I made this chapter a bit longer as per request. This one marks the end of the chapters I've finished, so updates will be much less frequent (my school load is pretty heavy, this week has been break for me). So, as a result Wally gets a short appearance! I love Wally :D In fact, I love every single one of the rivals in the Pokemon games 3 Ruby is really the only protagonist I admire as much as the rivals. Not that I don't like the other protagonists as well :P

But I digress. The Misnomershipping action really starts in this chapter, so if you were like "oohh friendship yayz", well, I'm here to crash all those hopes down and say, yes, these two are more than friends *points to genre* :/ It's one-sided for now, but we'll see what I can manage to come up with...

Oh, and I finally discovered this lovely bar thing (idk wth it's called), which separates my text from the story! Oh happy day! :P


The laboratory at Littleroot smelled so fresh and clean. The machines lining the walls were bleeping happily, and Pokemon ran freely around the floor. All the doors and windows were opened to let the fresh sea breeze waft in from the South, making the whole lab a curious mixture of nature and machinery.

"Excuse me, is Professor Birch here?"

An assistant looked up from cooing at an Azurill. "Ah, the professor is out on field work again. Is there something you need here?"

"Ah, yes, a friend of mine has a couple Pokemon here under your care. I would like to check if they are fully healed." Ruby glanced to the side as he said "friend".

The assistant stood up. "Are you talking about those two interesting specimens?" he asked, walking over to the two isolated Pokeballs in the left-hand corner of the room. He carefully lifted them and handed them to Ruby. "It's a shame we couldn't have studied them more."

Ruby stared at the two Pokemon in his hands. In one was some sort of brown Vigoroth with armor and a torch on its head; in the other was an oddly-colored Taillow with a mane around its neck and a musical note sprouting from its brain. "I'm sure whichever professor lives in Sinnoh would be happy to answer your questions."


Pearl had been wandering for a while. He hadn't the faintest idea which direction Ruby had gone, and definitely no clue which direction Littleroot was. Pearl was pretty careful not to step in patches of tall grass, but it was no easy feat climbing over ledges to avoid meeting wild Pokemon. Panting, he reached what seemed to be a dead end. He slumped against a tree when he heard growling.

"Oh shit."

He reached for his Pokeballs as the wild pack of Poochyena closed in on him. His heart crashed down to his stomach when he remembered they were back at Littleroot. He was fresh meat, weakened and defenseless. The bark of the tree behind him scraped his back through the burnt hole in his shirt as he backed up against it.

One of the fiercest-looking Poochyena lowered its body, ready to pounce for its pack. One second, it was on the ground; the next, it was in the air. Pearl shrieked, anticipating a powerful Take Down, backed up some more, and scratched himself on the bark behind him.

A piercing sound shook the air.

The large Poochyena flew lazily into Pearl's lap, stunned. The rest of its pack were shivering and covering their ears. Pearl, however, was unharmed. He knew this sound.

"Cha-Chahiko!"

The bird Pokemon excitedly flapped over to Pearl and let out another Uproar. The rest of the Poochyena scurried off, ears lowered. Pearl grabbed the Chatot and hugged it. "Nice, Chahiko! How the heck did you find me all the way over here?"

Chahiko happily opened its beak and, in a perfect imitation that made Pearl's face pale, said, "A friend of mine, a friend of mine!"

"That's… the white-haired freak's voice." Pearl looked up to see that very freak looming over him. The boy's eyes were a dark, dark red, even more intimidating now that they were no longer hidden by the cat's-eye glasses. Sweat beads were forming on his temples, dripping from under the band around his head, sometimes carrying with them… jet black strands?

"I assure you, my hair has not prematurely lost its color." Ruby tossed a few Pokeballs to Pearl, which the blond boy fumbled with while Chahiko obliviously chanted "white-haired freak, white-haired freak" in the background.

Ruby was already headed off in the other direction. "Your deformed Taillow is quite the little fighter. It was struggling to get out of the Pokeball when we arrived here, determined to the extent of taking orders from another trainer, even. I'm not sure which category it would excel in, however."

Pearl called the Chatot back into its ball and ran to catch up with Ruby. The crimson-eyed boy looked over at his companion. "For god's sake, say something. It's rather odd for you to stay silent, from what I've experienced of you today."

"Thanks." The blond boy looked away, a fierce blush forming on his face. If there was anything he learned from Missy, it was to swallow his pride and appreciate.

When Pearl chanced another look at Ruby, he gasped in surprise. The other boy had daintily slipped his thin fingers under the band around his head, pulled it off, and removed his "hair", revealing a flattened mess of raven-colored strands. Ruby had taken a pink handkerchief from his bag and was dabbing at his forehead with it. "Ugh, I have to rid myself of this unsightly sweat."

Pearl stared. The other boy's jet black hair, despite being flattened, was starting to liven up at the ends. The tips curled ever so slightly, as if they would form into ringlets if allowed to grow just a bit longer. The curls were being teased and tossed by Ruby's handkerchief, floating up daintily and bouncing back down upon his forehead. The rest of his thin hair had gathered with moisture into tiny clumps, which broke apart as he walked, allowing the strands to fan out and individually reflect sunlight. This effect made the boy's entire head glow, despite his hair being so dark. It was so shiny, wet, messy; a combination that put pressure on Pearl's chest and heat in his cheeks.

Ruby turned his head, as if he could feel Pearl's eyes on him. Pearl couldn't help but notice how those raven strands fell sloppily in front of those bright crimson orbs. They complimented each other so well. Ruby's face wasn't contorted by an expression of anger, embarrassment, or smugness, either; it was relaxed and slightly curious. His lips were parted the tiniest bit. Pearl noticed that Ruby wasn't hesitant about using lip balm; those lips looked soft and supple, definitely not a guy's lips.

The next minute, Pearl had fallen face-first in some tall grass. He spat out a few blades. "Gah, what the hell!" What an idiot, he told himself. "Who put that ledge up there?" Staring at a guy? Seriously, Pearl? Ruby sauntered over to him. His hat had been placed firmly on his head once again, his hair was dry, his eyes were narrowed in the usual annoyance. Pearl sighed. The illusion was over. He was reminded of Missy's memorable battle with the gym leader of Hearthome City. Pearl had been the one to break through the illusions, and Diamond had been the one to fall off a ledge in a reverie. He smiled bitterly at the reversal of roles.

"Must I remind you that you most likely climbed over these ledges on the way up to getting lost? Are you dense or just forgetful?" That snapped Pearl out of his nostalgia.

Shirt dirty, pants grass-stained, scarf completely unharmed (as it was green already), Pearl lifted himself up, fuming. He was angry at Ruby making that offhand comment, sure, but the thing that made him angriest was that his illusion was over. "If you hadn't been so stupid, I wouldn't have been left alone to try to randomly find your Littleroot piece of crap!"

"If you hadn't been so goddamn hotheaded, you wouldn't have left Oldale in the first place."

He found that cold reply practically infuriating. "Well, if YOU hadn't been so…" He stopped. Ruby raised an eyebrow. Pearl couldn't continue, at least not out loud. If you hadn't been so fucking pretty, he thought, I wouldn't have fallen over that stupid ledge.

Pearl growled. "Tch. What kind of guy wears fucking lip balm anyway?"

Ruby looked rather shocked at this seemingly random question. "Putting on chapstick is better than-"

"You know what? I'm NOT sorry for calling you a homo."

Pearl stormed off what he knew was the right direction this time.


The memory of Diamond and Missy was not going to help him now. In fact, they had been swept completely from his mind. They had been replaced by Ruby, Ruby, just Ruby, his goddamn prissy attitude, his goddamn shiny hair, soft lips, deep red eyes.

In a burst of rage, Pearl decided not to go back to Littleroot. He turned right at Oldale, shoved past some freak drawing his own footsteps, and blazed straight through the tall grass like wildfire. Pokemon and trainers alike avoided him, striking as his appearance and attitude were. He whipped past a quaint city, barely noticing the townspeople staring at him. He ran through another patch of tall grass and flopped down on the cushy plant life. Too many things were running through his mind at one moment. He ran a hand through his messy blond locks and closed his eyes against the brightness of the sun, the inside of his eyelids burning red.

When the redness darkened, he opened his eyes. And opened them wider. Someone was standing over him, their head blocking the direct sunlight. Pearl immediately scuttled backward. "Whoa, who are you?"

The person turned out to be a small boy, much younger than Pearl. His green hair was windblown, and he had dark circles under his heavy-lidded eyes. He looked perpetually tired and meek. "I'm sorry for startling you." He looked worried. "Um… my name is Wally." He coughed into his shirt and held out his hand.

Pearl shook it hesitantly. Just yesterday, he would have shaken it vigorously and smiled widely, but today he just wasn't feeling so sure of himself. He did start fooling himself into thinking Ruby was attractive, after all. How could he trust himself?

"Pearl." His third introduction today. Hoenn people were oddly friendly.

Wally looked down. "Um… I'm sorry for just randomly coming up to you. It's not often I see someone just lying here on my training spot." He smiled shyly.

Pearl let out an uncomfortable laugh. "I'm just… chilling. You know, getting some sun and all that."

"Oh," Wally said. They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments.

Pearl was alarmed at the smaller boy's patience. He was also really bad at keeping things to himself. "Look, can I trust you to keep a secret?"

"There is no one I would want to tell your secrets to," Wally replied, lightly coughing again.

Scratching the back of his head, Pearl said, "Good." He smiled. "Well, there's this friend of mine. He's kinda confused at the moment. See, he actually thought a guy was attractive. Isn't that weird?"

Wally stared at him with soft eyes. "But some guys are attractive."

"What? Like who?"

"Like celebrities, right? Aren't they paid to be attractive? You know Steven Sto-"

"What? No, I mean like… attractive attractive. My friend felt his heart racing and stuff…" The amber-eyed boy looked away to hide his slowly reddening face.

"Sorry," Wally said meekly, obviously put down by Pearl's interruption.

"I just… need some advice. I-I mean my friend needs advice."

Wally gave Pearl a tender smile and said, "Well, if that's how your friend feels, that's okay, isn't it?" He turned to the left and looked out at the gorgeous sandy beach, seemingly lost in thought. "You know, I'm really sick. I had to be transported to Verdanturf once." Pearl had no idea what or where Verdanturf was, but it sounded pretty nonetheless. "I remember begging the gym leader in this city," he gestured to his left, "to teach me how to catch Pokemon, but he refused because I was sick. That's when I met someone who taught me an important lesson. I caught my first Pokemon with him, despite being sickly, and he gave me one of his own as well." Wally smiled to himself, then turned to Pearl. "W-what I'm saying is, your friend should really just… do what he feels is right for him."

Pearl considered this for a bit. Didn't that sound like what he was already doing? What he had always done? No, he used to take advantage of Diamond, and he ended up feeling guilty for that. And now, he had just run who-knows-how-far, and all he felt was confused. It wasn't his style, but maybe he needed to think a bit before he acted. Maybe.

He had made his decision. "Thanks… Wally."

The smaller boy coughed, smiled warmly, and then said "See you later, Pearl."


Sorry if you never thought Ruby was really attractive, but after seeing some fanart, I really think he is. I call him "darling" a lot when I'm talking to him (i.e. practicing my apostrophe skills ;_;). It's because he's such a cute little dear XD Pearl's so angsty rofl. I like making my characters angry and/or uncomfortable because I'm more comfortable writing that (srsly, that's so ironic).

Reviews are appreciated, criticism is still accepted I suppose, as usual :D