Warnings: Pokemon AU, stalker Tom is creepy, fluff, mild language, pet names
Pairing: TMR/HP (Tom Marvolo Riddle/Harry Potter)
Summary: In which Harry is pretty sure his Pokémon journey isn't supposed to have such a copious amount of Zubats—or just the figurative one, since Arceus knows Tom Riddle pops up in his life often enough to be a Zubat in disguise.
Disclaimer: Pokemon is from Game Freak/Nintendo, Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
Celadon City is home to the shopping center of Kanto region. To be honest, Tom doesn't really have any interest in shopping—he doesn't really catch Pokemon anymore, so he never needs to restock on PokeBalls, and the PokeMart at the Pokemon League has all the consumables he'll ever need.
As for TMs and HMs, the League also supplies in a large vault. What could he possibly want at Celadon that he can't get anywhere else?
Well, unless it's the closest market.
Tom has just finished up his visit with Indigo League's Celadon Gym Leader, Fleur Delacour. She's a relatively new Gym Leader—compared to the others—and so his check up is to make sure everything is running nice and smoothly. Normally a representative from the League would drop by, but Tom has slowly become known as the 'Pokemon Champion of the People'...which means he does everything.
Only his Elite Four know it's because he doesn't want to do his paperwork.
Fortunately, Fleur is a good match for the Grass Gym. She's polite and firm, treats him with proper respect but does not throw away all her dignity in front of him. They'll get along fairly well. Before leaving, he tells her to start calling him 'Tom', which serves purposes other than appearing friendly.
The only people who call him Tom are the Gym Leaders and his Elite Four—trainers that he acknowledges are strong and worth his time. If anyone hears her calling him 'Tom', no one will dare stir up trouble against Celadon Gym's new leadership. It saves time and trouble, as far as he's concerned.
After finishing his tea and biscuits (and of course the mandated check up), Tom leaves and finds himself in dire need of more Max Repels. It's been awhile since he's returned to the League, so it isn't surprising in the least to find he's running low. Well, the only PokeMart that's nearby is Celadon Department Store...so it looks like he's going shopping.
Tom goes in, gets his Max Repels (thank sweet Ho-Oh they're only on the second floor), and then decides to make a quick stop to the roof. The Rooftop Atrium has a few popular vending machines that have a chance to give an extra free drink, and while Tom isn't one to be bought into these sort of marketing schemes, he does admit Celadon's special Lemonade is worth the elevator ride.
Besides, his Froslass is fond of the cold drink, and there's little in the world that Tom is willing to deprive his Pokemon of.
He walks into the elevator, seeing another shopper there. The current destination is the fourth floor and Tom decides he'll just walk from there instead of click for the fifth. He doesn't quite remember what's on the fourth floor, but—
Oh. Right.
"Wiseman's Gifts" the sign reads. Tom thinks he's been here a grand total of one time ever, and that was only because the evolution stones were on this floor. Before becoming the Pokemon Champion, he didn't have the League's stock of every Pokemon item ever, and so he'd had to settle for Celadon Department Store's stones.
If he remembers correctly, he'd bought one of every stone just in case. Huh...well.
Tom heads for the stairs to the fifth floor. Before he heads up, something catches his eye.
"How much is that?"
Tom points to a green Zubat plushie sitting on a display. Most Zubat plushies would, of course, be blue, but he knows there are some producers that make shiny colored Pokemon plush toys as limited edition merchandise. The plush toy looks like it'll be just enough to sit comfortably in his hands—not too big, not too small—and the way it sags slightly from its sitting position emphasizes its chubby belly bump.
Tom can admit it's cute. And the first thing he thinks of when he sees it is Harry.
It's funny, really; Tom is the one being called a Zubat, but he thinks of the person who calls him that instead.
Harry likes cute things, he knows. It's not like the man's ever told him, but Tom can tell. He wouldn't be a proper stalker if he couldn't.
"Ch-Champion Riddle!" the female cashier squeaks. She bows her head hastily in respect and then composes herself. "It's a limited edition shiny Zubat plush, not for sale unfortunately. The company only made ten, distributed to various popular department stores to be a prize in a contest. In fact, it's the grand prize for our lottery this week! Would you like to try? First try is free, and all successive tries are 150 pokedollars."
The cashier says her lines like a script, but Tom can tell she's genuinely excited and proud of having the plushie in the store. Tom supposes it is a rather big accomplishment—Celadon might be Kanto region's center of shopping, but there are other regions that place a bigger focus on their luxury markets. Kalos' Lumiose City, famous for their high-end shopping district, and Hoenn's Lilycove City, home of the first Pokemon Contests, out-ranked Celadon by far.
First try is free. Tom shrugs. "Why not."
The woman pulls out a large box from beneath the cash register. It has a page of paper glued to its front, showing different colored circles and their respective rank.
"Our lottery is very simple! You draw a ball, and whichever color you get tells you your prize rank. Blue is the most common, then comes green, then red, then so on so forth. A gold ball—of which there is only one in the box—is the grand prize, and silver and bronze are second and third place. You can win anything from our shiny Zubat plushie to rare TMs and luxury PokeBalls!"
"You hold these every week?"
The woman nods. "It's not always on this floor though, and it's not always the same type of lottery. This time, since the grand prize is the Zubat plushie, the big boss let our floor host it. You can find a sign on the first floor that'll tell you where the next lottery is being held."
Tom nods politely but has no intention of coming back to participate in the next one. He doesn't really need TMs or PokeBalls, or really anything else. Besides, even if he does, his salary is enough to buy what he needs and some.
Without further ado, Tom sticks his hand inside the box and wonders if Harry's ever participated in one ever before. The man's been everywhere so he doesn't doubt it. He wonders if Harry's ever won something…
"Oh," the woman says, struck dumb.
Tom stares. Then, he laughs. "I guess he's my lucky charm after all."
In his hand is a small golden ball with wings and a crown drawn on it.
There's no rush in tracking down Harry to give him his gift. They'll run into each other eventually. Tom carries the Zubat plushie at all times, letting its head stick out of his pants pocket for the world to see.
The Elite Four give him strange looks. Tom laughs the sort of laugh that only means trouble.
"Doesn't it look like me?" Tom asks, holding it up to sit on his shoulder.
No one dares to answer that one.
The building's PokeCenter nurse walks by. She stops and does a double take when she sees what the Champion is holding.
"Isn't that the limited edition Gringotts shiny Zubat plushie? There are only ten in existence! Sir, where did you get that?"
Despite the fact that Tom is all for the 'wait and see' method, he still keeps his eyes and ears to the ground in hopes of hearing news about his elusive little Mareep. Finally, he hears that Minerva McGonagall, former Elite Four now oldest immortal Gym Leader of Olivine City's steel type Gym, is hosting a guest.
Apparently said guest is popular for battling the trainers there, and even Minerva. Though, it's apparent that the guest also already has a badge and is really just battling for fun. He attracts quite a crowd, daring to use a Raichu of all things against steel types and even going so far as to put himself in similar type disadvantages against others.
Anyone coming by to ask him to a friendly match is usually accepted, and Minerva, normally a strict Gym Leader enforcing the rules, lets it slide in all good fun.
Tom knows immediately that it's Harry. He finishes up what he's doing and takes a flight on his Fearow straight to Olivine. Hopefully Harry will still be there—if he isn't, then Tom'll just ask around and start doing some stalking.
Tom grins. "Hi Harry."
Said trainer sighs. "Hullo Tom," he grumbles. "What brings you to Olivine?"
"To see you, of course," Tom says, ignoring the expected, ' of course you are ' reply. "I have a gift for you."
He expects Harry to be surprised, at the very least. Pleased would be a welcome expression. Thrown off tilt and confused would be even better. Tom doesn't expect Harry to look rightfully offended, which he does.
"Okay, now this is just creepy," Harry exclaims. "How did you know today was my birthday?"
The Pokemon Champion mentally registers the date in his head. July 31st...he'll keep that in mind for future use.
"What kind of stalker would I be if I didn't know that?" Tom says with a shit-eating grin. He can see Harry's hand twitch for something to throw at him. "Mine is December 31st, for the record."
"I didn't ask for yours!"
"Well now you know." Tom takes the Zubat plushie and thrusts it into his arms. "Happy Birthday, Harry. It's so you'll always think of me, even when I'm not there."
The look on his face is priceless. "When are you not here," Harry grumbles, which infinitely pleases the Pokemon Champion to the point where he's already making plans for Christmas.
"...Thanks."
"Want to go out for coffee with me?"
"No."
"...Tom?" Lucius asks hesitantly. The Pokemon Champion is in an extremely good mood, probably even better than when he got that shiny Zubat plushie...which is surprising, because said plush toy is nowhere in sight.
"Yes?"
"Where...Your Zubat seems to be missing."
"Oh," Tom says. "Yes, it was a gift for someone that I was holding until I ran into them again."
"Ah."
Bellatrix squints. "Who is this... someone ?"
"Why, my cute little Mareep, of course. The whole world is his pasture, but I've given him a collar so I'll always know where he'll be."
Lucius blinks. Then, he slowly shuffles through his papers until he finds one in particular: an inventory check, with a post-it note telling him that one of their prototype miniature trackers has gone missing.
Even though it came from his stalker, Harry doesn't have the heart to throw it away. The shiny Zubat plush fits in his arms perfectly, and its velvet coat is the softest he's ever felt. The silly trademark grin all Zubats seemed to have combined with the tiniest of slumps forward makes it adorable—wings curling forward, chubby belly protruding...it's just so huggable !
And if there's anything in the world Harry likes to do, it's to cuddle with things. He wonders if Tom knows that, too…
Harry would probably carry it around all day in his arms if not for the fear that he'll run into Tom. So, during the day he keeps it safe inside his backpack while at night he brings it out to hold while he sleeps. It doesn't mean he likes Tom any better, but he has to admit that the man knows what he likes. Stupid stalker.
He's at Celadon visiting his friend Fleur—who has just recently settled into the Gym Leader position there; he's proud of her since he knows that's been her dream ever since coming to Kanto from Kalos—when he makes a stop at Celadon Department Store. Harry's here to buy some special Celadon Lemonade, but the lottery sign also piques his interest so he heads to the fourth floor.
"You're having a lottery?"
"Yes sir!" The female cashier greets him with a smile. "The grand prize this week is this cloud-coat Mareep plush. It's a new addition in Gringotts' cloud texture series, guaranteed to be extra soft! Would you like to try? First is free, then each successive attempt is 150 pokedollars."
The doll sits on the display with its round, beady eyes, stubby soft feet and cuddle-ready yellow coat. Harry knows he wants it—actually, it kinda makes him think of Tom...not that it looks anything like the man (the Mareep is way cuter, thank you very much), but he always goes around calling Harry a Mareep, so…
Harry blinks, his vision a bit blurry despite that he's wearing his glasses. He takes them off and wipes the lense quickly. Beside him, Raichu squeaks in curiosity.
"Ah, nothing. I just felt like...hm. A sense of déjà vu, I guess ? It's nothing."
He turns back to the cashier. "Sure, I'll try."
"Alright. These are the prize rankings…"
Harry shrugs, sticks his hand in, and then searches around a bit until he finds a ball he likes. Raichu squeaks encouragingly at his side. He wonders what Tom would say if he told him about this. Then again, the man did give him a Zubat plushie for his birthday…
Hm, speaking of Tom, he wonders what he would look like walking around with a Mareep plush clipped to his pants like a PokeBall. The size of it isn't too big, bigger than a phone charm but smaller than his Zubat, and he can't imagine it would be too heavy either. Would it kill Tom's reputation to be caught wearing it like that? Actually, Harry doesn't even know if Tom has a reputation; he assumes he does because Tom walks like an important person, but—
"This one!" he exclaims.
"Oh my," the woman says.
"Oh," Harry echoes.
In his hand is a small golden ball with wings and a crown drawn on it.
"...Sorry, but do you happen to have some thread, a needle, and a keychain link for sale, too?"
"Dear Mew," Lucius mutters as he sees Bellatrix running toward him.
"Lucius! Have you seen what Tom's wearing?"
"No," Lucius replies, disinterested but knowing his fellow Elite Four won't drop the topic if it's about their Champion. "What?"
"It's the Zubat all over again!" Bellatrix exclaims. She waves her arms around to emphasize her point. "Except this time, it's a Mareep!"
"...Tom has a shiny Mareep in his pocket?"
"It's not shiny," Bellatrix clarifies, "and it's not in his pocket. It's worse !"
All of a sudden, said Pokemon Champion walks by. Lucius has to admit, the plush toy is rather...eye-catching, hanging off his belt like that. Did Tom develop a taste for cute things on a mission somewhere?
"It's so cute ," Bella moans. "What will the challengers think? We've got to save Tom's reputation! You know, I heard the PokeCenter nurses gossiping about it this morning. They were giggling and squealing and Tom's supposed to be feared not...not giggle material !"
"Yes...well. Hm. You should tell him, then."
"I don't have a death wish! He said he got it for his birthday! Tom hates his birthday, but he's happy for some reason which means whoever gave it to him is a walking Ho-Oh-blessed miracle, and—"
Lucius sighs. He only manages to escape Bella an hour later when a challenger comes.
"Y-You're still wearing that?"
"Of course I am. You gave it to me, after all."
"That doesn't give you permission to stalk me all the way to Sinnoh!"
Tom smiles. It's a little bit too mocking for Harry's taste. "Darling, I'm working, I swear."
-whistles innocently-
Forget to post chapters? No, what are you talking about...