Respect
By: Aubrie1234
1. Size
Golisopod knew he was tough, even with his wimpy ability, Emergency Exit. He didn't let that stop him, though. But when he and his master came across a boy named Sun and his Salandit nicknamed Salamander, they laughed.
"You really think you can beat me with that little thing?! Ha!" Master Guzma laughed.
"Sala sala salandit!" (Size isn't everything!) hissed Salamander. Then the little pokemon beat both Golisopod and Ariados single-handedly. That caught Golisopod's eye, just like the boy did to his master.
"Heh. That kid and his Salandit sure were strong, weren't they? Even though they were tiny, they still packed a punch." said Master Guzma once the two had left Malie Gardens.
"Gol..." (Yes...) He would have to keep an eye on Salamander, see what the little pokemon will do next. There was no chance Golisopod was going to forget the Salandit any time soon.
2. Evolution
The next time they met,Salamander was still in front and also hadn't evolved. Golisopod knew it was because of the Salandit's gender, but the boy and the pokemon didn't seem to notice. They continued to fight with their all, though the boy had to switch Salamander out before he got defeated. But not before they pulled the same trick as last time: Using Toxic on Golisopod.
Even from his pokeball, Golisopod saw Salamander come out again and defeat more of his master's pokemon. It reminded him of his youth, in a way. He and his master always tried to fight and get themselves stronger, which led to his evolution, where he wasn't as scared anymore. Salamander, however, didn't seem to mind not being able to evolve. It just made the little Salandit stronger.
After he had been defeated, Golisopod felt a feeling come up inside him, a feeling of respect. One that he was sure Master Guzma was also feeling about the boy. The boy and Salamander may not have had as much experience or were as big, but they were evolving inside. They didn't need a physical evolution because they were making it with just a mental one. That took a lot of courage to have, and the two were full of it.
3. Type
Both of them were at a type advantage against each other, but they made ways around it. Golisopod was Bug/Water, Salamander had Fire/Poison. In a way, they were like Yin and Yang. They were equals on two sides of the same coin, and not just in the respect they felt for each other.
It during their third fight against one another that Salamander spoke of his respect to the Golisopod.
"Saland Sa dit land ladi salandit land, salan sala saland dit dit land sa sal land, dit sa saland ladi dit sa. Landi sala ditsa dit saland di dits land, dit sa dits sa. Sa dit sal di land sa saland, sal sala salandit land di!" (Master Sun has seen your pre-evolved form, along with myself and the rest of the team, and I respect you for it. You've gone above and beyond in many ways, and so have I. I may not be able to evolve, but that doesn't stop me!) Golisopod was surprised at the outpouring of Salamander's emotions into his words. It got a response out of Golisopod, one that neither of them were expecting.
"Goli pods gol goliso podso go, gol Po golipod pods. Gol pod golisop pods gol, po Po goli gol pods goli go pod!" (Your size and courage impress me, and I respect that. You let nothing stop you, so I hope you won't lose to me!) Salamander grinned and they fought, putting their all into it, knowing the other would do the same. At the end, when Salamander beat him again, the respect swelled even more.
"Golis pods goli!" (Until next time!)
"Ladi sal!" (You too!)
4. Stats
Once Alola was safe, the two made it a thing to sneak away from their partners (or sometimes a box, in Salamander's case) to meet and talk, sometimes getting into battle. It was during one of these talks that they talked about their stats.
Salamander had higher Speed and Sp. Atk., but Golisopod had higher HP, Attack, Defense, and Sp. Def. However, even with all of that and a type advantage, Salamander still managed to beat him every time. It mystified them both, Salamander with wondering how he continued to beat Golisopod, even without the help of his master, and Golisopod with how the little Salandit kept fighting, even after being hit by a supereffective Water-type attack.
"There you are!" The two turned to see their masters come running up. Well, Golisopod did. Salamander, as custom on their meetings, held onto the pokemon's head like he did with his master.
"Where have you been?!" Sun scolded Salamander, having been worried sick.
"Don't beat 'em up too much." Guzma rubbed Golisopod's head affectionately after Salamander had been grabbed, "It seems they've become good friends."
"Gol." (Yep.)
"Hm... Then maybe that's why I've heard from the others that you've been sneaking out a lot." Salamander sweatdropped at being caught.
"Di, sala..." (Uh, yeah...) Salamander rubbed his head sheepishly.
5. Trainers/Masters
Like themselves, their masters couldn't be more different. However, they weren't like two sides of a coin. Sun wasn't all that much into battling unless he had to, he only liked to capture pokemon. Guzma loved battling and did it whenever he could. The man was fine being alone, but Sun wasn't. Sun caught pokemon so he wouldn't be alone, which was one of his greatest fears. It was something that Golisopod found out one day when he had been separated from his partner and found Sun, who was separated from all of his pokemon.
Sun had come to visit. As usual, Golisopod and Salamander had talked, their masters doing the same, until that fateful moment. They had accidentally walked into the dangerous part of the mansion, the more unstable part that not even the grunts explored, and the floor had collapsed underneath them. They had all become separated and blacked out.
When he awoke, Golisopod found himself alone. He left the room to look for the others and came across not his master, but Salamander's. The poor boy was crying, terribly scared. Golisopod had never seen the strong boy like this before, and it hurt him. Gently, he entered the room and took the boy into his arms. Immediately the boy latched onto him and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. In the boy's mind, that was probably what was going on.
"Arty... Sala... Bal... Woody... Jaws... Gren..." Sun sniffed, calling his pokemon's names, only shortened (except for Woody and Jaws). Golisopod just held the boy close, making soothing noises. Soon enough, Sun was asleep, to his surprise. Standing, he carried the boy with him from room to room, looking for his master and Salamander, possibly Sun's other pokemon as well. The boy desperately needed them, Golisopod knew, and he couldn't keep the boy calm forever, even if Sun was asleep for now.
"Goli? Goli, where are you?" That was Master Guzma calling! Trying not to jostle the boy awake, Golisopod ran towards the voice. Hopefully, what happened to Sun would be explained when he met up with the boy's pokemon. He found Master Guzma with Sun's pokemon team, Artemis holding the boy's pokeball belt. And as Greninja and the others comforted the now-awakening boy, Artemis explained.
Sun had a tendency to get lost quite a bit and always found himself alone when he did, leading to the fear. Carnivals, houses, forests, you name it. Sun's pokemon had only found out after an incident in Diglett's Tunnel and Sun's mother had to tell them. That was why they never tried to separate from him, or at least leave him with one pokemon. That pokemon was usually Artemis, who had never left Sun's side since they became partners.
The story had sparked sympathy in Guzma and Golisopod, but also a little more respect. Respect to the boy who did everything to hide his fear and hid it so well, and respect to the pokemon who kept the secret and did everything they could to stay with their partner.
"The secret's safe with us, don't worry."
"Gol, go po." (Yes, it is.) Artemis nodded.
"Decidu dec." ( Thankyou.) Guzma and Golisopod nodded back. They may have been enemies once, but they weren't about to let a secret like this slip through.
For now it's a one-shot, but I might add more. This is a head-canon of mine that I've had ever time I've battled Guzma, with my Salandit usually in the lead when it happens. Weird, right? But my idea is that Golisopod and Salamander learned to respect each other, like in the summary, and these are some of the ways. Really, how different can the two get?
Another note: Artemis (male Decidueye), Woody (male Toucannon), Jaws (female Vikavolt), Greninja (male), Salamander (male Salandit), and Balboa (male Lycanroc Midday Form) are Sun's main team. And Sun being afraid of being alone is one of the ideas I want to put in a small one-shot chapter series about him and his fears (for different AUs, of course. This would just be one of them).
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