in her eyes as she took careful hold of it before hugging it against her chest made it all worth it.
Lance really could get used to seeing this side of Lorelei.

The Meowth came up without any trouble after that. Lorelei spoke up, somewhere between a laugh of embarrassment and utter disbelief, trying to urge Lance that he had done enough. That he had done too much for her . That he was simply blowing through the League’s budget at this point.
Lance simply objected that he was only using his own money as he continued.
Anyone else would have gone into debt by this point. But for Lance, his victories against the dastardly claw machine came almost effortlessly. He would have never even come close to running himself dry.

With two more tries, the Seel that had ignited this battle was now joined with the rest of its plush companions in Lorelei’s arms. Lance considered trying for a Psyduck that had been left out in the open. But his declaration of such intent was cut off by an uncharacteristic rumble. He hadn’t realized he had worked up such an appetite. Though he cleared his throat to compose himself, the sound of Lorelei’s laughter stopped him in his tracks.

“Shall we go grab a bite to eat, Plush Master? I guess I’ll pay.”
Though such banter between the pair was commonplace, Lorelei’s tone lacked its usual icy edge. Or maybe it was just Lance’s imagination. Maybe it was something about the way the afternoon sun flickered and danced in her scarlet eyes. Or maybe his hunger was just getting to his head.

Either way, he knew he would be back for that Psyduck another day.

 

[RichestAirPirate]

Wow! A lot of stuff you made here! You certainly put a lot of life and details in the characters! And as someone who writes a lot of slice of life stuff, I really enjoyed reading through this!

Although, and maybe this is just a me thing, but I feel like calling these "shorts" is a bit misleading since these are frankly quite long!

 

[illogicalatlas]

Although, and maybe this is just a me thing, but I feel like calling these "shorts" is a bit misleading since these are frankly quite long!

That is pretty valid lol. I may change the title… perhaps my perspective is a tad skewed as I’m currently working on two 50+ chapter fics at the moment
(ᵕ—ᴗ—)

But thanks so much for reading. Your fics are so fun, so I’m flattered that you enjoyed these. ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ

 

[illogicalatlas]

Spectre, Karen's Umbreon, muses over the strange companion that greets them every morning.

Main characters: Umbreon, Karen, and Will
Notable ships: Karen/Will
Rating: General
Words: 714
Content warnings/Author’s notes: Trainers' Pokemon referred to by nicknames, so the names may be a little confusing. Literal sleeping together. Silly little Karen headcanons.

Spoiler: My Human's Human

The morning sun is warm, bright, and surprisingly tolerable.
It's a common misconception that I dislike sunrise. That's not entirely true. I simply prefer the quiet of night.

My human is the same. When I was but an Eevee, she and I would often stroll through the streets and outskirts of her old home of Ecruteak City, training against those that one simply couldn't find in the daytime.

Her hair wasn't as perfectly styled in those days. The little spots on her face that humans referred to as "freckles" had yet to be concealed with that funny thing they call "makeup." She was but a girl then. One of many that the old town gifted an Eevee to, in hopes of one day honoring traditions that predated us both, and that would long outlast us.

Back in those days, it was just her, myself, and Daphne. Daphne grew much quicker into her poisonous petals than I did into my nightly glow. But when I did evolve, our human knew that she would never settle for becoming a Kimono Girl.

And as luck would have it, she never did. "Elite" was a word often used to describe her. And by extension, Daphne and myself. As well as Luna, Merula, and Morticia, who joined in the days between Ecruteak and Indigo.

Some time after our settling in the Indigo Plateau, my human would find herself another companion. But not another Pokemon. Rather, he was human.
Will, he called himself.
William, my human mused.
Will never corrected her.

Will is a strange human. Will himself appears to have some of the same capabilities often not found in humans, but rather in Psychic Pokemon.
And while my human often greets the morning sun with a groan as she buries her face into her pillow, Will greets it with a smile and a song.

"Just five more minutes," my human mutters.
"You said that twenty minutes ago," Will laughs.
Her limbs stretch from beneath the blankets, and I watch from my spot above her head as her foot brushes against Luna. Luna always, always, sleeps at our human's feet.
Which is likely why Will's own Pokemon often do not make their way into our humans' bed. Psychic types often fear us Dark types.

Kaia is the exception, of course. She always manages to end up laying on Will's chest, often making him raise much later than he actually wakes. Because Kaia moves so, so very slowly. "Slow" is a word that humans often use to describe her. Followed by "Bro," which Will often laughs at before stating that such a phrasing is technically correct. But that Kaia is in fact a girl.

Humans are strange. My human is beautiful, but she is also strange. At least according to other humans. Many of them often question what she sees in us. To which my human always shrugs and smirks.

But Will has never asked such questions. He simply smiles as he watches Luna whimper, as our human remains unaware of the fact that she's woke her up. He leans forward to scratch at her chin, wishing her a good morning.
"Silly pup," he says before he looks up to me. "Good morning to you too, Spectre."

Wynn and Rune are perched in their usual spots in the doorway. As they are every morning. The two never seem to venture far from each other, or from their human.
Most humans would ignore Luna and myself for their own Pokemon. But Will takes his time to greet us before turning to the birds. As he does every morning.

When Will does pull himself out of bed, to follow his usual routine of making all of us breakfast, Kaia yawns as she makes her way closer to my human. Luna glares. Luna could easily take that newly vacated spot for herself.
Because while the assumption that humans seem to make that Luna is dangerous is mostly correct, when it comes to our human, she does rather enjoy cuddling.

But Luna simply yawns and keeps to her post. As I do mine.
Because our human's human does keep strange company. But he makes her smile.
And that makes the morning sun, which has become impossible to not correlate to him, a bit more tolerable.

 

[illogicalatlas]

((Flufftober prompt - Pet-Sitting))
((Also part of a personal challenge to write 31 drabbles based on these two this month (๑•̀ ᴗ•́)૭✧))

Lance leaves Dragons in Lorelei’s hands for a day.
Main characters: Lorelei, Lance, and their Pokemon
Notable ships: Lorelei/Lance ((mostly platonic))
Rating: General
Words: 464
Content warnings: None, except perhaps cringy canon-non-compliance

Spoiler: A Cold Day

Advantage
a condition or circumstance that puts one in a favorable or superior position

Pertaining to Pokemon, the word could be used in reference to the advantage that Ice-types had over Dragon-types. A fact that none could afford to forget in Lorelei's chambers.

So unsurprisingly, the moment the majestic pair of Dragonair and the normally intimidating Dragonite found themselves in those frigid halls, they huddled together. Seeking both warmth and solace.

Gyarados snarled at their pitiful antics. Aerodactyl - the only one among Lance's Pokemon that had an advantage of its own in this realm - huffed.

They weren't here to battle. Their master had only left them here long enough for him to attend to a family matter. Lorelei was to be their guardian for only one night. And yet, the Dragons' discomfort got the better of them.

Lorelei sat comfortably on Lapras' shell as the gentle giant waded through the chilly waters. It attempted to coo comfortably to the shaken beasts, Dragonite huffing in trepidation in return.
She'd pondered just how rare it was to spend any time with her fellow Elite's Pokemon outside of their battles. So as much as she'd hoped to befriend them properly, she understood that at their very nature, they perceived her Pokemon - and by extension herself - as a threat.

As she accepted her fate, the woman sighed and leaned back against Lapras's long neck. A bittersweet smile tugged at her lips as she listened to the gentle waves lapping beneath them.

Then one thing led to another. In its own attempt to lessen the tension, Jynx swayed ever so slightly to the draconic trio, humming a peaceful melody.
Slowbro happily joined in, albeit off-tune.
Lapras harmonized gracefully, carefully watching their guests from the corners of its eyes.

Lorelei thought Dewgong would be the next to join in. But before it could, the larger of the Dragonair hummed intently. The sound matching the melody in broken - but persistent- beats.
Then the smaller of the two.
And though it didn't sing along just yet, Dragonite's worries faded into the melody.

Lance returned the following day with two things- pressure in his temples and an excitable Charmander in his arms. The Fire-type was to be the next member of his team, and he'd chuckled as he imagined how excited his other Pokemon would be to meet it.

But rather than joy, Dragonite whined in disappointment.

Because it appeared to entirely ignore that it was no longer as agile of a swimmer as its smaller brethren, playfully slapping its tail into the waters of Lorelei's battle room. And its littlest, newest friend absolutely could not join it for a swim.

Lorelei insisted that Lance and Charmander get some rest to recover from their journey. Lance's Dragon army was in capable hands.

 

[illogicalatlas]

((Flufftober Prompt - Mundane AU))
((More of my personal Elitefourshipping drabble challenge))

Main characters: Lorelei and Lance
Notable ships: Lorelei/Lance ((only a crush at this point))
Rating: General
Words: 451
Content warnings/Author Notes: AU tropes, Frigibax turned into a marketable plushie

Spoiler: A Collector’s Crush

The name The Dragon's Den was a bit over the top for such a small shop, Lorelei thought. The family-owned-and-operated shop had been founded decades ago by some medieval-nut looking to sell his handmade trinkets. It had expanded its wares over the years, but kept to the dragon-theme it was most known for.

Normally, such an establishment wouldn't warrant the nearly 100 kilometer trip into Johto of all places.
But it was the closest place she had ever managed to find the Frigibabies collection of plushies. So every month, on the first Wednesday of the month, she would make the trip until her own collection was complete.

Except she'd been sick yesterday. So this month, it was the first Thursday when she made her plush pilgrimage.

The owner's grandchildren tended to maintain the shop most days. Usually, it was his granddaughter. But today, she was nowhere to be found. Instead, Lorelei walked in to find his grandson - who she'd only ever caught glimpses of previously - running the storefront… or at least, he was trying to. Yet most of his focus seemed to be on training the newest employee.

Lorelei wasn't sure of the boy's role in the family - just the fact that he seemed like lost kitten. Scowling while helplessly following the man's every step, carrying the cape that seemed to be a weird part of the shop's uniform. They really did like to play into the medieval theme, didn't they?

The shopowner's grandson was in the middle of explaining the differences between the model and the authentic blades they carried when he'd finally spotted her. In an instant, he grinned.
"Miss Lorelei, right?"
Wait, how did this guy that looked like he'd been pulled straight out of the pages of some romantic fantasy novel know her name? And why did she pause a beat longer than necessary at the sound of him saying it?
"Clair mentioned that you never showed up yesterday, so we went ahead and put one of those Frigibabies on hold for you."

Okay, that did make sense. While she'd not really gotten to know him, she was sure she'd given his cousin her name at some point. She had to admit that one of the most charming things about places like this was that given how small it was, the workers likely took genuine interest in their patrons.

"Silver, could you grab that doll from the back? The one sitting on the safe?"
The boy rolled his eyes, but did as he was asked.

Lorelei could have waited impatiently. Yet she found herself content with returning the man's smile with one of her own.

Perhaps she would start coming here on Thursdays instead from now on.

 

[illogicalatlas]

((Flufftober prompt - “This is spooky.” “Really?”))

Whitney ventures into a strange store in Ecruteak City on the hunt for the perfect birthday treat… for herself. Morty is there. And they’re not alone.
Main characters: Whitney, Morty, Clefairy, and Gengar
Notable ships: Whitney/Morty
Rating: Teen
Words: 2115
Content warnings: References to nameless souls perishing in various, vaguely gruesome ways. Ghost-story type stuff.

Spoiler: “Do You See What I See?”

Some birthday this was shaping out to be.
As if it wasn't enough that she had carefully timed her visit into the Gym to ensure that she wasn't found out by the no-fun Champion who had denied her request to leave the establishment closed for the day. Something about how calling him and asking at 1:22 AM the night before didn't align with the Indigo League's policies of such "non-emergency" requests being made no less than three days in advance - supposedly a generous policy that he himself had implemented that other Leagues scoffed at - before he mumbled something about how he hoped that neither of their call logs would be pulled anytime soon and how it would be a nightmare to explain her calling him at such an Arceus-forsaken hour.
Her first favorite store in Goldenrod City was closed for remodeling. She'd already bought everything she wanted from the second. And the third had just hired that one catty girl that she just couldn't stand.
And the National Park? Absolutely not. Sure, it had been nice to bump into Bugsy. Then approximately seven seconds passed and she realized just why he was there. And watching bug-crazed kids duke it out with bug-facts or whatever the Bug Catching Contest entailed was nowhere on her list of ways that she wanted to spend the day.
But as Whitney continued walking northward, Clefairy trotting along at her side, she balled her fists in determination.
She would make this the best birthday ever.
While impromptu nature walks weren't necessarily her forte, Route 37 was always beautiful this time of year. Though she did prefer spring for its wonderfully pink blooms, she didn't hate the shades of yellow and orange that dotted the trees. And sure, the seasonal absence of the Pidgey that often called this their home during the warmer months did leave the route quieter than she'd normally prefer. But it was no matter. She had her Pokegear and a Radio Card and her own voice to fill the silence.
She was none the wiser to the handful of wild Vulpix that tilted their heads at her inability to harmonize.
Yes ma'am, Whitney was going to make today great. The hiccups of the morning didn't matter when there wasn't a cloud in the sky… well, except for that one. And that other one. Oh, and that one too. And sheesh, that one's pretty dark.
Oh no.
"Fair?"
The two of them looked up in unison, stopping in their tracks while hoping it was just their imagination. And for a moment, they nearly convinced themselves that it was. Then a drop hit Whitney's nose, followed by another shortly after. Clefairy chirped curiously again before letting out a small whimper.
The minutes that followed were a frantic blur, Whitney throwing her arms into the air in exasperation before the pair began to make a mad dash up the path. She must have been off the diamond longer than she'd realized, her running speed not quite what it used to be when she had been able to wow crowds with her softball skills every night.

---

By the time they made their way to the outskirts of Ecruteak City, they were soaked to the bone. And Whitney absolutely didn't care where she was, just that she was indoors. Stat.
Which was her first mistake. The second came in the form of a gorgeous white gown she spotted the moment she collected herself.

Whitney wasn't looking to get married anytime soon. But she knew a bit about alterations and whatnot, and as she reached out to touch the ivory lace trim, a flash of inspiration struck. A couple months of this and that, and she'd had the perfect babydoll dress for the first of Spring.

"Clefairy, what do you think?"
"I think it'd be a pretty bummy end to throw yourself into the harbor like she did..."
Wait, what? That voice was not Clefairy.

Her fingers continued to linger on the fine fabric as she turned her attention to whatever nosey nobody it was that thought to interrupt her flow with such nonsense. Only to be met with a familiar, lazy grin. And in the same breath, as if mirroring their trainers, Clefairy chirped as it turned to face the Ghost at the man's side that levitated just slightly off the ground with its own toothy grin.

The four stood quietly for a long beat, Whitney's confusion bubbling up until she couldn't stand the quiet any longer.
"Morty? What are you goin' on about now?"

Morty pointed to the very dress Whitney had imagined herself giving new life, as if the answer were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Runaway bride who found out that her groom had a lover on the side. Poor thing was so distraught, she wound up in Olivine… and, well, maybe look at that tiny little stubborn stain on the left side. The rocks weren't kind."

Whitney blinked, uncertain if this was some weird prank or some genuine medium insight. At least, she was uncertain until Gengar cackled and shifted over to lift the hem of the dress, drawing attention to the very spot its Trainer had referenced.
Nope. Whitney did not want that sort of bad mojo, not even if she could tie it together with pretty pink ribbons and an almost-scandalous cut.

Throwing her hands in front of her, Whitney took several steps back, shaking her head vigorously as if to ward off any bad energy she'd stumbled into. Clefairy waved its little arms in her direction as if to assist her in that feeble cleansing. Gengar floated back to Morty's side as Morty himself sighed wistfully.

The birthday girl shuddered for just a moment longer before placing her hands on her hips, puffing her chest as she took stock of exactly where she had found herself. Some little antique shop or something, it seemed. She normally wouldn't have picked out a place like this for her shopping spree, but she could hear the rain continuing to pour outside.
She was already chilled to the bone. And surely that was just from the storm, right? It wasn't as though this entire place came with creepy ghost stories, right?
And besides, she could likely persuade Morty to carry her bags for her after the fact. What better way to close out one's birthday than having some pretty blonde boy looking out for you, right?!

A Clefairy doll caught her attention next. The pink pair exchanged giggling glances before making their way to get a closer look. And the purple pair exchanged knowing grimaces - or at least Morty grimaced. Gengar was taking far too much delight in this whole ordeal.

With the doll in her hands, Whitney admired the stitching with care. She tilted the plush one way - and her own Clefairy partner hummed as it moved to balance on one leg as if to mimic the pose. The girl then turned to inspect the doll from the back. Clefairy twirled with a sound not unlike a giggle. And when Whitney flipped the doll upside down, her Pokemon attempted to stand on its little front paws - only for Morty to step in with a furrowed brow as he stopped its movements before it managed to knock something over.

"By the way, Whit… that belonged to one of two twins. They were playing in the Ilex Forest one day, and… well, only one of them came back. The missing one insists that there was a balloon that she was trying to catch. But I think it was a-"

Whitney threw the Pokedoll back onto the shelf with a shiver before the man could finish his sentence. Clefairy suddenly stood very still, as if afraid to move a muscle. She stared at the plush for just a moment longer in equal parts horror and sadness - the latter emotion threatening to take control as a familiar sting made itself known in her eyes.
Gengar rolled its eyes as Morty flashed a reassuring smile, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Struggling to compose herself, she forced herself to meet his eyes with her fists balled at her sides.
"Okay, so does everything here have some weird, creepy spirit attached to it?!"

"I don't think so."
He didn't sound too certain of himself, and her expression made that very apparent. So he cleared his throat and continued as honestly as he could.
"I can only be sure of the ones that show themselves to me. I'm not trying to hunt for ghosts here. They just kinda… throw themselves at me sometimes."

Whitney looked utterly unimpressed.
Then she looked across the shop, to a pearl necklace. It wasn't really her style, but it never hurt to have a classic piece in one's wardrobe. And so clapping her hands together once, she began to watlz over in determination. The accessory was just out of reach when -
"Kalosian aristocrat…"
Oh, so it was really nice-
"…that lost every Pokemon battle she ever had."
-and it wasn't that nice after all.

Then there was the so-totally-retro record player. She'd have to take the time to clean her house a bit, but surely she could make it fit.
"Old sailor who was lost at sea after a run-in with a Tentacruel."

The beautiful porcelain Persian?
"Hiker that lost his footing in some dark tunnel."

The adorable yellow and blue cap that would go perfect with next year's softball uniform?
"…yeah, I'm not even gonna start with that one. Put it down, Whitney. Don't- just- just don't."

The music box that played to the tune of some song she didn't recognize, but also really didn't vibe with?
Silence.
She looked to Morty and Gengar, who simply tilted their heads with small grins. Clefairy grinned at the safety of the thing, thinking they'd found a perfectly fine treat for its Trainer.
But then Whitney set it back down. It just wasn't what she wanted.

And her shoulders sulked as she started to realize that perhaps she was just out of luck. Maybe this birthday was a dud after all. Maybe she'd just have to try extra-hard next year. The rain wasn't letting up anytime soon, but there was nothing that she could call her own in this creepy place.

At least she wasn't alone, right? Before she could give into her disappointment, she decided to take one last swing at some sort of amusement for the day.
"What are you doin' here anyway, Mort? Do you just spend your days off in haunted shops like this or something?"

Not haunted shops, per say.
But it wasn't unusual for Morty to find himself in places with stories to tell. Stories that would be thrust upon him whether he wanted to hear them or not, most days. But that wasn't his intention in the least today. Rather, he'd come for the very opposite. Because he'd felt in his bones when he woke that morning that this place would be an important piece of the puzzle that was his future.

He'd made a point to not peer too deeply into that vision until he had scoured the shelves. He'd failed to find anything of any importance in that shop until he'd found her. And that's when it all clicked.
"Just felt like I'd find something interesting," was all he said with a nonchalant shrug.

And Whitney? She couldn't help herself when she giggled slightly at his words. Because at least the past hour or so had been just that - interesting.

The gym leaders and their Pokemon stepped away from the ghosts that had made themselves known to instead watch the world passing by from the front window. And Clefairy could't help but chirp at how the rain seemed to wash away the tension.
Neither it nor its partner pair noticed when Gengar nudged at Morty's side with a knowing smirk.

"You want to head out? Maybe grab a bite to eat? There's a bakery not far from here that I think you'd like."

Whitney blinked, unsure if she'd heard Morty correctly at first. Then she shook her head, waving towards the pouring rain with a baffled expression.
"Mort, are you blind?! We'll drown in that mess!"

Morty, in turn, just chuckled as he held up his umbrella. Certainly big enough for the both of them.

Perhaps Whitney wouldn't take some new goodies home. But sharing a sweet treat with a handsome face was a pretty nice way to spend the remainder of her birthday. And perhaps she'd spend her next birthday in the same way, if Morty's hunch was correct.
And Morty was typically correct when it came to the future.

 

[illogicalatlas]

((Flufftober prompt - cursed)
((Another Elitefourshipping drabble!))

Lance and Lorelei attempt to clean the likely-haunted battle room of a former Elite.
Main characters: Lance and Lorelei
Notable ships: Lance/Lorelei ((can be read as platonic))
Rating: General
Words: 498
Content warnings: Agatha's passing

Spoiler: Parting Gift

"This box is for Professor Oak…"
"You think so? Didn't she despise him?"
"It literally has his name on it."
"…oh. Then I wouldn't open that if I were you. Sounds dangerous."

Hardly had the smoke lifted - hardly had they said their goodbyes to their eldest companion - Lorelei and Lance found themselves within a familiar battle hall where Ghosts lingered. Bruno should have joined them. This was to become his own domain, after all. But the man was insistent on staying far, far away until someone could come and make sure that Agatha wasn't still among them after her body was laid into the ground.

But such help wouldn't arrive until next week. And so still clothed in black, they worked to open the windows that had long been curtained off, to dust the salt from the floor that many challengers had flimsily spilled in a feeble attempt to weaken her Pokemon's attacks… and most certainly not to open any boxes that had been long tucked away in the shadows with anyone's' names on them. Not their own, and especially not Samuel Oak. Or Blue Oak, for that matter - neither could forget how she had been even more dreadful for the seven minutes of his Championship.

Lorelei left it at that, leaving the small box she had found untouched.
And though Lance had been the one to suggest they leave it alone, curiosity continued to prick at him. "Duty", the newly appointed Champion could call it. "Duty to ensure that the League was safe from all dangers - whether of this world or not."

She furrowed her brows as she watched his gaze shifting back over to that corner as they continued to clean the room as best as they could.
"You're going to do something stupid, aren't you?"

He flashed a confident smirk as he shook his head - though she knew that expression far too well to buy into it. Though before she could scold him for such reckless ideas, her Pokegear buzzed in her pocket.
Because while she had kept strong in front of her fellow Elites, one young Gym Leader had noticed she had been too slow to speak for the entirety of Agatha's memorial.
And Misty was determined to make her idol smile again.

The impromptu girls' night - a movie and some ice cream in Cerulean, she imagined - was not exactly what Lorelei was in the mood for after the heaviness of the week before.
But watching as Lance's body continued to face that very box they had both sworn off, she realized she was even less in the mood to get wrapped up in decades of that woman's hatred for even a second longer.

Returning to the Indigo League that night, Lorelei sighed at the pitiful sight of Lance tripping over his own feet every two seconds, his incessant paper cuts, and the strange whispering of "You're not the one" in the uncomfortable silence.
And she cursed under her breath, tending to his petty wounds.

 

[illogicalatlas]

((Flufftober prompt - Fireplace)
((Some actual Elitefourshipping fluff this time lol ♡))

Much like the Dragons he trains, Lance doesn't handle the cold very well.
Main characters: Lance, Lorelei, and Dragonite
Notable ships: Lance/Lorelei
Rating: General
Words: 443
Content warnings: None

Spoiler: Keeping Warm

"So, are you two planning on lazing around like this all day?"
"It's not 'lazing around,' it's… conserving heat."
"Hardly. Just a few inches closer to that fireplace and you'll both catch flames. That's beyond conservation."
"Is that why you're staying so far back, Ice Queen? Afraid you'll melt?"

Lorelei arched an amused brow. Lance's retort would have been quite the comeback - if only not for his teeth chattering. And especially if not for the way he and Dragonite huddled together so dangerously close to the fireplace.

He'd not exactly done a good job of hiding how homesick he had been recently. So the moment one of Dragonite's overambitious Hyper Beams had damaged a pillar within the Indigo League just enough to close the building down for a week of repairs, she'd taken the initiative to make an escape to Blackthorn. The pair staying in an old family home near the highest peaks just outside of the city.

She'd always heard that the colder months in Johto were brutal. And truth be told, she welcomed it. She'd hoped they would make their way to the Ice Path he'd mentioned many times before - curious how it stacked up to her own nostalgic memories of Icefall Cave.

Such hopes yielded to the way the firelight flickered in his eyes. And though she'd planned to spend her day more productively, there was no denying just how charming that amber glow was as he waited for her response.

Despite herself, her smirk softened as she took a step closer.
"Afraid? You underestimate me."
The three of them remained in comfortable silence for a beat before she continued.
"Do you think you could make room for one more?"

Dragonite huffed happily as it unfurled one wing. Though there was once a time it would have preferred to have had only Lance's company, it had long since come to embrace the way the so-called "icy" woman warmed the Dragon Master's heart.
Besides, every Dragon fighting the cold knew it that wasn't a proper huddle without at least three individuals.

With his arms around her waist and Dragonite's tail wrapped carefully around them, Lance sighed comfortably as he brushed his lips against the top of her head.
He lingered there as Lorelei finally spoke again some time later.

"Next time we have this sort of free time, I'm showing you my childhood home."
"That's fine by me. A warm island breeze sounds fantastic right about now."
"…I want you to see where I first met Lapras."

Lance tensed before shivering at the thought, a pitiful groan being muffled by her hair. Lorelei just laughed as she tightened her arms around his shoulders.

 

[illogicalatlas]

((Flufftober prompt - Carving pumpkins))
((Time for some Toxicbolt, my friends ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ ))

Surge invites himself into Koga and Janine’s home to introduce them to a particular Autumnal tradition. ((Pre-canon, hence Janine being so young))
Main characters: Koga, Surge, Janine, and Raichu
Notable ships: Koga/Surge
Rating: General
Words: 1809
Content warnings: Mentions of Koga’s deceased wife/Janine’s mother

Spoiler: Traditions

Koga had never been one to care for gifts. Though he had to admit, Aya's swooping in the day before for a bit of "Auntie-Niece time" with Janine had not been a complete waste. His sister and daughter did make a great team when it came to shopping for otherwise pointless affairs.
Though it would never serve him well in battle, the kitchen knife they had gotten him to celebrate his tenth year as Fuchsia City's Gym Leader was of proper weight with an impressive blade, and he was certain to make use of it someday.

Someday came knocking at his door on a stormy autumn afternoon, with a voice that roared louder than the thunder itself.
"Ninja man, you in there?!"
The man bit back a sigh, instead pressing two fingers to his temple in practiced silence. The little girl following in his shadow mimicking his movements with a curious grin.
"Stealth practice?"
She mouthed, her father giving no answer as his gaze remained on the door. Janine then held her breath to keep from giggling in excitement.
Of course, such silent treatment did not serve its purpose. Koga's plans to teach his daughter to keep her balance in the rain later that day quickly becoming derailed as that man's voice continued to boom just outside the front door.
"I'm sure this is the place, Raichu! At ease, buddy. He probably just didn't hear me. I'll try aga-"
The door opened in one swift movement, and Koga's brows furrowed. Surge was soaked, but rather than grumbling as most would in that state, he flashed a toothy grin as he patted at the large sack he carried over his shoulder.
"Lieutenant. Are you lost?"
Surge chuckled as he shook his head, stepping dangerously close to the doorway - stopping when he noted the faintest bit of tension in the ninja's expression. Just enough to stall his steps, but not enough to put an end to his grand plan.
"Negative. You're exactly who I was looking for! Well, at least after Sabrina…"
Janine joined at Koga's side just as Surge laughed a little more awkwardly. She had saw this large, golden-haired man a time or two, but never this closely. "Boisterous Unovan," her father had referred to him as - not that she knew what either of those words meant. But before she could ask their guest for clarification, her attention turned to the chubby Pokemon at his side.
Raichu returned her curiousity with an excited trill, the tip of its tail tapping at the strange hat on its head before lifting its paws towards her to show off a matching one. Pointy and purple - it kind of reminded her of something Poison, and she beamed, tugging at the fabric of Koga's pants as if to ask for permission to try it on.
"Y'see, I'd thought I'd ask Sabrina if she wanted to make jack-o-lanterns! I used to make them with my nieces and nephews back home, and that girl's way too broody for someone her age! And you'd not believe what she said!"
"Jack…come again?"
In the three years he'd been in Kanto, the Unovan thought he'd done well to assimilate to the culture. But he was now met with the second Kantonian who had apparently never heard of his homeland’s tradition. And he was going to put a stop to this madness the only way he knew how - guns blazing and brute force.
Well, maybe not literally. Not this time at least. But he did his best to sidestep past the unenlightened ninja to make his way into the house. Which Koga blocked in a manner that Surge was unsure that he'd even moved a muscle until after it happened. For such a small man - at least in comparison to Surge himself - Koga was surprisingly able to hold his own.
"C'mon, kunoichi! Just hear me out! I've got everything here, and it'll make more sense if you'd just let me unpack."
Koga just arched a brow, betraying the faintest amusement of the man's misuse of terminology.
"Ninja. Not kunoichi. That term would more appropriately be used for-"
"Uuuum, help? I can't see- this poison hat is silly-"
Both men blinked at the awkward - yet perfectly timed - giggling. Janine had taken it upon herself to just go ahead and put on the mate to Raichu's accessory. Only for it to be a bit too big for her tiny head, falling over her eyes as she waved her arms around in attempts sort her bearings. Raichu hid its face behind its tail, stifling its amusement at the sight.
The four of them stood in silence - well, three of them were silent as the girl continued her pitiful display - for a long beat. Then despite himself, Koga folded his arms over his chest as he met Surge's eyes again with a simple nod. The larger man cheered as he attempted once again to brush through the doorway, stopping dead in his tracks as the smaller of the two cleared his throat.
"Shoes, Lieutenant."
“Sir! Yes sir!”

---

Three kabocha were laid out on the kitchen counter. Surge hadn't planned them to add up perfectly like that - it just so happened that they were on sale, and there were exactly three left by the time he'd got to the market that morning.
The plan had originally been to spend some time with the Saffron City Gym Leader who was fairly close in age to his oldest nephew. Maybe they'd carve two of them, and the third would be made into pumpkin pie… barring that Sabrina knew how to bake. Surge himself didn't really have a knack for it himself.
He'd even found some costume shop on the way. And surely the budding actress would have enjoyed playing the role of a witch, right? They'd come two-to-a-set, so Raichu had donned the other all morning. How could she say no to that?
He'd barely even knocked on her door before he was ambushed by flying spoons.
But that's just how moody teenagers were, he'd figured. So instead he decided to form a Plan B with another fellow Gym Leader - one closer to himself in age and discipline.
Besides, if any of them could hack it, it'd be the ninja man hiding blades in his pockets during every League meeting.
The ninja in question gave an unimpressed look as Surge carefully looked over each of the gourds before assigning one to each of them - the largest to himself, the smallest to Janine, and Koga right in the middle.
"Would you care to explain the purpose of this activity?"
"I told you! It's a Unovan tradition! C'mon ninja, you've gotta live a little!"
"I have lived for nearly forty years now, Lieutenant."
"And you've never carved a pumpkin! Hardly sounds like livin' to me! At this rate, this little lady here's gonna grow up mean muggin' just like you!"
Koga pressed his fingers to his temple yet again, his patience wearing thin. He thought to explain that he was teaching Janine discipline, but catching her chattering with Raichu as the two awkwardly balanced together on her stool, something stopped him.
When as the last time he'd seen her act like any other kid her age? Since before his wife passed, if he remembered correctly.
Sure, this entire idea of carving faces into pumpkins felt wasteful. He didn't at all believe Surge's claims that they would ward off Ghost-Pokemon. But his features softened the slightest bit as he decided there was no harm in it. He moved to reach for his newest kitchen utensil, only to stop in his tracks as a strong hand clapped on his back.
"That's the spirit! Let's get spooky, ninja kin!"
Because of course the boisterous Lieutenant had caught the way the stoic ninja had lowered his guard for only a split second.
And Koga couldn't voice any opposition when his daughter responded with mimicry. Which wasn't unusual for her. Except for the first time in her little life, it wasn't her father that Janine copied.
"Sir! Yes sir!"

---

Janine had meant to draw her father's Golbat on her pumpkin, but her tiny fingers struggled with the marker the big, loud, and honestly pretty funny man had given her. So when Raichu squeaked in delight - mistaking the wings as its own ears - she grinned and adapted. And she waved her arms across the counter to get the Pokémon's trainer's attention.
"Mister, um… Lugh…tent…sir!"
"Lieutenant," Koga corrected, not looking up from the Koffing face he had since sketched and was now carving with easy precision.
Janine balled her fists with a determined expression, trying her hand at the word again. Then again. Not quite landing any attempt.
Surge chuckled as he reached over Koga, far more in the smaller man's personal space than would have been preferred, to ruffle the girl's hair.
"Hey, that's lookin' good, kid! And Uncle Mat's fine for now!"
"Uncle Mat" was far easier for Janine to say. And she giggled again as she leaned into his large hand.
Koga's muscles tensed under Surge's proximity, his voice lowering to a threatening tone - though his words did not betray his biggest issue in that moment.
“You're going to ruin her, Lieutenant. The girl must know to respect her elders."
"This ain't some battlefield, ninja."
And his hand moved from the girl's head to her father's shoulder as he flashed a teasing smirk.
"She'll get it eventually. She's you made over, so I'd say it's in her blood. Someone's gotta teach her to balance that out though!"
That gave Koga an unusual pause. Janine far more resembled her mother. She always had.
As if catching on to his bewilderment, Surge's grin widened as he poked at Koga's cheek with a calloused finger.
"It's that dimple right there. You've both got it when you're confused."
Janine tilted her head as she watched the men with innocent curiosity, not noticing the way Raichu poked at that very little feature of her face.
She didn't quite get it. But something seemed off about her father. But somehow, it didn't feel like that was a bad thing.

That evening, Koga stood back with his arms folded over his chest as he watched Surge show Janine how to light the candles and put them inside their creations. A Raichu, a Koffing, and a Gengar soon providing the only light in the kitchen. Janine and Raichu continued to stare into the flickering lights from a careful distance as Surge then stepped back to stand by Koga's side.
"Not bad for your first time, ninja man. Same time next year?"
A small smirk curled at Koga's lips. Despite the low light, Surge noticed.
"Depends. Are you staying for dinner? I'd not intended to make mapo kabocha tonight, but at this point it would be wasteful not to."

 

[illogicalatlas]

Time for some quick, hopeless teenage romance, because not even ninjas are immune to crushing.

Monday nights are always killer to Janine’s focus.
Main character: Janine
Notable ships: Falkner/Janine ((can be read as one-sided if you prefer))
Rating: General
Words: 296
Content warnings: None, though I suppose mentioning that the art of kuji-in isn’t explained due to the brevity of this piece

Spoiler: Kai-To-Jai

Kai-To-Jai.
Again and again, she gestures her familiar pattern of kai followed by to then jai with increasingly shaky fingers.
The pattern occasionally breaks with a repeated kai.She desperately needs her heart to stop racing, after all.

Under the pink sunset, in the city of pink, a simple pink badge tucked in her pocket, with her pink scarf failing to conceal the pink of her cheeks.
She's always been so insistent that she dons pink because it's one of the colors Ariados most easily recognizes. It has nothing with her insecurities of a life that leaves her in the shadows. The shadow of death, the shadow of deceit, the shadow of her father's legacy. Shadows within shadows that prevent her from admitting that she's just some girl with her head in the clouds - like any girl her age.
Poison isn't soft, and neither is she.
She repeats that sentiment as the pattern breaks again.

It's Monday, and so she's distracted yet again. Because there's that same infuriating boy as every other Monday lingering in her thoughts hours after they've parted ways.

She's hanging around the rafters yet again. Not in the silly way that other people would say such a thing. She's always been told that she takes such turns of phrase too literally. She just laughs and says her father's always called her his little Zubat behind closed doors, so she's living up to the title.

Though as she dares to suspend herself in the air, she keeps her head pointed to the ground. Perhaps if she does so long enough, she can steer her thoughts away from the infatuation that saps at her composure.
She continues to try - and fail - to pull her head out of the clouds.
Because that's where he belongs.

 

[illogicalatlas]

Wrote some sappy Dad Lance the other day and thought it was worth sharing here as well

Silver needs a place to rest, and Lance offers just that.
Main characters: Silver and Lance
Notable ships: Silver/Lance ((platonic))
Rating: General
Words: 868
Content warnings: Not much, but Silver’s family life is not ideal

Spoiler: Recover

The world outside the window appeared as a wave captured in a single frame. The snow had stopped falling for a time, the sunset casting a shadow that was somehow both cool and warm at once- the bluish-gray crowned by a fiery orange. The mounds formed at uneven angles, their shapes the only remnants of the mountainous terrain hidden beneath them.

Silver had never known that winter could be such a pleasant sight. He'd long come to associate the season with annual platitudes that only served to remind him that no matter how he tried to reshape his scowl in the mirror, every year that he grew older only made him look more like him.

It seemed Johto was set to teach him something new every day that he overstayed his welcome.

Blackthorn was still, and so was he. But just as he knew of the mighty Dragons that huddled somewhere just out of sight, his own mind was a storm that reminded him with every other breath that he was out of place. That being here were was a mistake. That subjecting himself to this supposed peace would chip at his weaknesses until they would crack and break him completely. This was detrimental. This was a death sentence. This was-

"-comfortable?"

He blinked at the voice. It had been the second time that evening he'd let his guard down, both times against the same infuriating man. The boy raised a brow as he looked over his shoulder, trying to decipher just what Lance had said without showing too muchinterest. Appearing uninterested would have likely been easier if the man wasn't carrying a mug in either hand, but alas.

"I asked if you're comfortable," Lance clarified with a small smile as he walked towards the couch. “I could find a pillow if you'd like. Clair used to stay in the spare room from time to time, before I had to convert it into an office. I'm sure I still have some of her old bedding in the closet."

Silver shrugged. How was he supposed to answer? That he was very comfortable? The most uncomfortable he'd ever been in his life? He wasn't even sure which was true. All that he knew was that in that moment, he realized how he'd hung the blanket that Lance had offered him around his shoulders like some stupid cape. And that it somehow felt like what he'd imagined safety felt like- which meant this wasn't home. It could never be home.

It wasn't meant to be home anyway. Lance had only offered him a roof to sleep under for one single night because he'd stupidly continued to train in the Dragon's Den to the point that Crobat had injured its front right wing. By the time Silver allowed himself to wrap up for the day, it would have been too dark to trek down to the PokeCenter. And flying was just out of the question.

Come to think of it, that wasn't entirely true. Dragonite could have easily dropped Silver somewhere not as unforgivingly cold. Somewhere he could camp out as he did every night. How was him sleeping on Lance's couch for the night not far more inconvenient to the Champion?

Rather than putting his confusion into words, he offered a grunt as he reached out to take the mug that Lance offered. Lance, in turn, let out a chuckle, seemingly accepting the closest thing to a thanks that he would be getting.

Lance did not press the matter on pillows further. He simply took a sip of his own tea as he stepped towards the window. Though as the last light faded, his gaze kept drifting to the boy as he sat silently.

After the fourth time, the man had came to know this song and dance well. He had come to pick up on the tells that Silver would soon drift to sleep, and would quietly make his way over to retrieve the half-drunk hojicha before it fell from the boy's hands.

Silver would be gone by sunrise, just as he had been every time before. Lance would leave the boy's pride in tact by keeping the arrangement a secret. Time and time again, Silver would train himself to exhaustion or get caught in poor weather or some other pitiful circumstance, and he'd reluctantly accept the Champion's hospitality.

Lance woke the sixteenth time with the realization that he'd missed the moment Silver had fallen asleep the night before. Pulling himself out of bed, the man fully expected to find himself cleaning a mess on the floor in front of the couch- the only remnants of the culprit being the blanket left on the couch.

He exhaled with a smile when he instead realized the blanket was nowhere to be found, and the mug had been cleaned and returned to the cupboard.

To Lance, the morning's pale rays fluttering over the icy cold white would always be home. And perhaps someday, Silver would allow himself to find such a sight to be home too. Perhaps he already had, though he'd never admit it- instead using returning the blanket as an excuse to repeat his pathetic mistake time after time.

 

[illogicalatlas]

Falkner and Janine go for a flight to clear their heads, only to deal with even more thoughts.
Main character: Falkner and Janine
Notable ships: Falkner/Janine
Rating: General
Words: 866
Content warnings: Parental neglect

Spoiler: Fly

Two-hundred-twenty-seven days had passed since he'd received the most recent of all of the letters he'd carefully tucked away in the drawer of his nightstand. Six-hundred-fourty-one days since he'd last heard that laugh in the phone static that was the only tether between Violet City and some Alolan island whose name he couldn't make out. Eight-hundred-twenty-one days since he'd last looked with reverence into the very same azure eyes that looked back at him in the mirror every morning. Yet for the past fourty-one minutes, he'd been grinning from ear to ear. And despite the aching muscles in his face, Falkner couldn't bring himself to hate it.

"So you do have an entire face."

He could have sworn that her voice had cut short. If she indeed had more to say, perhaps he wouldn't have been so perplexed by such an arrangement of words. But rather than receiving any clarification, Falkner was left to arch a brow as he glanced up towards the pair of figures that continued to ascend further away from the ground below.

Janine returned his glance with a smirk, directing Crobat to circle Falkner and Pidgeotto as she hummed in amusement. She was purposefully prolonging his bewilderment, as she had done time and time before. Ever like poison itself, she would often sneak in the smallest of jabs and bask in the upper hand of being the only one to know what was hidden beyond the patient confusion that gnawed at him.

She did not finish off by stating that he was cute, though the words did sit warm and heavy in her chest. Deflection was second nature, even several yards up in the air.

"You're always hiding behind your hair. Guess that's not so easy with the wind blowing at you like this."

Pidgeotto trilled in amusement beneath him, less invested in concealing its amusement than Falkner was. Though despite himself, he chuckled as he shook his head.

"You're one to talk. You're always wearing your mask."

Janine offered an exaggerated glare at that, to which Falkner chuckled.

It had been one-hundred-nine days since they'd first taken to the skies together. One-hundred-sixty-nine days since Janine fled from Fuchsia after a particularly difficult argument with her father. One-hundred-sixty-nine days since Falkner first admitted how he was jealous of her- how he wished his own dad would recognize him the same way that hers did. One-hundred-sixty-nine days since the two sought to clear their heads, only to find themselves seeking the same sort of freedom that could only be found among the clouds. No expectations, no titles- just two lost kids finding each other within the sort of legacy that most couldn't possibly imagine as anything other than the honor they both spoke of in crowded rooms and every battle they fought.

The first few times were a coincidence. It wasn't until the sixth time, when Falkner had treked out to Celadon City for supplies that he couldn't find in Goldenrod, that he'd made a conscious effort to seek her out. "I'm already all this way in Kanto," he'd rationalized. "We're both new to this Gym Leader thing. A battle would be good for both of us."

Janine would have much rather had lost that battle. A draw felt like the greatest failure, as there was nothing to be learnt. At least she'd thought as much until they stood together in the Pokecenter. He had never been one for small-talk, but the silence between them was even more awkward. So in the most Falkner-way possible, he brought up just how much a particular aerial maneuver Venomoth had executed during their battle had been so impressive.

That was the first time he saw her smile. The lower half of her face was concealed, but the shape of her orchid eyes gave her away. He'd thought he'd gotten used to people smiling at him- often accompanied with praises of his ornithological passion or the way the set of his jawline and shoulders reminded them of the man that lingered in every corner of Violet long after his departure.

There was nothing shallow in Janine's smile though. And his typical showing off as they raced through the clouds that evening earned him more of that sight. He soon found himself smiling as well. He couldn't remember the last time doing so had came so naturally.

One-hundred-sixty-nine nights since that very first flight had been the first time he'd forgot his goggles. And so it was that his face was completely unguarded against winds that brushed past them. Janine's heart fell out of rhythm with the beating of Crobat's wings at the sight.

One-hundred-sixty-nine nights since that very first flight, Janine would lower her mask for the first time as they landed atop a rooftop overlooking the lights of Celadon. Falkner would later kick himself for staring not at the brilliance of the city below them, but at the dimple on the left side of her face.

The world below expected so much of the both of them. But from up here, there was nothing but understanding of each other's struggles and the comfortable confusion that came from the way they both struggled to speak without laughing.