AN: This is based on OCs featured in my story, "Exile". However, this is also an AU, in the sense that it takes place in the Mystery Dungeon universe; therefore, it can stand alone as its own title. Enjoy the read!
Arrogant rivals…don't you love them?
I mean, they laugh at your face, tease your pride, insult your mother, tell you that you smell when it comes to both skills AND body odor, and leave you wanting to rip their heads off, spit on them, and throw them in ditches to be eaten by passing Rhyhorns.
They also think they're cool to the extent where they actually have a trademark object or move that makes their obsessively-shadowing (aka stalking) fans scream for the heavens until the God Pokemon himself is ready to shoot his brains out. Then again, I've never met Arceus, so what would I know?
Not only that, but at the end of the day, past all of the cheesy confidence-dissipating insults and large displays of smartass smiles (aka smirks), your arrogant rival happens to come out of the blue when you're ready to kick yourself in the face and make you either determined to win against him or her even more than you were before, or simply make you blush and fall in love with him or her even more than you were before.
Yes, I said fall in love.
Usually when you form a rescue team with a Pokemon of the opposite gender, you fall in love with them. It's so predictable since some of the most famous Pokemon couples out there formed because of this simple situation. I mean, if you fight alongside the said teammate for many days…weeks…months…no doubt is their bravery (if they have any, of course) going to amaze you to where you grow a crush on them. That's one of the most obvious conclusions of these rescue teams, right?
Did you say yes? Of course you did – I honestly don't see why you wouldn't have…
If you must know, though, I have always been unique. I mean, I actually ate all of my vegetables that were placed on my plate during dinnertime, I wasn't quite social enough to have a large posse of friends back in my childhood days, and I don't cry at the end of Pay It Forward.
My mum always commented me on how different I was from the other Absols. Hell, I remember hearing her say she was proud of me when I informed her of my livelong dream – to form a Pokemon rescue team, while all of the other Absols out there wanted to get captured by human coordinators or trainers and become famous.
Pfft, who likes coordinating, anyway? I mean, really.
To get back on topic, though: When I went off to become a rescue team with my only two childhood friends, Blaze the Arcanine and Shock the Jolteon, tons of the other rescue teams always told me that I was going to fall in love with one of my male teammates. Such a thing kind of made me mad to be a female Absol.
But I just ignored them and continued with my occupation as a hero. Eventually, my team, which we called ourselves Team Elite, got our own rivaling team.
Team Power.
The team was quite mysterious, as all rivals usually are, and it consisted of their arrogant leader, Flame the Charmeleon, the wimpy, yet strong Rock the Lairon, and the grumpy Spark the Raichu. They would insult us daily…well Flame would, actually, and I remember wanting to publish my own book called: How to get Back at your Arrogant Rivals – One-hundred Tips and Tricks on Coming up with Snappy Comebacks.
Time went on, and well, Flame, believe it or not, actually sometimes showed sympathy towards me when our teams would get stuck together in a stone dungeon. Not only did this surprise me, but I somewhat admired his determination to be the best, and his valor to where he never gave up, even when the odds were obviously against him.
Because of these traits, well, I – uh, this is kind of where the main topic for me being unique comes to an open.
I fell in love with him.
Yes, I, Shadow the loner Absol, who, like most females that are involved in a rescue team that consists of opposite-gender teammates, was predicted to fall head-over-heels for Blaze or Shock, but fell deeply in passionate love with her rival instead.
Her rival that insulted her day and night, despite that he showed – of what I presume – caring towards her when she needed comfort; her rival that laughed in her face to make her feel intimidated, although he was the one to make her laugh when she was down; and the only one person to make her feel supported when she thought she was alone.
Her rival.
My rival.
My arrogant rival.
The way his voice always has that strong tone to it; the way his bluish-green eyes actually turn fully emerald whenever light hits them; the way his arms wrap around me (which, when he did wrap his arms around me, it was for various reasons that didn't involve affection of any kind, but instead to hold me back whenever I lunged towards him in anger); and the way he is always there when I need help, despite that he takes such times to insult me rather than help me straightaway.
I know I sound like a giddy obsessed fan, but, well, I'm aware that he would never return my feelings. To him, I'm just his clumsy rival who he uses as a target dummy for insults, and a competitor amongst the contest of fame when it comes to achieving the title of most heroic rescue team.
How could he ever love me back? Rivals aren't supposed to fall in love, and, hell, I know that saying such a thing is as cliché as teammates in one rescue team falling in love.
But, hey, that doesn't change that it's true…
…right?
"What'cha doing?"
Shadow the Absol squeaked as she snapped around and slammed her forelegs on the cover of her silver laptop, causing it to crash down onto the keyboard and cut off the view of the computer screen. The female rescue team member turned her scarlet eyes to the big, black nose of the Arcanine that stood in front of her, his eyes glowing with curiosity as he cocked his head after asking the simple question. Of course, despite this, the short-tempered Absol only growled, pushing his nosy snout away playfully with her claw.
They were sitting in the cafeteria room of the small town in which rescue teams lived when they were off-duty. The said café-like room was where team members could relax and eat, choosing on the many circular tables that rested upon the tiled flooring in the midst of it, chatting with their teammates or other rescue team members over various topics simultaneously. The buffet booth in the top of the vast room was covered in cooked foods, and all for the taking to whoever passing rescue team member wanted them. However, despite this, Shadow hadn't bothered to grab a bite to eat and had instead sat in a chair of one of the tables in the middle of the room, opening her laptop and immediately starting her typing session.
Meanwhile, her goofy teammate, Blaze, had wandered into the building in the mood for a snack when he caught sight of his female Absol friend mesmerized into the screen of her laptop, typing away like there was no tomorrow. She had been doing such a thing for the past few months, and Blaze had always tried to figure out what she was typing that would keep her so interested in a humanlike device for this long.
"Are you working on that novel?" Blaze inquired, quirking his eyebrow. He had always considered that Shadow would be doing this, as such a thing would require a laptop, and she had been mumbling about doing so quite a while ago.
Shadow scoffed, turning back around in her seat, her paws resting on the hard top of her handheld computer. Her red eyes were narrowed with annoyance, as she hated being interrupted when she was in the midst of writing. "Yes, why yes I am," she mumbled in replication, tone monotonic. She was very tempted to order her teammate to leave, but decided that doing such a thing would most likely only make him more suspicious on what she was doing.
"It's a biography on yourself, right?"
Shadow sighed through her nostrils, her temper and impatience rising at Blaze's inquisitive questioning. "Kind of," she forced herself to answer calmly, claws slowly clenching, bringing her nails to grind against the surface of her laptop.
Blaze nodded, although he still displayed confusion. "Oh, okay…" He turned away, his obsidian eyes traveling over to the back of his teammate's head as he began to make his way over to the exiting door. "Don't forget we have a mission in an hour," he told her in the midst of it, "meet me and Shock in the middle of the town, 'kay?"
Shadow was very tempted to correct him with "Shock and I", but decided against it to ensure that her teammate wouldn't find a distraction in leaving because of it. She sighed in relief, a small smile growing on her face as she positioned her claws to reopen the cover of her laptop so she could work on her book –
"Why, hello, Shadow."
The Absol gritted her teeth and growled, wanting to smash her fists into the table and then ask eagerly why there were so many distractions that day. She prepared herself to scold whoever was approaching her from behind, snarling at them to not bother her so she could type in peace. However, when she slid around in her chair, allowing her red eyes to fall upon the figure that emerged from the shining daylight outside and into the dimly-lit cafeteria, she only paled, her muscles freezing with nervousness and slight shock.
Her rival – her arrogant rival – Flame the Charmeleon closed the swinging glass door behind him as his two other teammates walked into the room, expressions emotionless, as both of them always knew what happened when their team leader and Shadow were placed in the same room. Immediately the Charmeleon, ignoring his two loathing teammates, slowly walked over to Shadow, allowing his snout to show a smirk as his flame-tipped tail swished slowly to the incoherent music playing through the speakers above.
Meanwhile, Shadow could feel her breath quicken, and a blush began to grow on her cheeks as she realized that sunlight from a window nearby was leaking onto her rival in rays due to the shadowing blinds, dubbing parts of his red skin in dark orange.
And also allowing his bluish-green eyes to metamorphose themselves into a shining emerald.
The female Absol could feel her muscles drown in coldness, her paws shaking to where she struggled to keep them still. Her stomach churned – both at the fact that her crush was present, and the fact that he was no doubly going to use this time to insult her in front of the few rescue teams that sat chatting in other tables within the room. For once she didn't display direct anger when her rival appeared, but instead hesitated to bring it out just to avoid making her arrogant crush suspicious.
Flame tilted his head to the side to allow his now-emerald eyes to gaze emotionlessly at the laptop underneath his rival's paws, and straightened his neck as he then muttered in a teasing manner, "You writing a love letter to me?"
Shadow's blush deepened, despite that she knew he was unaware of her feelings towards him and was only trying to embarrass her, perhaps spread an unwanted rumor that would make her the laughing stock of the rescue team town. Rock the Lairon and Spark the Raichu, the two other teammates of Flame's team, Team Power, snickered to one another, covering their smiling mouths with their claws and paws. Apart from this, they remained silent, standing tall as if they were Flame's loyal bodyguards.
Flame, somewhat surprised by his rival's non-responsive attitude, quirked his eyebrow as his smirk died down into a bewildered frown. Surely if he insulted his rival with such a tease then she would retort with an even harsher remark. However, as seconds passed, she only stared at him with widened eyes, her cheeks turning red, and he felt confused about such a thing. She wouldn't be…blushing, right? And if she was, she was doing it out of only embarrassment…
…right?
Flame shook the distracting thoughts away, his smirk no longer returning as a serious expression then took over his arrogant one, and the Charmeleon shot looks towards his two teammates before gesturing them to leave. Rock and Spark exchanged puzzled glances before following their team leader towards the door, leaving Shadow to blush only deeper whenever Flame looked at her with slight worry.
This was very unlike of his rival.
Nonetheless, to live up to his reputation, the Charmeleon called out, "Hopefully your skills today won't suck as much as usual," in a forced arrogant manner as he exited through the door, which left Shadow staring at it silently.
She eventually turned around, however, her red eyes focused towards the ground as the tension of the prior moments died away. For some reason, when Flame had insulted her, she didn't seem bothered by it, and instead was hypnotized by the fact that he was just there. She had grown to like seeing him everyday, and hated it when his team took days off to where she didn't spot him at all during certain times. She learned to miss him…and worry constantly whenever he went out for dangerous missions that seemed too experienced for his team's level. Knowing him, though, such missions were a key step to becoming the best.
But why? Why didn't she react when he had teased her a few minutes ago? She felt like she had turned to stone, and that the only thing she could become focused on were his eyes, and the way his skin seemed smooth and not so much scaly like it was expected to be.
Shadow turned her head towards the door, a frown of worry covering her lips as her eyes darkened with bewilderment.
Dear Arceus, she really did love him, didn't she?
The town square of the rescue team community resembled that of old medieval locations, where a stone fountain depicting carvings of Legendaries sat in the middle of the square, and the ground was covered in copper-colored cobblestone. The surrounding buildings were more modern-day, and the sky was clear as ever as the morning sun sailed across it like a boat on a lifeless sea. The forests outside were seeable through the cracks between the buildings, while the peaks of tall mountains rose from the rooftops of the said Pokemon-made structures.
Each building housed a majority of Pokemon, some making their home a business place like a bank or store, while others provided shelter for rescue teams who needed rest. The post office down the cobblestone pathways was where rescue teams checked the bulletin board for available missions that were being advertised by Pokemon in need, and informed the workers there if they were to accept the mission they chose from it.
Shock the Jolteon, who was the 'brains' of Team Elite, had picked up a middle-level mission from the board that involved rescuing a small Eevee from a ditch in the forest. Of course he accepted it, and when Shadow and Blaze finally arrived, he informed them of it and off they went.
While Blaze and Shock displayed traits of excitement for the mission, Shadow only moped in the back, her thoughts of Flame still corrupting her mind to where she couldn't focus on anything else. She wanted to see him again, but she couldn't tell any of this to her teammates, as they weren't even aware of her crush on a member of their rivaling team. Knowing them, they would accuse of her of playing a joke on them, finding such a fact unbelievable.
Besides, she didn't want them to know she was nothing but a big softie behind her toughened exterior – a big softie who fell in love with people who were asses to her.
It wasn't long before they reached a clearing in the midst of a forest outside of town that sported the trench shown on the mission paper, and Shock displayed slight nervousness as he peered down the crack in the grassy ground, his obsidian eyes widening slightly on how deep the craggy walls went. Blaze did the same, very tempted to spit just so see how much longer the depth in the crevasse was when you surpassed the barricading darkness a few feet below.
Shadow stayed behind, still somewhat preoccupied with her jumbled thoughts to participate, although when she heard distant crying emitting from within the trench, she immediately rushed towards the edge of it right next to her two teammates. No doubt did the crying belong to the lost Eevee, and now Team Elite was trying to figure a way to get down the crevasse safely and rescue the fox Pokemon.
It wasn't long, however, before Blaze grabbed a long vine from one of the surrounding trees, showing it to Shock, in which Shadow offered to tie herself at the end so her teammates could lower her down into the trench. Despite how dangerous it was, although they couldn't think of any other tactic to save the Pokemon by, Shadow tied the vine around her hind legs, and held her breath with slight fear as she was then slowly lowered headfirst into the dark, lifeless crevasse.
Flame the Charmeleon couldn't think of a reason why his rival, Shadow, would've acted so strangely to him earlier that day. To tell you the truth, he had been wondering about it for quite some time, and therefore was quite lost himself and wasn't paying attention to his source of direction as he and his two teammates traveled through the thick forest. They were heading towards a dungeon within the small mountain nearby, as required by the mission he had picked up from the post office not too long ago, and he wasn't discouraged at the least by the fact that his team was lost. Rock and Spark worried for their team leader, although, due to the risk of angering him, decided not to say anything about it.
The arrogant Charmeleon was actually mentally scolding himself for worrying about his rival. He couldn't really explain why he had always been there for her when she was down, apart from the fact that a feeling inside of him convinced him to. But what was this feeling he experienced every time he came across Shadow - the feeling that made his temperature rise, but yet allow coldness to flash across his muscles simultaneously?
Was it-?
NO! Flame shook the thoughts away. How could the feeling possibly be that? How could he ever feel such a thing for his rival – his competition among the art of Pokemon rescuing? It was oxymoronic, and he refused to have such feelings. He wouldn't become a softie; he wouldn't allow his arrogance, which had gotten him through the majority of hard times he had experienced during his life, to dissolve because he was feeling things that he should never feel for a rival.
He was snapped away from his thoughts when the distant echoes of voices sprang from a location to the side of him. He could recognize the feminine tone of his Absol rival anywhere, and, for some reason, he couldn't stop himself as he suddenly turned left and headed towards the spot with a quickened pace. Rock and Spark exchanged bewildered glances from their team leader's unexplained behavior, but only shrugged it off as they rushed up to follow him.
Flame didn't know why he was heading to where his rival was, or why the said feeling from before was raging within the pit of his stomach in the midst of it.
He just…wanted to see her shining red eyes again.
He wanted to see her tough exterior again.
He wanted to see her.
He needed to see her.
And all for a reason he was in denial to accept.
Shadow smiled as her red eyes caught sight of a small shadowed form shivering in the middle of a ledge within the pitch-black trench. The depth of it went beyond from where she was, and she didn't really want to know how long, as her fear of falling was high since she was hanging upside down from the lowering vine by her hind legs.
The Eevee cocked her head slightly, her fur damp with sweat, dirt and mud covering her face as she slowly approached the Absol, listening with uncertain interest as Shadow introduced herself and explained her determination to rescue her. The Eevee smiled with slight glee and jumped into the arms of the Absol, placing her paws around Shadow's neck, hiding her face in her collar fur as Shadow dangled on the vine, signaling to her comrades to slowly pull her up.
As the vine slowly moved upwards, Shadow held onto the Eevee clinging onto her, cooing assuring words to her. The fox Pokemon eventually revealed her crying face to the Absol, despite that a smile covered her small stout from the fact that she would finally be able to return to her family once they got out of this.
Snap!
Shadow and the Eevee froze as the sound of ripping rope echoed throughout the trench, dissipating slightly as the Absol slowly raised her horrified eyes up to gaze upon the one thing she feared.
The vine was beginning to rip from the weight.
She looked down to eye the ledge that the Eevee had been resting on, only to notice that it was too big for her, and therefore if she did fall then she would only ricochet off the rocky ledge and be sent tumbling down into the shadowed ditch. She could tell by the cries of fear above that Blaze and Shock were struggling to return her to the surface before the vine broke. Shadow closed her eyes tightly, fearing the worst, yet holding onto the Eevee with all she could. Whenever Blaze and Shock pulled up on the vine, it ripped only more.
And it wasn't long before it tore altogether.
"NO!" Blaze cried as he and Shock were launched backwards from the momentum of strong tugging, leaving them immobilized for the next few seconds as Shadow and the Eevee began to fall into the ditch, the last inches of remaining vine, which was ripped at the top, dangling above them.
Suddenly, however, Flame the Charmeleon rushed into the opening, immediately diving forward to where he slid across the ground, his upper body leaning over the ditch's edge as his claw lunged forward to grasp onto the dangling vine before it fell out of reach. Shadow and the Eevee gasped when they felt the sensation of falling cease, and only turned their eyes up to spot Flame holding onto the rope with all his might, sweat beginning to pour off of his forehead as his gritted teeth signaled his struggle with the weight.
"Hold on, Shadow!" Flame muttered between his clenched teeth, both seriousness and compassion radiating from his voice to where Shadow felt the blood rush to her cheeks again. It really sounded like…he cared.
Blaze and Shock, after regaining their thoughts, rushed forward and grabbed Flame's tail. It wasn't long before Rock and Spark emerged from the forest, and without question added onto the pulling support by latching onto Blaze's fluffy tail. Together they all pulled, and it wasn't long before Shadow and the Eevee appeared over the ledge, instantly pushing their bodies towards the ground, breathless from the situation to where they rolled onto their backs, gasping for air. The others did the same, including Flame, who toppled over onto his backside right next to Shadow.
As the Absol suddenly gained her breath, though, she lunged forward and wrapped her forelegs around Flame's neck, causing an unexpected blush to appear on his cheeks. "Thank you so much, Flame," she whispered into his ear, and he displayed an expression of compassion before he gave in and, with a small smile, wrapped his arms around her, turning it into a full embrace.
The rest of Team Elite was tempted to ask how Shadow was doing, but once they caught sight of her and Flame's warm hug, they decided not to bother them and instead took the Eevee into the trees. It wasn't long before Rock and Spark, finally spotting the connection between everything, left with smirks on their faces as well, leaving Flame and Shadow alone in the forest clearing.
"Why…why did you save me?" Shadow asked as she pulled away from her rival.
Flame chuckled slightly, his blush dissipating. "Well, I couldn't allow my rival to leave when I have yet to prove to her who's the best rescue team," he then muttered arrogantly, his smirk returning. Shadow couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully, finding nothing uncommon in her rival's response.
Her rival's expression suddenly turned into a mixture of seriousness and compassion, and Shadow cocked her head slightly at this, but blushed completely when his claw reached forward to cup her cheek, gently turning her face to meet his softened gaze. "And because I care about you," he then added in a tone that, for once, was soft instead of arrogant, "and I don't want anything to happen to you."
Shadow's blush deepened, although she enjoyed the sensation of Flame's warm claw on her face. She was quite surprised from his prior words, and because of this only displayed an expression of slight shock.
"Why have you been acting so weird lately?" Flame asked, tone still soft, and Shadow knew that he was being serious. He kept his claw on her face, apparently refusing to take it off. "I mean, I insult you, and you only stare at me like you're…I don't know…in love with me or something…"
Shadow's expression darkened with sadness, and she knew that it was now or never – that she wouldn't be getting out of this one without telling the truth. "Because I do love you," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. It was loud enough for Flame to hear, though, which he showed this by displaying his own shock from the revealing.
His rival…loved him? Him? For some reason, the feeling that he had been in denial to feel before was making much more sense now.
Shadow closed her eyes, preparing herself to be insulted. Surely her rival would take such a moment to bash her down to the ground with harsh words. Returning her feelings was oxymoronic for him…
Right?
The Absol relaxed when she felt Flame's thumb begin to stroke the fur of her cheek lovingly, too mesmerized in the soft feeling to think about what he meant by it.
Wrong.
"I love you, too," he then softly whispered, and she opened her eyes to make contact with his soft ones. She could feel a smile grow on her face – on how the conclusion she thought would be nothing but an envied reality in her mind became real. With a laugh she tackled into him, bringing them both to the ground with him on top of her. With a soft smile he then leaned forward and placed a small lick against the spot right by her mouth, and she blushed heavily before smiling and leaning forward to return it with a nuzzle into his cheek.
So, yeah, when you think about it, I have been unique most of my life. I mean, like I said before, I ate all my vegetables, I zag when everybody else zigs, and, well, instead of falling in love with one of my own teammates, I fell in love with a member of my rival team.
Of course, I was surprised to learn that the strange feeling he had always felt when he was around me was revealed to be love. Who knew, right? He's the only arrogant guy I know that has fallen in love with someone. Hell, maybe he can be classified as 'unique' as well.
I mean, being unique ain't so bad when it comes with benefits.
Shadow, who was typing on her laptop once again, sitting at a chair among a table within the cafeteria room, smiled as she reread over her last typed words. In the midst of it she gazed over the screen of her laptop to the opposite side of the table, where her rival and newfound lover, Flame, was sitting, chatting with his teammate Rock who had been passing by.
The Absol's expression turned soft as she examined her rival's handsome features, and in the midst of it he noticed her eyes and turned to meet them with his own soft, loving gaze. Shadow could feel herself melt as the sunlight that was leaking through the window nearby bled onto his eyes, coloring them into the lightest of emerald she had ever seen them become.
With sudden new inspiration, she turned her head down towards her laptop screen once again, the perfect ending words of the novel she had always wanted to write: How to Tolerate Your Arrogant Rival – One-hundred Tips and Tricks on Realizing that He or She Isn't So Bad, coming into mind.
Yup, I could get used to this.