The Photo in my Boot
A Pokémon One-Shot
By Hoenn Master
Unova: a vast and diverse region, filled with many strange and assorted creatures, even amongst Pokémon.
Outside of Mistralton City, a small village dominated primarily by the large airport and associated buildings surrounding it, lays an ancient, but mostly forgotten cave, which shares its name with the nearby town. Within this cave, a young man sat, hunched over a fire, examining a photograph by the light of a small fire. The young man wasn't outrageously handsome, but he was by no means homely, either: he had short, dark sandy blonde hair, almost in a buzz cut, but not quite, a tan face with a strong but proportionate chin, and a long, straight nose. His thick, dark eyebrows were set low, his eyes, without moving a muscle, set into an impassive almost-scowl which had served him well in his line of work; however, his eyebrows were currently furrowed with concentration as he continued to make sure to memorize the image he was holding up to the light of the dying embers of his fire.
After some minutes passed, the man relaxed, sitting down fully upon a thick sleeping bag set closely to the dying fire, still clutching the photograph in his gloved fingers, but pulling one of his heavy combat boots closer to himself as he lay down. The man's thoughts wandered as he gazed upon the photograph of his wife of three months, the passionate, often excitable, but kind, charitable, and gentle Gym Leader known as Skyla of Mistralton City. The man sighed; it hadn't been his choice to leave her behind so soon, but a Pokémon Ranger, even one as decorated and influential as himself, had duties and assignments to accomplish. Thankfully, the assignment he was given was close to home; namely, establish and maintain the area around, and including, Mistralton Cave. Unfortunately, the assignment took him away from his own bed for over a month, taking up a full third of the time he had so far been married to his wife. He looked up from the photo once the light grew too dim to properly see, banked the fire, and gently slid the photo into a clear slot in the side of his boot before sealing it tightly to keep it from getting damaged by anything. Finally, he laid back fully and calmly waited for sleep to take him while he remembered fondly how the photograph had been taken.
Flashback: Three months prior. Slateport City, Hoenn
"Come on, Richard! We need to hurry up, the sunset's almost started!" Skyla squealed, skipping up and down excitedly on the beach.
Swanna, Skyla's partner Pokémon who was walking beside her mistress, sported a necklace, parasol, and straw hat: her Swoobat, unable to be adorned lest it interrupt its flying ability remained the same, flying overhead the newlyweds, and Unfezant, the normally somewhat prideful Pokémon was somehow roped into hopping around with a pink inner tube and yellow sunglasses, the bird Pokémon walking calmly ahead of her trainer. When Richard had first seen Skyla's Pokémon, 'dolled up' as she had put it, he almost burst out laughing at the idea. Almost. He was, after all, not suicidal enough to mock, unintentionally or not, his wife's decisions, even if the idea of putting clothes and/or accessories on a Pokémon was a somewhat ridiculous one to him.
Richard, who was relegated to the position of carrying all of the beach-going equipment, walked on the concrete boardwalk just off of the beach, whilst Skyla and her Pokémon walked slightly behind and below upon the sand. The blonde sensed a prime opportunity approaching, and he stealthily brought out the camera that his wife had brought along with them, just for moments like the one quickly forming before him. They were moments which were perfect, not because they were aesthetically perfect, but because they were candid and the occupants were still clearly happy.
"Hey, Skyla!" Richard called, hoping that that his wife wouldn't catch on immediately to what he was about to do.
"What is it, Richard?" Skyla asked, holding her arm up in an attempt to shade her face from the waning sunlight, Swoobat swooping low just in time for Richard to snap the photo, and have him take up the extreme upper left portion of the picture.
What a photo it was, too: Skyla, who had apparently seen the camera just in time, had winked and tightened her arm into a playful salute. Her other eye, however, had caught at the sunlight just so, which allowed the bright turquoise orb to almost sparkle in the camera's apparatus. Sawanna, Swoobat, and Unfezant were walking calmly but happily in the sand with Skyla, completely carefree and at peace. The redhead's arm, which stretched up in her playful salute, not only framed her face, but it naturally led the eye to her glistening hair, tousled by the sea winds, and finally to her impressively shapely form. Her legs, lightly coated with sand, glistened with small streaks of water left over from a wave which had earlier come up the beach somewhat further than Skyla had expected, and framed with the lengths cloth hanging off of either side of her crème colored bikini bottom.
When taken as a whole, the photograph somewhat stupefied Richard; he still wasn't used to being able to call this beautiful woman whom he had known so long his wife, even a week after the wedding.
"What did you need, Rich?" Skyla asked playfully from the ground, almost as if she didn't know perfectly well what he had just been doing. That successfully pulled the blonde man out of his stupor, and back to the present situation.
"Well, the scene just looked right to me; besides, I need to have something to remember you by when I'm out on a mission somewhere," Richard replied, a rare smile overcoming his features as Skyla giggled and strode up the beach to a set of nearby steps leading onto the boardwalk from the beach.
As soon as she was within two feet of him, the grinning redheaded woman responded with a happy glint in her eye, "Well then, you'd better keep that picture safe; I don't want my husband to think I looked dingy and wrinkled just because he didn't take care of my picture."
Richard laughed lightly at that. "Of course; I love my beautiful wife far too much to allow her picture to be tarnished so easily," after a short pause of easy silence where the couple simply gazed at one another contentedly, the blonde man, a blush quickly crossing his cheeks, once again broke the silence. "I love you, Skyla; really and truly. It brings me an almost indescribable joy to be able to call you my wife."
Skyla smiled brightly and before Richard could properly react, stepped forward and tightly embraced her somewhat surprised husband. "I love you too, Richard: I always dreamed of marrying a humble, strong, handsome, caring, and chivalrous man, but I never thought that I would actually find him until I met you. I can't express how happy you've already made me."
Richard, being one who really aspired to be humble, flushed a little more deeply at the praise, but nevertheless returned the hug. After about a minute, Skyla broke away, retreated a few steps, and with an even happier grin, blew a kiss towards Richard before returning to the task of locating the perfect place on the beach to watch the sunset.
Richard's sunglasses slid down his nose slightly as he watched his wife from over their brim for a moment, a deep flush colored his cheeks as he put away the camera and followed his wife onto the beach.
Clausula* (The End)
A.N.
GAH! MY HANDS! WHAT DID YOU WRITE?!
Seriously, I've never written anything this fluffy before. EVER.
*It is roughly translated as: "The tale has concluded" in Latin.
*Updated A.N.*
Well, it's been quite a while since I've even looked at this story, and I just couldn't resist bringing it up to the standards I currently have for myself, especially since this story is to be featured on the finale of Arceus the Critic, by Imperator Justinian. I hope it meets this satisfaction!
Signed: Hoenn Master, forever a patriot.
