Love Ball
Rating: E for Everyone, or K for Kids.
Setting: Johto, shortly after events of GSC manga
Ships: Primarily Mangaquestshipping, heavily implied Preciousmetalshipping
Random Pond in Johto:
Crystal hefted the two Love Balls in her hands. It had taken a lot of searching to find the special pink apricorns, but it was going to be worth it. These Poké Balls, stained pink and engraved with white hearts were special. Kurt had boasted about their power in romance, how they caught Pokémon of opposite genders with such precision and accuracy.
But that's not what drew Crystal to this particular Poké Ball. No, it was the parting line, tacked on almost carelessly.
"Rumor has it, these Poké Balls work best when handled by those young and in love."
Kurt's a Poké Ball master, maker of such works as the GS ball that captured time itself. She knows it's not just a rumor, that it's a fact. The Poké Balls had glowed when she had first touched them, letting off a pinkish aura.
"It's working already," Kurt had cackled.
She blushed and ran away, but not before bowing and thanking him. He was not just older than her, but more accomplished, and more knowledgeable. He deserved her respect.
Now she cradled the balls in her hands for one last time. "Hey, Gold!" she called.
"What, Super Serious Gal!" He yelled back, not moving an inch from where he was sitting with Silver.
Crystal squinted. Were they playing rock-paper-scissors? She hadn't invited Silver along to this picnic, she thought as she grumbled to herself.
"I want you test something out for me!"
"Get Silver to do it!" Gold didn't even look at her, too concentrated on the game.
"How!" he yelled at Silver, shaking his fist. Apparently, he had lost for the third time in the room. Silver just smirked.
"Rematch?" He questioned. Silver shook his head.
"I think Crystal wants you."
Gold grumbled, but finally, finally he was actually paying attention to her. The goggled boy sprinted to her.
"What do you want, woman?" He asked.
Crystal flinched. "I just want you try one of these out." She held the Love ball outward. He took it, and she felt his fingers touch hers for a brief moment, sending sparks up her hand.
Gold scanned the ball critically. "It looks way too girly…" he said with disgust. "Pink, and with hearts? Seriously, Super Serious Gal?"
Crystal would be offended, but his words meant nothing in comparison to the pink glow surrounding the ball in his hand. It was working.
The love ball in her own hand seemed to pulse, the pink aura growing stronger.
Rumor has it these balls work best when handled by those young and in love
She was going to put that to the test.
There was a lake, well more like marsh that contained wild Poliwhirl. Crystal had already caught a female one in preparation, and Gold owned, or had owned a male one.
If all went well, she should be able to capture a male Poliwhirl no problem, Gold a female one. Another reason she had picked Poliwhirl to test was that she knew Gold had always wanted a Poliwrath.
So her gift to him would be useful. With the power of the Kurt's poke balls, and well … love, the capture should be easy.
It would be easy, she assured herself. What could go wrong?
"See, I just want you capture a Poliwhirl with that ball," she explained to Gold. "Aim for the critical capture point."
She was prepared to explain that as well. Gold wasn't well known for being knowledgeable.
But instead of asking her, he turned to Silver.
"Hey, Silver, what's the critical capture point thingy-majiggy on Poliwhirl?" he yelled.
"It's the ring on his stomach, idiot!" Silver yelled back.
"Who are ya calling-!" Before Gold could get distracted again, Crystal grabbed his arm. Her control of the situation was slipping, and she need Gold to focus. On her.
"Just, just watch me capture one first,"
She chucked her Love Ball in the air, before striking it with her legs. The ball was sent flying toward an unsuspecting male Poliwhirl, hitting it dead-center in it's ring.
It would work. She was confident in this, if nothing else.
The Poké Ball merely bounced off.
What? What?
She had aimed at the critical spot, she'd made sure it was a male poliwhirl…. What?
She heard laughter.
"And you call yourself capture pro!" Gold was heaving with mirth, as if this was the funniest thing to ever happen to him.
She hated him at that moment. Like why'd she even bother?
She collected the discarded love ball from the ground, and tried again. After all, she wouldn't give up. This was her duty, her mission.
It bounced off. She simply kicked it again. Another bounce. Another kick. She kicked harder and harder each time, until she was practically pounding at the poor Poliwhirl.
Why. Wouldn't. It. Work.
"May I try?" Silver extended one gloved hand, and she all but shoved it into his possession.
She crossed her arms and scowled. Let's see him do it.
The ball glowed red in his hands, and Crystal was confused. She glanced towards Gold, and his ball was also glowing crimson. She didn't have time to ponder the color change, because Silver was ready.
Silver threw the ball with a simple efficient grace. It arced towards the Poliwhirl's critical point, sucking the hapless Pokemon in.
What?
Crystal waited on bated breath as the Poké Ball shook once, twice, three times. A perfect capture.
"What? How?"
Silver shrugged. "I owned Gold's Poliwhirl for a very, very brief time. Must have registered in my pokedex."
But Gold's Politoed was male...
"You guys had your fun! Let me try!"
And there Gold was, injecting himself back into the fray. He eyed a random poliwhirl, before grabbing his pole cue. Whereas Silver's throw had been practically spartan, Gold's "throw," was not. The love ball, still glowing red, ricocheted off tree after tree, stone after stone. It made Crystal dizzy just looking at it.
At long last it captured the helpless Poliwhirl, hitting it dead on the chest. Again three shakes, again a perfect capture.
"Can I see the Poliwhirl for a moment, please?" she asked. She had a theory.
Gold threw it at her, and it nearly took off her ear.
"You could have hit me with that!" she shouted at him.
"You asked for the Poké Ball, I was just giving it to you!" He chuckled at her. "Catch better next time!"
"Oh YOU!" She balled her fists in rage. But she couldn't, wouldn't hit him. She wouldn't hit anybody, and although Gold was an idiot, he was her ... crush.
Instead, she checked the pokedex, scanning the captured Poliwhirl's data. Male. She scanned Silver's. Male. That wasn't right. That's wasn't how it was supposed to work.
"I'm going to check something with Kurt," she announced. Nobody seemed to be paying attention, Gold having re-immersed himself into the game with Silver.
She sighed and left.
Kurt's House, Azalea Town:
"Lassie, I've been looking all over for you," Kurt greeted her.
"Huh?"
"See, the batch of Poké Balls I gave you weren't up to snuff."
She knew it.
"Must have slipped my mind when I was making them, because instead of being effective on the Pokémon of the opposite gender, they were most effective on the same gender." He gave her an embarrassed smile.
Well that explained everything, well, not the eerie red glow.
"You also messed up the glow, Mr. Kurt."
"What, lassie?"
"It glowed red for some reason."
"Oh, no," he chuckled. "I didn't mess that part up. It glows red in the hands of people with mutual love for each other."
What?
"See, the pink apricorns-" He blabbed on about crushing, boiling, and slicing. Something about the apricorn seeds and the power inside them. Yada, yada, yada.
Crystal heard none of that, the conflicting swirling thoughts in her head taking complete dominance.
Her love ball was pink … But Gold … Silver … Red. Mutual affection…. Same gender instead of opposite gender.
The implications hurt her head.
"Now, I usually don't give refunds to trainers, but you're a promising girl, a capture specialist in the making!" Kurt handed her two new love balls, and she took them wordlessly.
She bowed and waved goodbye, movements stiff.
As soon as she got far enough away, she screamed, hurled the stupid Love Ball in the air and booted it hard.
It shattered into bits and pieces against a tree, and she smiled.
Author's Notes:
This is based on the fact that Love Balls in the GSC games did not work as advertised. It's supposed to have an 8x multiplier on Pokémon that are the same species and opposite gender to yours. However, due to programming errors, it's actually 8x when it's the SAME gender.
So I wrote a scene centered around it.