Do opposites really attract?

A MangaQuestShipping Oneshot

"Explotaro!" He cried out in his usual hyperactive tone of voice. He was a little too energetic, impulsive for her tastes. Sure, she could make friends with him... in fact, he was one of her closest friends and she would willingly tell it to God himself in front of the pearly gates.

But was she in love with him? No. The only one who hadn't made the mistake of confronting her about it, other than the boy himself, was Professor Oak. Possibly because she spent enough time with him so that he would know she didn't love the boy... or, because he just didn't like involving himself in such youngster's emotional affairs. Not like such a bond existed between her and the boy...

"Fire Punch, but use one finger! Try for a bullseye!"

He was glad that she had decided to come along. It had been his idea for a trip up to Mount Mortar, to the spot in which he knew she had broke her arms so many years ago... a nostalgic even rushed over him for some reason or another. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him... after all, the main purpose was to try and get her to recall some of her fonder childhood memories. If she grew up to basically be professional, she should at least have one or two of them here, right?

His train of thought was broken, as his eyes observed the green-backed, tan-bellied beast leap into the air with his usual skillful appearance: He drew a fist back, and as he landed in front of one of the various targets set up in the area, his back exploded with flame. Some of which seemed to jolt off of his back and landed on the single finger extended from a fist (the boy couldn't help but giggle immaturely at it: It looked an awful lot like Explotaro was giving the sign the middle finger), which then smashed dead on into the center of the target. He let loose an approving howl.

"WOO! E-X-P-L-O-T-A-R-O!"

He threw a quick glance over his shoulder to gauge her awareness of the moment; she seemed distant. Maybe that was good, maybe it wasn't. Either way, he'd confront that dilemma in a moment... first, he ran over to the Typloshion and offered it a high-five. The excited Pokemon, of course, returned the gesture with enough force to make the boy regret it somewhat: He drew back his reddened palm, rubbing it a bit.

"Gonna go sit down and talk to Crys, Explotaro.~ You stay over here, 'kay?"

He had used the disguise of a simple trip up to Mt. Mortar to do one of his training sessions he occasionally did when he was feeling bored. But it had been more than that: He had, for a long time, wanted to say something... but had never really gathered the courage. Maybe he would be able to now... maybe not.

He lowered himself down onto the other side of the big rock that she was sitting on, and broke her out of her thoughtful mood. She looked up at him, and smiled; thinly, fakely. He could tell... something was wrong, but he didn't quite know what.

"You plannin' on gettin' up to join me any time soon, Super Serious?" He teased, sticking out his tongue.

She could only wonder: What if her own suspicions were right? That what she had been telling herself for a few years now... it was all simply denial? Those sneaking suspicions deep in her mind that she had been denying the existence of when Blue had asked her, when even the... somewhat slow-minded Red had asked her, when all but one or two of her closest friends had asked her...

Even Emerald had asked her: Telling her that she talked an awful lot about Gold, especially after the incident on the Battle Frontier. She had passed that off to him as the fact that she hadn't seen him in forever before then, and he had shrugged it off as well.

What if that had all been simple denial?

Do opposites really attract?

"You know I'm not much of a trainer, Gold." She murmured in response... she could tell that hit something in him.

It did. He felt a sudden pang of courage. He could not comprehend it at the time, though when looking back onto that fateful moment, he realized it had been... well, simply enough, the sound of her voice meeting his ears. Something in it... felt almost lonely.

He slid a hand into his pocket, and took out a Pokeball.

"True... hey, I got a question." He started off. "Yeah, yeah, I know I got a 'dex so I can see it myself, but I wanna hear it from someone's who researched it. Considerin' catchin' a new Pokemon. Heard 'bout it in that Hoenn place. What'da'ya know 'bout Luvdisc?"

Her eyes perked up for a moment, confusion evident in her gaze.

"You want a Luvdisc? Doesn't seem your style..."

"Just tell me 'bout it, Super Serious Gal. Sheeeesh."

"... Eh. Fine. Well, I can't give much battle info... it's not much of a battler's Pokemon. I can give you some other info, though... like, for instance, Luvdisc sometimes gather together near big water sources. It's beautiful, so I've heard... turns the water pink." She smiled legitimately this time, as if in admiration of the thought. "I can tell you attacks out of its mouth, just remembered... anyways, in culture, it's often considered a sign of affection to give a person a Luvdisc."

Gold grinned. From ear to ear, in fact.

Crys realized what the true intention behind this question really was. How had she not realized it before? Gold wasn't the type of trainer to switch around Pokemon, first off... he had his current team since before the two met. He had not changed them a bit, excluding evolutions. Plus, it was as he said... he had a Pokedex. He could know anything about Luvdisc within the click of a few buttons... her face grew hot, flushed.

He tossed her the Pokeball he held in hand, and spoke the two words she had been waiting for since about two seconds ago, when she realized what it contained.

"Open it."

Slowly, her thumb moved over the center's metal release button and put a slight bit of pressure in it. Within a second, she felt it expand in her hand and burst open, a small flash of light blinding her for a moment: But it was not white light. It was pink.

The Luvdisc that the ball contained materialized in her lap, looking up at her with its shining black eyes, its lighter pink (compared to its hot pink body) lips puckered up for a kiss.

She slowly looked over to Gold.

"Crys. You're super serious. I'm too hyper for my own good... we compliment each other, don'tcha think? So maybe... we could, uhh... go out for... dinner sometime?"

She answered him by returning the Luvdisc, dropping the ball down to the ground, and using her now free hands to draw him into a tight embrace.

"... So opposites do attract ..."

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Idea came to me out of nowhere. But once I thought of it, HAD TO WRITE.

Hope you enjoy the read!

Remember, if you do... check out my other stories!

Whether you liked it or not... well, tell me. Don't hesitate to leave a review!

~ Chris