Author's Note (A/N):
Rated T for themes of death/angst, some ~romance~, a few swears, the word butt, mild cartoon violence
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, nor am I British.
Assuming that since you're reading fanfiction of Pokémon Shield, you're probably already familiar with the main story-line of the game. This piece of writing deviates just a smidgen, with the focus being less about the Darkest Day, and more on character development and the struggles a Nuzlocke run can bring. Additionally, It's always tough deciphering the age of the main characters in Pokémon games (that's what makes it easier to insert yourself into the game!) but for the sake of this story and the dark themes it brings, I'm putting the main Gym Challengers (MC, Hop, Marnie, Bede) around 17-19ish. And hey, it's fanficiton. If you disagree and are hoping for something more canon, I suggest visiting the official Pokémon website.
Chapter 1 - Mediocrity
Mediocrity was the one thing she was ever really good at.
Dolly gazed out her living room window, slumping her head on her fist. Her fingers drummed on the sill as she watched the trees sway back and forth, the spring wind wisping through strands of her hair. She picked at the skin surrounding her nails - an unfortunate habit, sure, but it was something to do.
She was never very popular, never very funny, and pretty average when it came to marks in school. Her ex-boyfriend said she was a solid 5/10, so she had that going for her. Not interesting enough to be pretty, not interesting enough to be ugly.
A few Sqwovets bumbled across the branches of the Slumbering Weald, a fat one cracking the branch and tumbling into a shrub below. She winced on his behalf. He seemed fine though, as he scuttled up to her fencing right after.
Well, she has been known as being 'a pleasure to have in class', but that's about it.
Average on all accounts; the princess of plain, the queen of common, the czar of standard. If anything, It didn't matter if she was the best at something no one cared about.
"Hey Dolly, wanna come play?" the Sqwovet asked, flicking his tail back and forth. "Me an' the boys are having a dung war later."
Dolly resisted the urge to grimace. "Thanks Jeremy, but uh, no thanks,"
"Why? You're not doing anything," the Sqwovet huffed, setting his hands on his hips. She only shrugged and he scrambled back toward the trees. She could hear him call into the bushes.
"She's not coming! I told you humans don't play with their own dung!"
"What a step back on the evolutionary ladder," came another voice as the shrubs rustled.
Perhaps there was one interesting aspect about her - she could talk to Pokémon, not by her own choice, however. These daily requests for dung wars was exhibit A of why talking to Pokémon wasn't as dreamy as everyone assumed it was. Exhibit B was Blipbug mating season. She shuddered at the thought and slumped over to the couch, flopping onto the flowery decorative pillows her mum picked out when they first moved to Postwick.
It's not that she didn't enjoy doing things, it's just that she was completely average at them. Sometimes by her own account, sometimes not. A lot of people lived by a dramatic, inspiring mantra. Hers manifested in that half-assing anything was better than no-assing it, and easier than whole-assing something.
Her mum's Munchlax snored in the corner, letting out quiet murmurs as he slept.
"Rawst berries…snrk …Sitrus berries…. snrrrt ….pork loin… hurk…"
Dolly rolled her eyes as she flung a leg up on the back of the couch, pulled out her new Rotom phone, and started scrolling. Living in the world of Pokémon had perks, but sometimes pictures on social media weren't one of them. Lady posing with a Slowbro here, Sudowoodo there, a picture of a sandstorm…even social media was average today. Her eyes began to droop until she saw a flash of gold and red.
"Ah! The exhibition match!" Dolly exclaimed, sitting up on her couch.
Now that was someone who was good at something. One of those blokes that was good at everything, probably. Champion Leon was tall, dark, and handsome, charismatic to a fault, and the most powerful person in Galar, next to Chairman Rose of course. They said he was bad with directions, but it's not like that was a character flaw. The passion that he oozed through every pore was palpable, even through a screen. It was magnetic, pervasive, and it almost made her feel like she could feel that passion again one day, too.
Almost.
As she watched Leon's team decimate yet another challenger, her mind began to drift. Charizard used Air Slash, which is effective against Fighting. Rubbish mistake sending a Machamp against his famous Charizard, what was this Trainer thinking? Has she ever even seen Leon battle before? Rubbish.
Even though she allowed herself to believe she was absolutely average at anything, a small thought pricked the back of her mind as she laid there evaluating the battle.
She was good at one thing, once. Pokémon battles.
But that thought didn't last very long.
"Hello, hello!"
The pseudo-politeness of that verbal knocking was Seismic Tossed into the dirt as a boy barged into the living room, along with a cotton sphere and dirt from a pair of shoes and two pairs of hooves.
"Oh, that your flash new phone, Dolls? Were you watching Lee's exhibition match on it?"
She glanced up to see her purple-haired best friend grinning at her, with his trusty Wooloo partner grinning right along with him. A quick glance to the left revealed her mum grimacing at the now dirt-speckled carpet.
"Hi Hop," she said to the boy. "And hi Wooloo," she smiled.
"Hi," Wooloo replied sheepishly, hiding half of his face behind his Trainer.
"I've got all my brother's matches recorded anyway," Hop continued, ignoring her greeting. "Don't you want to meet the legendary Champion in person?"
Dolly shot up. "That's today?"
Hop beamed and folded his arms over his chest. "You bet, it's been on the calendar for months! That's why I came here to get you! Lee's coming into town today, so come on, get off your duff and let's get moving!"
"Yeah!" Hop's Wooloo bleated, as he raised his head in mock-triumph as his Trainer did.
Dolly jumped off the couch and trailed after her best mate who was already heading out the door.
"Going to Wedgehurst with Hop, bye mum!"
"Now wait a minute, Ms. Dolores, you get your hat, remember the weather," she scolded from the kitchen.
"And grab a bag, too, Lee's probably going to have presents for us!" Hop sing-songed on his way out the door.
Dolly hopped to her room, slung her mum's old leather bag over her shoulders, figured she'd be fine without her gran's ugly old hat, and sprinted back to the front room. After a kiss on the cheek from Mum, the pair sprinted out the door, her mum calling from behind them.
"Now no going into the forest with the two of you!"
"We know!" they replied simultaneously. They trotted down the steps of her house and to the dirt path.
A laugh exploded out of Hop's mouth. "Look at that bag, it's about to pull you over! If Lee brings a Snorlax you'll be all set!"
Dolly hit his arm with a thwack. "Shut it, it's the only one I've got. If you'd like to buy me a new one at the boutique I'd be happy to trade it out,"
"No thanks, mate, I'm saving my money for potions and Poké Balls for when Lee endorses me for the Gym Challenge," Hop whistled as a Wooloo came rolling by.
Their eyes followed it as it rolled into the fence near Dolly's house.
"What's a Wooloo doing here?" Dolly asked as it butted its head against the fencepost.
"I see what you're up to," Hop grinned, marching up to it. He pulled at the Wooloo's flank and backed it up. "Don't go using Tackle on the fencing!" He turned it slowly, patting its head. "Now, you listen, no going past that fence!"
"There's some scary Pokémon in there," Dolly agreed with a nod.
The Wooloo looked at her blankly. Odd for it to not respond, though. She had dozens of conversations with the Wooloo around here, but perhaps she had never spoken to this one specifically. Although her Curse was overall pretty terrible, talking with Pokémon was one perk - the only perk, really.
Hop brushed his hands off and grinned as the Wooloo scuttled off. "Well now that that's taken care of, let's set off! You've still never met my big bro, right? You can't miss out on your chance to meet the undefeated Champion!"
"It's true," Dolly grinned, hiking her bag up on her shoulders. "Someone so famous from such a nowhere town, and your brother, no less."
"Yeah, well Postwick will be the hometown of two of Galar's Champions once I get through with the Gym Challenge," Hop grinned, pumping a fist in the air. "Speaking of nowhere towns, there's Wedgehurst! Race you there!"
Hop took off at a sprint, kicking up dust and he ran towards the Wedgehurst train station. Dolly snickered and took off right behind him.
The plaza was filled with spectators and villagers, which wasn't too challenging, to be honest, as their little villages weren't exactly a thriving metropolis. They reached the back of the crowd, peering around bodies and through the arms of folks gathered to see their beloved Champion. The crowd erupted with cheers suddenly, and Hop and Dolly saw a flash of fire and a twirl of gold.
"Hello, hello, Wedgehurst!" they heard from through the crowd. "Your Champion Leon is back!"
Hop's face broke into the biggest grin she'd ever seen. They pushed their way through the arms and legs of the spectators as Leon addressed the people of Wedgehurst. Once they finally made it to the front, Hop stumbled forward, beaming at his older brother. Dolly followed behind him, curiosity burning in her to see the undefeated Galar Champion in person. She had seen so many matches on the telly and scrolling through her phone, and she had imagined countless times what it would be like to meet someone so charismatic and passionate. Well, not countless. She didn't daydream about the Champion that often.
Anyway.
He stood tall, a dark red and gold cape slung over his shoulders. She could immediately see the resemblance between the two brothers as they stood grinning at each other, each with a megawatt smile, golden eyes, and indigo hair. He seemed even more dynamic in person as he ran to give his younger brother a hug.
"So, my number-one fan in all the world has come out of his way to pick me up!" Leon grinned as he ruffled Hop's hair. He took a step back and took in his brother's appearance. "Look at you, Hop! I reckon you've grown…" he scratched at his chin, then snapped his fingers. "Exactly an inch and a quarter since the last time I saw you!"
Hop was nearly vibrating with excitement. "Bingo! That's the sort of sharp eye that's kept you undefeated for so long, eh, Lee?"
Leon turned her way, taking in her appearance as well. A grin appeared on his face. "And these bright eyes over here," he started, making his way toward Dolly.
Automatically Dolly stood a bit straighter, her mind racing for something clever or interesting to say that could possibly surprise or enrapture Galar's famous Champion. He approached her, still smiling his million-dollar smile. Dolly felt like she was about to turn to a puddle.
"You must be Dolly - am I right? I've heard loads about you from my little brother," he grinned, looking between her and Hop. Now was her chance to make a good first impression.
"Yes."
Nailed it.
"Now that we're all acquainted," Hop grinned. "Bet I can beat you both back home!" and he took off sprinting to Postwick again. Dolly watched in horror as her safety net sprinted off, kicking up dust at the two of them. She was banking on Hop and Leon chatting all the way home as she walked beside them, basking in the glory of the Champion. What on earth did she have to say to the most famous person in the country? 'Yes'? Because that went over great the first time.
Leon let out a laugh as he watched his brother. "Always got to be the best, that Hop. You know," he turned to Dolly. "With a proper rival of his own, I'm sure he could push himself to become something truly special."
"Yes."
He was surely captivated now.
Dolly stood beside him, waiting for Leon to finish addressing the crowd again. She pondered for a moment that sure, who wouldn't want a good rival? An accountability partner with a dose of healthy competition was often a recipe for growth. She wasn't sure where Hop would find that in their little town, though, but perhaps if he started out on the Gym Challenge like he always said he would, then maybe he'd find a suitable sparring partner.
"Do you train Pokémon too, Dolly?" Leon asked as they started towards Postwick. Hop had already made it to the edge of Route 1, hopping back and forth as they made their way to him.
"Ye- I mean uh, n-no," she stammered, fiddling with her hands. "I did, once, but uh, not anymore." She certainly didn't anticipate talking about this today, with the Champion, no less.
Leon nodded. "Well, I hope you change your mind soon,"
"Come on, you Slowpokes!" Hop called, tapping his foot. "I could have made it to Kanto and back by now!"
A devious grin inched onto Leon's face. "Pardon me, Dolly, but I need to show my little brother that Galar's Champion is truly the best. Not if I make it there first!" he yelled to Hop with a laugh, breaking into a sprint. Dolly watched as the two brothers ran beside each other, pushing and laughing as they raced back to their childhood home.
She was nearly out of breath by the time she caught up, the two of them laughing and chatting in their front yard. She tried with every fiber of her being to breathe like a normal human and not the Weezing she felt like. Maybe if she willed it hard enough the sweat would disappear from her brow and the undefeated and surprisingly attractive Champion wouldn't notice how completely out of shape she was.
"Finally, took you long enough," Hop grinned, running to meet her at his front fence and pulling her arm. "Come on, Lee, you promised us a present! You brought Dolls and me some Pokémon, didn't you?"
"Consider this the greatest present from the greatest Champion," Leon grinned, waving his hands before him. He turned to the makeshift pitch in their yard and tossed out three Poké Balls. "Come on out, you three!"
In a flash three Pokémon appeared before them, all running to explore the new space around them. In a burst of chaos they had managed to ignite one of the hedges, knock over the mailbox, and fall headfirst into the pond by slipping on a puddle of tears. After a grimace and some quick repairs, Leon called them to line up, which they dutifully obeyed. Hop pushed Dolly's shoulder forward.
"Go on Dolls, you pick first. I've already got Wooloo, after all."
"P-pick?" she asked, eyes wide at the Pokémon before her. She hadn't had a Pokémon in years, not ever since her last partner. Even when Hop had tried to persuade her to catch a Wooloo to befriend his, she always made up some excuse to avoid the trip. He tried relentlessly for a while, but after years of attempting he eventually gave up. She glanced at Leon. But then again, the undefeated Champion of Galar had brought Pokémon all the way back for Hop, and for her, even though they had never met. She couldn't turn down a gift from Galar's Champion, right? She may be lazy, but she wasn't rude.
Dolly looked to the options before her, trying her best to swallow her fear. The Sobble was looking at the ground, the Grookey was looking at the surroundings, and the Scorbunny was looking straight into her eyes.
Could she really do this? As she looked at each one, the reminder of her Curse flashed through her head like a gunshot. It could happen by one overpowered Solar Beam, a Blast Burn, a Hydro Pump. Sheer Cold, Fissure, Guillotine...she shook the thoughts out of her head. How could she have the audacity to choose who may meet an early end? The dried sweat on her forehead was chilling.
"Hey lady, are you going to pick one of us or not?" the Scorbunny yawned, scratching at his nose. He turned to the other two. "When do you think Mr. Leon will let us get some grub?"
"Soon, I expect," Dolly replied, kneeling down. "We're to have a barbeque later tonight."
All three of them jerked their heads to her.
They stared wide-eyed at her as the Grookey and inched his way toward the Scorbunny. Cupping his hand on the wrong side of his mouth, he whispered, "Did...did she just understand what you said?"
"Shit if I know!" the Scorbunny shouted, spurring more tears from Sobble. "But I do know she said barbeque!"
The Grookey slapped his forehead before shoving the shoulder of the Scorbunny. "Try asking her something."
The Scorbunny scratched his chin. "What color am I?" he asked, squinting his eyes.
"That depends," Dolly responded, "Most of you is white, but you've got bits of red, orange, yellow…"
He let out a yelp as he fell back in shock. "A human can understand me!"
Grookey and Sobble's mouth hung open as she could feel Leon's gaze on her.
Hop jumped up and down, "See, Lee? I wasn't pulling your leg when I told you she could talk to Pokémon! Isn't that wicked?"
"Yeah, I've been able to since I was a kid," she laughed nervously, scratching her neck. Was it wicked? Sure. Was it worth it? No.
"Hey lady! What am I thinking?" the Scorbunny interrupted, squeezing his eyes shut and scrunching his face. After a moment the Grookey thwacked him on the back of the head.
"She said she can talk to Pokémon, not read your mind."
"Oh yeah."
"So," she said as she looked each Pokémon again in the eyes. "I'll let you guys pick. Which one of you would like to be my partner?"
Perhaps it wouldn't be all on her if something were to happen again, right? She was torn from her thoughts when the Scorbunny immediately jumped up.
"Oh pick me! I want a Trainer who can talk Pokémon!"
Dolly felt the corner of her mouth twitch up, and she nodded her head. "Well, that takes care of that," she whispered, more to herself than anyone.
"Yes!" he yelled, bounding around her. She laughed and held out her knuckles for a fist bump. He bounded around her again, then seeing her first, he prepared for a jump. Fist out, he jumped, overshot it, and punched Dolly square in the face and it only took a second before she was on the ground with a Scorbunny on her stomach.
"How's that for first impressions," the Grookey said, slapping his forehead again.
First she saw stars, then the blue of the sky, then the wide grin of her new Scorbunny.
"Heh, sorry,"
"You've got quite the arm," Dolly mumbled, rubbing her jaw and sitting up. The Scorbunny fell to her lap, still looking up at her.
"High attack," she commented, opening and closing her jaw. "Pretty adamant...we'll have to watch your special attack in the future. Do you have a name?"
The Scorbunny scratched his chin again. "Hmm...Scorbunny."
Dolly let out a laugh. "Okay, well now is your chance to change it. What would you like me to call you?"
"Something ace!" he responded, hopping off her lap. He paced back and forth. "Like...like…" the Scorbunny looked around. "Like Mr. Leon!" he beamed, a slight blush in his cheeks.
"Ok well I'm not going to call you Mr. Leon, just because you think he's cool," she added with a smirk and a glance to Leon. Though he was, indeed, very cool. "How about Jackson? I had an old rabbit stuffy named Jackson,"
"Awh, yeah that's even better!" Jackson yelled, hopping up and down.
Dolly smiled. "Jackson it is then."
"Right, then" Hop interrupted, helping Dolly up and stepping over to the remaining Pokémon. "I'll go with Grookey," he grinned, holding out his arm to Grookey. He cheered and raced up Hop's arm until he was sitting on his shoulder. "You and Wooloo will have to get well-acquainted, since we'll all work together so I can be the next Champion!"
Leon grinned as he walked up to them with a nod as Grookey cheered from Hop's shoulder. "I bet you will be, Hop," he said as he looked between his brother and Dolly. "That's why I brought along these Pokémon for the both of you, so the two of you can battle and train and grow stronger together to try to reach me!"
Dolly's eyebrows furrowed. Reach him? Why? She supposed he didn't often hand out rare Pokémon to strangers, so perhaps she shouldn't be so surprised he'd want more Trainers out in Galar. Maybe she should just hand Jackson back off before she got too attached and all this got more misconstrued.
"Oh, thanks Mr. Leon but-"
"Just call me Leon," he grinned to her.
"Oh, right, uh Leon, thanks and all but I'm not-"
"Alright!" Hop and Leon's mum called as she made her way out of the house carrying a rack full of ingredients. "Enough with all this Trainer nonsense for one night! Dinner's about ready, so bring your Pokémon and wash up!"
Dolly's sentence died in her throat as the two brothers sprinted into the house, pushing and laughing again as their Pokémon trailed behind them. Her mum walked up to her and hugged her arm around Dolly's shoulders.
"You've got a new Pokémon, haven't you, love?"
Dolly looked down to Jackson, who was gazing between the two of them expectantly. "I guess so,"' she said with a faint smile. "I certainly didn't expect today to be filled with so many surprises,"
"Well," her mum smiled. "I'm glad. I know I'm always nagging on you to get up and do something, and this seems like the perfect avenue for it. I think it will be good for you," she added, gazing at Dolly with an understanding only her mum could muster.
Dolly nodded weakly and let out a sigh. Even her mum now, too?
"You gonna eat or what," Hop asked as he walked up to the two, barbeque sauce smeared on his cheek. "Mum says you better get some before Lee eats it all."
Dolly's mum clapped and ran back into the house, stating that she forgot to add her secret spice blend to the vegetables. Hop looked to Dolly and swallowed the rest of his kabob.
"I told you Lee was the coolest," he grinned, sauce still smeared on his cheek. "I asked him to bring you a Pokémon too, hope you don't mind. I figured you just didn't like the ones around here, and that's why you'd never catch one. Now we can battle together!" he enthused, bobbing his kabobs up and down with enthusiasm. Grookey on his shoulder kept swiping at the meat on top, to no avail as Hop kept bouncing them up and down. "It'll be ace, you and me, getting endorsed and doing the Gym Challenge together!"
Dolly looked at her best mate, gung-ho and enthusiastic for her in a way she could never be for herself. She probably wouldn't be very good at it, but maybe if she could support Hop in his journey and muddle through a handful of Gyms before dropping out. She nodded. Yeah, that was a good plan. Catch no more than six Pokémon, beat the first Gym, release her team all back into the wild, then drop out and move back to Postwick and watch her friend become the new Champion and achieve his dream. Less risk, that way, to herself and her new Pokémon. She wouldn't get too close, just in case.
Looking down to her new Scorbunny, and the hope and trust she could already see in his eyes, something in her heart tugged. Maybe keeping one would be fine.
The rest of the night came and went with everyone having full stomachs and full hearts. Dolly spent a sleepless night with her new Scorbunny, him asking her thousands of questions, and her finding an odd amount of joy in answering them. She had to admit, he was pretty funny, and as the sun rose they had ended up talking and learning about each other almost all night. They both liked spicy curry, they both knew how to juggle, and they both had an embarrassing fascination with Leon. The sun hit Dolly's face, and she awoke to see Jackson snuggled beside her head on her pillow. She reached to pet him, a bit of love already built up between the two of them. Yeah, maybe keeping just one would be fine.
A/N: Thank you for reading! More chapters are coming soon. An extra note for those unfamiliar with a Nuzlocke run:
The Nuzlocke Challenge is an extra set of rules for a Pokémon game play-through. Though other rules/restrictions may be added, the rules that I am following for my Pokemon Shield Nuzlocke story are these:
1. Any Pokémon that faints is considered dead and cannot be used again.
2. Only the first Pokémon encountered in each route (or each section of the Wild Area) is available to catch.*
3. Nicknames must be given to each Pokémon.
4. Traded Pokémon and gifted Pokemon are prohibited.
5. No duplicate species of Pokémon may be caught. (Ex: Can't have two Sqwovets, even if you reeaally want two, nor can you have a Sqwovet and a Greedent.)
6. If a Pokémon dies and it's evolution is later encountered, the evolution cannot be caught.
- However, evolutions themselves can be caught. (Ex: Missing a Rookidee on Route 1 is fine, because it is still allowable to catch a Corviknight later.)
7. Battle style is 'set.'
*For overworld vs. underworld encounters: If more than one overworld Pokémon appear simultaneously, catch the closest Pokémon. If no overworld Pokémon is encountered, the first underworld Pokemon may be caught. If the underworld Pokémon is not captured, there are no more chances to catch Pokemon in that area.