What do you get when you cross boredom plus nothing to do plus inspiration from playing the game Pokémon Diamond? You get this fic. And especially because I love Marley and her gothic Lolita style. I felt that there should be more in the MarleyxBuck category. And also because I want to start writing about other shippings you know? :)
This is just a simple one-shot. But I hope you enjoy otherwise…
~Andy
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon but I do own… my Pokémon Diamond game! :D
Buck wiped the sweat off his tanned forehead. He knew he still had a long way to go if he wanted to exit Victory Road but he never knew it was this long. So he decided to take a break and let his level 58. Claydol out. "Come on out Claydol!"
The Poké ball flashed and an outline of a clay doll Pokémon came out. "Clay…" It said and turned to face his trainer, waiting eagerly for a command, only to receive none.
Buck sat and rested his back against a wall, still in the deep cave, and heaved a long sigh. His obedient Pokémon floated beside him. "Clay?" (Master?)He waved at him in response and grinned, showing his pearly white teeth. "It's nothing to worry about; we're just going to take a small break." He said.
"We have a long way to go…" He added and sighed a heavy sigh again. He decided to close his eyes and contemplate the peaceful sounds of the Pokémon residing in the cave. He listened intently to the sounds of different Pokémon like Gravelers, Steelix and even Rhydons. From his vast memories he also remembered when he first met Dawn. She was a striving Pokémon trainer, just like him, lost in Stark Mountain, with the goal of meeting the fire/steel legendary Pokémon known as Heatran just to fill up another page on her Pokédex for the professor.
He smiled at the memory. He remembered how he wanted to capture Heatran and grab the Magma stone before his newest rival known as Barry would. But he also remembered much about Dawn. She had dark blue hair, captivating sapphire blue eyes, a short pink skirt… He could feel his face heating up at her appearance. Ok maybe he had a slight crush on her but it was no big deal right? She was way out of his league. Especially if she's Sinnoh's newest Pokémon champ.
Not only her good looks but her strong Pokémon was an added bonus, he remembered how they would battle together all the strong trainers in Stark Mountain, her Pokémon obviously shining above his one and only Pokémon, Claydol.
He felt that he's been through quite a lot in his life. Maybe he didn't have much luck with the ladies but at least he had goals, he had dreams. He had… adventures.
But he always felt like a shadow, especially if he walked through the streets and people come and point at him and say "Hey! You're Elite Four Flint's younger brother right? Can you get him to sign an autograph for me? It's for my son, he is such a fan!"
Boy he felt awful. Of course he loved his brother like no other but still… He hated that feeling of being his brother's shadow. And he avoided those people, never to hear those words such as Your brother is so AWESOME! ever, again…
He could just imagine Flint petting him on the head and call him 'Lil bro, like he always did. He hated that also. So he decided to leave his home on Survival Area and travelled to the Fight Area to meet new people, but they were all just battle-obsessed freaks. And that was when he first met her… and her hyper-active rival.
He went up to the girl and her rival and told them about a certain Magma stone in Stark Mountain which piqued Barry's interest since he had a competitive nature and his ears perked up at the mention of 'race to get the magma stone first'. Dawn, however, remained silent but nodded in approval to what he was saying.
At that moment he wanted to tell her how cute she was but he shook his head to get rid of the sudden, hormone-crazed thought. Her ass did look nice in that short pink skirt…Wait what? Stupid hormones…
And then he saw her again at Stark Mountain so he offered to partner up with her, even offering to keep her Pokémon healthy and all.
"Deep inside this volcano, is a very rare stone called the Magma stone. But a powerful Pokémon guards it." He explained to her, Dawn listening intently. "I hope Barry doesn't find it."
Dawn smiled at him and responded. "I agree, he is so headstrong and reckless. But he is my best friend after all..." Her cheeks turned red just by saying that. Buck noticed this and immediately thought that she liked him. He couldn't help but feel jealous of the blonde boy. Damn… I knew it. She is way out of my league.
He ignored the tiny ache in his heart and moved on, Dawn following close behind. Finally they made it to the entrance of the cavern where Heatran resides and they went in without hesitation, only to be surprised by the unexpected disappearance of the legendary Pokémon.
"Huh? Where's Heatran?" Dawn said, her blue eyes searching through the walls of the cavern but eventually rested upon the tiny peculiar stone that was in front of them.
"That must be the Magma stone…" Dawn stated the obvious. Buck turned to face Dawn. "You were expecting to catch Heatran right?"
Dawn shook her head. "No, I just wanted to fill up on his profile for my Pokédex."
Buck shrugged and picked up the magma stone. It was like any other stone but had a red shine to it. He grinned and did a thumbs-up. "Yes! I got the Magma stone before Barry did!" Dawn clapped silently. "Yay…" She mock-congratulated him.
Suddenly, the cave started to rumble. "Oh no…" Dawn quivered. "It's going to erupt!"
"Come on let's go before it does!" He said, then quickly grabbed her hand and bolted the hell out of there. They were running so fast it was as if their life depended on it, well actually it did. The cave was still rumbling violently and rock stalactites started to fall, all the trainers that they battled before were already outside safe.
But not Buck and Dawn. They were still running, side-by-side hand in hand to their safety. And eventually they made it outside the exit, panting heavily.
They both panted breathlessly, placing their hands on their knees as they struggled to find their breath. Buck turned to look at Dawn. "Are…you…okay?"
Dawn was too tired to speak so she weakly nodded at him. She collapsed on the floor. "We…made it." She whispered.
Buck sat beside Dawn and smiled at her. "Thanks to you I found the Magma stone. I really appreciate your help. Thank you so much. But I must go." And with that he reluctantly stood up and offered a hand to Dawn, which she gladly accepted and stood up.
"It's my pleasure." She responded.
Before he left, he turned to face her and said. "If you're up for any battles, come and see me at the Battle Tower." And with that he left, waving at her from behind in the distance.
Dawn shouted loud enough for him to hear. "I'll be ready!"
He smiled at her determination. Of course, under that loud and extremely obnoxious demeanor he had a soft spot for the bluenette.
After all this time he didn't realize he was day-dreaming about his past travelling with Dawn. Claydol looked at its master confused. "Claydol clay?" (Master are you alright?)
Buck snapped out of his daze. "Wait…what? Yeah I'm fine!" He shrugged petting his Claydol on the head. "I guess we had a long break didn't we?"
Claydol nodded in response. "Well then…" he stood up. "Let's go!" He fist-pumped. Claydol floated beside him with an eager expression. "Clay…!" (That's my master!)
They both walked through the cave silently. Until Buck stopped at an unknown entrance, grimacing from the huge resemblance of the cave entrance in Stark Mountain. He remembered how Heatran was upset so he had to return the magma stone to its rightful owner.
He entered, uneasily, only to face stairs going to another unknown entrance. He went them up along with Claydol who was floating beside him and entered the other side of the entrance, only to be welcomed by a deep white fog.
"Ah! What the hell!" He yelled. "I can't see a thing!" His Pokémon agreeing. He turned to face his Claydol. "Claydol, can you use Light Screen to deflect all the fog so we can see better?"
"Claydol Clay!"(Of course Master!) And with that a wondrous wall of light was put up around both Buck and Claydol, protecting them from the white hazy fog.
"Now that's better! C'mon Claydol we gotta find the exit soon so we can find that legendary Pokémon!"
And by legendary, he meant Shaymin. Since he couldn't get the Magma stone, he had a new goal in mind. To capture Shaymin, which could be found in a sendoff spring of flowers in a meadow that was outside the north-eastern wing of Victory Road.
Still inside the cube of Light Screen, both Buck and Claydol walked silently through the haze…Until Buck heard faint coughing in the distance.
"Wait a sec'…" He said, trying to listen better but couldn't because of the walls of psychic power surrounding them. "You can stop using Light Screen, Claydol thank you."
Claydol nodded and stopped his psychic move, being surrounded by the deep fog again. Buck may not see but he could definitely hear. He could hear someone coughing weakly. There's someone else here? He thought.
"Claydol, there's someone here! Let's go!" And with that he ran off through the fog, the faint coughing could be heard much more clear the more they neared the person.
Eventually he halted to a stop once he saw a person through the fog, particularly a girl that was sitting exhausted, her back resting against the wall, breathing heavily. Her head was looking down at her lap, so he couldn't see her face.
"Excuse me?" He said. At the sound of a stranger, her head shot back up and looked at the person who spoke. That was when he could see her face, her face was very pale and she had nice blue eyes. Very similar to Dawn's he recalled. Except she didn't have short black hair and a white bow but this girl was definitely pretty.
Her outfit was black and white and resembled a Japanese gothic Lolita. Buck was instantly smitten by her mysterious appearance.
Buck walked closer to the girl and sat beside her, offering a hand to shake. "The name's Buck." He said, and the girl weakly took it and shook. "…Marley…"
Claydol appeared confused by his trainer's actions but decided to remain quiet to the situation. "So…what are you doing here?" He asked.
Marley looked at her lap again. "…Searching the Pokémon among flowers…"
Buck looked confused. "Pokémon among flowers? What are you talking about?"
Marley looked at him for a second then turned to face her lap again.
Buck cocked an eyebrow inquisitively. "You don't say much do you?" She shook her head weakly and coughed slightly.
Buck was instantly worried, ignoring the fact that he just met the girl. "Hey… you okay?"
She looked at him again and inspected his eyes. His flaming red eyes filled with unknown worry. Buck felt the heat rise to his face at her staring at him like that.
"How long have you been here?" He asked, his worry still picking up on his tone of voice.
"…3 months…" She said in a quiet, somber tone of voice.
Buck deadpanned. "3 months? Doing what?"
Marley ignored his outburst. She knew he had a reason to worry but actually she wasn't expecting to meet anyone at all. She stroked her Pokéball containing Arcanine, debating whether she should let him out or not.
Buck was still worried about this girl. "Haven't you at least eaten anything?"
She shook her head. Buck was taken aback. "So you've been here for 3 months and haven't eaten a thing?" She nodded weakly in response.
Buck swore he could hear her stomach growl weakly. "No wonder you're so pale. Can you at least stand up?"
Marley considered this, reluctantly but willingly trying to stand up but failed miserably when she could feel her body wincing in pain from the little strength she had in her. She was about to fall head-first to the ground if it wasn't for Buck to grab her by the collar and place her in his strong bulky arms, his hands stroking her head.
Buck looked at her pale, sick face. "I'll take that as a no." He said matter-of-factly.
Suddenly a flash of white emitted from the Pokéball she had in her hand and an outline of a dog-like Pokémon came out. Once he came out, Arcanine whimpered at the sight of his weak trainer and licked her face affectionately.
Buck turned to face her Pokémon. "An Arcanine huh? What a nice Pokémon you have. So loyal."
Marley closed her eyes and responded with a weak moan. "…Thanks…"
Buck suddenly noticed that apart from her extremely pale face her cheekbones were slightly standing out and she had a very pointy chin. I better give this girl some food soon or else she might…die of hunger, he thought with a shiver.
"I better get you something to eat." He told her. Arcanine heard this and barked happily at Buck.
The flame-head trainer turned to face Arcanine. "Are you hungry too?" Arcanine shook his head and panted slightly, his tongue hanging at the side of his mouth.
Marley spoke quietly. "…I always give him Pokémon food…"
Buck was clearly outraged. "But how come you haven't fed yourself?"
Marley didn't respond, instead she laid there quiet, her dry chapped lips pressed tightly together.
Buck scoffed, still holding her. "That's what I thought."
He looked at her Arcanine, which was licking at Marley's hand lovingly. "Arcanine are you strong enough to lift the both of us?"
Arcanine stopped licking to stand upright and bark confidently at Buck.
Buck grinned. "I'll take that as a yes." He took out his Pokéball and returned Claydol. He slowly but surely lifted Marley up bridal-style. Marley blushed slightly at the contact, finally realizing what was happening.
And then Buck also noticed how incredibly light she felt in his arms. The poor girl must be famished! He thought.
He then placed Marley on top of her canine Pokémon's back and quickly got on to hold her tightly from the waist so she wouldn't fall. He didn't know why he was doing this but it felt good. Ever since he met Dawn he learned from her ways in helping others because before he was extremely rude and never cared about others.
Meanwhile Marley's cheeks heated up from the physical contact between them. She never knew she would start to feel attracted to a random guy so quickly.
Buck was blushing slightly too so he shook his head quickly and broke the awkward silence first. "Um… there's no one else here anyways so let's go…Arcanine take us outside please."
And with that the canine dashed onwards through the fog that was surrounding them, letting his heightened sense of smell guide him. Buck realized that the cave was actually empty, no wild Pokémon or trainers. He decided to forget about meeting this flower Pokémon anyway. Right now he wanted to lead Marley to someplace safe.
The canine Pokémon was sprinting so fast that everything seemed like a blur to Buck. Marley however was fast asleep, way too tired to even open her eyes.
Suddenly they were in Victory Road's main entrance. The sun's golden gleam shining brightly and it was as if they never saw the sun to begin with, Buck and Marley being in the dark gloomy cave for too long.
Buck looked at the sky; it was colored with different orange shades of hue. He could tell by the color of the sky that it was afternoon, meaning the sun would set soon.
He thanked Arcanine and got off, letting go of Marley's grip in the process. He looked at the sky once again. "I wish I had a flying-type." He muttered beneath his breath.
As if Arceus granted his wish, a wild Skarmory appeared and Buck instantly had an idea. He released Claydol. "Claydol use Psychic on that Skarmory!"
Once the clay doll Pokémon was released it instantly gathered psychic energy to hold the wild Skarmory, the Steel/Flying type Pokémon instantly flailing to get free from its grasp.
"Good Claydol! Now use AncientPower!"
This time Claydol released a series of floating rocks towards the Skarmory while in his Psychic grasp and immediately inflicting super effective damage because of it being part flying-type, also the rock-type move was able to raise all of Claydol's stats including accuracy and evasion.
Buck saw that Skarmory was weak enough to be captured. "Go Pokéball!" He threw the red and white capsule at Skarmory and it fell on the ground shaking once…twice…three times then… the button on the middle flashed red and stayed in place, sign that the Pokémon was successfully captured.
Buck fist-pumped in the air. "Yes! I caught Skarmory!"
Marley watched everything from her sitting position on Arcanine, even though she may not put it into words but she was actually impressed.
He looked back towards Marley and her Pokémon. "I better heal Skarmory so he can take us to my house in the Survival Area."
She nodded in approval, hating the fact that she felt too weak to at least form small talk with him. She grabbed her Pokéball and pressed the button, returning Arcanine to his capsule.
With that Buck searched through his pocket until he felt his hands on a certain spray and pulled it out. "I found this Full Restore while travelling in Victory Road. I knew it'd be useful."
He released his newly-caught Skarmory and started spraying on his injuries. After a while Skarmory cawed happily at his new owner and nudged him affectionately. Buck grinned goofily and petted him softly on the head, something he did to show love and appreciation to his Pokémon.
He turned to look at his new Pokémon. "Say Skarmory?" The steel type looked at him eager for a command. "Can you give me and my friend a lift to the Survival Area?"
Skarmory nodded in response. Buck smirked and led Marley up on the steel-armored bird, him following close behind. He positioned himself in front of Marley and beckoned her to hold him tightly around the waist.
Her cheeks turned pink at remembering their sudden contact earlier. She silently wrapped her arms around his waist and even rested her head on his back, gaining a flustered reaction out of Buck. His cheeks burned from feeling her tight body against him. He could feel all the blood rush from his face and travel through his body and then downwards… What? NO! This is NOT the time to feel turned on!
He quickly focused his mind on things like Pokémon battles to avoid getting hard down there. Sighing a heavy sigh of relief he directed his attention to his Skarmory.
"Okay Skarmory let's go to the Survival Area!"
With that Skarmory cawed eagerly and flapped his wings, eventually flying off the ground. Buck returned his Claydol to its Pokéball, taking a mental note of healing his hard-working Pokémon later.
Then Skarmory flew off in the distance, while Buck holds his Pokémon tightly around the neck with Marley holding him around the waist so tight as if her life depended on it.
Riding on Skarmory was even faster than riding on Marley's Arcanine. So they had to tighten their grip even more.
Marley was feeling light-headed from the flight and light-headed from not eating anything for a long time. If she didn't manage to lose consciousness before they arrived in the Survival Area then she would feel very impressed with the little strength she had in her body.
Buck on the meantime was scared shitless from the heights. He would be genuinely surprised if he didn't pee his pants from the fear!
After what seemed like minutes they eventually arrived at a small town known as the Survival Area. Both Buck and Marley thanked Arceus that nothing happened to them on the way and got down from Skarmory's back.
Buck petted Skarmory fondly on the head, returned him to his Pokéball and lifted Marley up bridal-style once again and took her in his house.
Once he opened the door, his grandfather came to greet him but was shocked at seeing him bring a girl (and one that was slightly dozing off in his arms at that).
"Buck! What happened to her?" He asked, a genuine worry shown in his voice.
"She hasn't eaten anything in three months. Just give her some food and let her rest for the night here."
His grandfather nodded vigorously. "All right I'll make some soup for you two!"
"…Water…" Marley moaned in response. "…I want water…"
Buck looked at Marley's pale face once again, unsure of what to say. "Okay…"
He placed her gently on the living room couch and went to get some fresh water in the cabinet.
Once he found a bottle, he poured it onto a small glass and gave it to Marley. She took the glass and downed it in one gulp, instantly feeling refreshed. Her throat suddenly didn't feel so dry anymore and she could feel some of her strength coming back, but not all of it.
"Is that better?" He asked her. She opened her eyes and smiled weakly at him. "…Yes…"
It was then that Buck's cheeks grew red by seeing her smile. He never saw her smile before but he actually liked it.
At that moment his grandfather arrived just in time to hand over the two soup bowls he had in his tray, one for Buck and the other one for Marley. Her back stood erect as she positioned herself on the couch, ready to eat for the first time in three months.
She grabbed the bowl of soup and started to take a sip. It was warm and it definitely felt nice. She could just feel her insides heating up, welcoming that sensation of food travelling down her throat, something she missed dearly.
Suddenly she felt more strength in her body so she drank her soup hungrily and did not finish until every single morsel of that soup was eaten. Buck on the meantime was surprised just by watching her eat so eagerly.
Wow…she really was famished, he thought.
After she finished eating, she set the bowl aside and wiped her mouth with the back of her palm, her hunger completely satisfied.
She looked at Buck and the corner of her mouth curved slightly, her face pulling into a small smile. She finally had the strength to speak properly. "Thanks Buck."
Buck's face reddened slightly. "Uh… you're welcome?"
Marley peeked outside the window and saw that it was already night. "I'm going to sleep now." She laid her head on the couch pillow when Buck said "Wait! You can sleep in my bed tonight!" He offered.
He then went to his bedroom and beckoned Marley to follow him, her cheeks turning pink at the nervousness. She slowly stood up and followed him into his room.
The room was small but it wasn't messy so there was at least some space here and there, probably because it was Buck's grandfather's house. Buck placed his strong hands on Marley's shoulders and sat her down on his bed. "You can sleep in my bed tonight. I'll just sleep on the couch. Good night." And with that he left his room.
Marley shouted. "Wait!"
Buck stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her, confusion etched in his tanned face. It was unusual for her to scream since she was always so damn quiet, healthy or not.
Marley looked down at her shoes, nervous as to what she was going to say next. "…We…both fit in the bed." She said quietly. Her face heated up at the mention of it.
Buck's face turned red again. "Oh… okay I guess." He said unsurely. He then crept inside the bed covers on the right side, facing the wall with Marley getting in close beside, her back facing the opposite side.
They remained laying there still with their backs to each other to avoid awkwardness and quickly calmed themselves to sleep.
The next day they woke up late but they didn't have their backs to each other but actually had their foreheads pressed together! Blushing madly at the close contact they got out of bed as if they were jolted by electricity and darted out of the room, their blushes never leaving their faces.
They went to the living room to be greeted by Buck's grandfather. The old man turned to face Marley. "How are you feeling young lady?"
Marley smiled politely to the senior. "…My name is Marley… and to answer your question I feel better…"
The old geezer grinned the same goofy-like expression his grandson had. "Well I'm glad you feel better, Marley. You left me very worried yesterday."
Marley looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "…I'm sorry…"
He patted her on the shoulder to comfort her. "Don't be. I'm just glad my grandson here saved you or else…I don't know what would've happened to you if he didn't."
Buck turned to look away in nervousness; he still had a faint red blush above the bridge of his nose. His grandfather smiled warmly at her. "Well then, breakfast is on me! Enjoy!"
And with that he placed eggs and toast on two plates and handed them to both his grandson and Marley.
"…Thank you…" She said to him, smiling slightly. The old man just waved as if it were nothing at all. "No problem sweetheart!"
And with that they ate their breakfast in silence. More strength for Marley that morning. Soon she gathered some of her stuff like her shoes and socks, said her farewells to Buck and his grandfather and headed out the door.
Buck was actually sad that she had to leave so soon so he went outside and called out to her.
She stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly to face her savior.
Buck decided this was the moment to tell her. "You don't have to leave…" He said, inwardly facing the urge to slap at himself for saying that.
Marley smiled kindly at him. "…I'm sorry but I'm going to the Battle Tower…"
Buck's face lit up. "R-Really? What a coincidence I'm going there too!"
She chuckled silently and Buck yearned to hear her laugh. "…I don't know how to repay you for saving my life…"
Buck stepped closer until he was in front of her. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "How about repaying me with a kiss?"
Marley could feel her face heating up just by the mention of it. She leaned in so close; her now moist lips could touch his slightly. "…Request granted…"
He slowly lowered his head and kissed her, both of them closing their eyes at the touch, his hand stroking her face gently. Marley felt her insides heating up and kissed him back with much need, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing up against him with her full thin demeanor.
Buck's other hand intertwined with her short black hair, playing with her hair bow for a while. Then he retracted it and placed it below her waist, pushing himself closer to her.
He decided to poke his tongue in her mouth and she welcomed it gladly. Their tongues mutually joining in a sweet but passionate French kiss.
A few seconds later they broke from the kiss, panting slightly while smiling lovingly at each other.
Marley brought a hand to her mouth, her lips still twitching from the contact of his warm lips. The feeling was incredible and her heart couldn't stop racing in her chest.
Buck smirked at her. "I have a feeling I'll see you again." He said.
Marley smiled. "…I hope so…" And with that she left, Buck watching her from behind, until she became a mere dot in the distance.
Buck couldn't say anything for the moment, his heart felt extremely heavy in his chest and he was pretty sure his face was the color of his hair right now.
But he sure loved that feeling…
This feeling is way better than catching a legendary Pokémon, he concluded.
To be honest, this is the longest I can go. This story took me all day to write but it was worth it since I wanted to write for this pairing and I know that somewhere in the world there would be somebody that appreciates this couple like I do.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as long as I enjoyed writing this! :)
~Andy