It hadn't even been 24 hours yet, but Sylvain was already regretting his decision to travel with Lorenz.
"Will you hurry up already?" Sylvain groaned, arms crossed over his chest and fingers drumming against his arms impatiently. Both he and Lorenz had woken up at the same time, just as the sun was rising over the horizon, and while Sylvain had managed to clean up and make himself presentable in about ten minutes, Lorenz's morning routine was taking over an hour. It was starting to piss Sylvain off.
"Come now, Sylvain," Lorenz said, glancing briefly at him out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to the hand mirror that Lorenz's Roserade was holding up for him. "I just happen to care greatly for how I present myself to others...Unlike some people." Lorenz ignored the heated glare that Sylvain was sending his way as he continued applying his eyeliner.
"Ugh, fuck off. I do care about my appearance, you just care too much about yours." Sylvain grumbled, and Lorenz huffed as he finished putting on his makeup and moved on to carefully and meticulously brushing out his long purple hair.
"Whatever you say. I do have an extra brush if you need one. And, judging by that rat's nest on your head, it looks like you indeed are in need of one. Badly." Lorenz said, letting out a haughty chuckle as he looked at Sylvain with narrowed eyes. Anger bubbled up within Sylvain, and he couldn't stop it from spilling over as he let out a frustrated growl.
"Okay, that's it!" Sylvain spat, whipping out one of his Pokeballs and thrusting it in Lorenz's direction. "We're having a proper battle, right now. Three-on-three. If I win, we get on the road as soon as possible, whether you're ready or not." Lorenz glowered at Sylvain as he stood up, taking the mirror that his Roserade was holding and stashing it away.
"Very well. I accept your challenge. If I win, I will take as long as I like to get ready, and will not hear a peep from you about it for the duration of our journey together." Lorenz said coolly, "Rosepetal, my dear, let us teach Sylvain the importance of a proper morning routine, yes?" The Roserade nodded and stepped in front of her trainer, and Sylvain snorted as he tossed the Pokeball in his hand, his Houndoom appearing in a flash of red light. He howled and took a fighting stance, growling as he glared at the Roserade in front of him.
"Bring it on, Lorenz!" Sylvain taunted, and their heated battle had begun…
...only for Sylvain to lose by the slimmest of margins in the end.
"This is fucking bullshit…" Sylvain grumbled from his spot on the ground, his shoulders slumped dejectedly as he glowered at Lorenz, who was now preparing tea in a large kettle over the campfire.
"Hm? Is that complaining that I hear, Sylvain?" Lorenz said, raising an eyebrow as a sly grin crossed his face. Sylvain pursed his lips together and glared even harder at Lorenz, hoping that a laser might shoot out of his eyeballs and disintegrate the pompous asshole into dust. Lorenz chuckled softly and continued making his tea.
Sylvain chewed on his lower lip, stewing in his disappointment at his loss. He had thought that his Houndoom, Doom, would have easily wiped out Lorenz's Roserade, but Sylvain had not expected Rosepetal's moveset to include Dazzling Gleam of all things. The first hit had caught both Sylvain and Doom off-guard, and that had proved costly, as the hit was critical. However, Doom was as stubborn as Sylvain was, and he had managed to get a few good hits on the Roserade before succumbing to his injuries.
Sylvain had sent Ty, his Typhlosion, out next to make quick work of the exhausted Rosepetal. His brief confidence boost was short-lived however, because Lorenz's next Pokemon was his Milotic, Majesty. Majesty had been with Lorenz since he was a tiny, weak Feebas, and he was anything but weak now, as Lorenz's training had turned him into a beast of a Pokemon. He had, unfortunately, quickly defeated Sylvain's beloved starter, but not before Ty had managed to hit with a successful Wild Charge that had luckily resulted in a paralyzed Majesty.
Lux, Sylvain's Luxray, was his last hope in winning the battle. The paralysis was a blessing, for the first hit with Discharge had almost knocked Majesty out. Almost. That was unlucky, because it allowed the Milotic to get off a Mud Shot, which did a good chunk of damage and rendered Lux a bit sluggish. After Majesty went down, both Sylvain and Lorenz were down to their final Pokemon.
Sylvain's heart sank when Lorenz sent out Serenity, his Serperior, who had been with him since the start of his career as a Pokemon trainer. Sylvain had been there when Lorenz had picked the grass snake as his starter, as Sylvain had picked his fire mouse at the same time. Their rivalry had started right then and there, as Sylvain had challenged Lorenz to a battle immediately, after the latter had already begun gloating to the former about his superior starter choice. That time, Sylvain had been victorious and shut him up good, but he knew better now. Even though he didn't like the guy one bit, Sylvain knew that Lorenz was an exceptional trainer. He wouldn't have called the snobby, stuck-up guy his rival if he didn't always push him to better himself by giving him outstanding battles time and time again.
Unfortunately for Sylvain, the Mud Shot that had slowed Lux was proving to be costly, as it allowed Serenity to move first and poison him with a nasty Toxic. She then quickly followed up with a Giga Drain, sucking away Lux's energy to use for herself. Lux had managed to get a few good hits in with Crunch, knocking enough of Serenity's health to cause her to stagger, but the poison and the grass serpent's relentless assault proved to be too much for Lux and he fainted, granting the victory to Lorenz.
And now Sylvain had to wait until Lorenz was ready to get back on the road, much to his dismay. At this rate, they wouldn't get moving until noon, and their journey would take twice as long. Sylvain didn't want to spend any more time than necessary with his insufferable rival, but he had lost a bet fair and square, so he'd have to just deal with it. It was all for the happiness of one of his beloved Pokemon, after all.
As if on cue, Sylvain glanced down at his Pokeball belt when one of them started shaking. Shortly after, Tox had released himself from his ball and let out a big yawn. Sylvain looked over at Lorenz, and found that Lavender had done the same thing, and it wasn't long before the two love-struck Toxtricity were back in each other's arms, nuzzling their cheeks against each other.
"Ugh, get a room already!" Sylvain said, rolling his eyes. Tox stuck his tongue out at his trainer and trilled at him in Pokespeak, and a sour look crossed Sylvain's face.
"I am not jealous of you! I could have anyone I want, when I want," Sylvain said, smirking as he ran a hand through his hair, "I'm totally a catch."
"Oh please," Lorenz interjected, trying and failing to contain his laughter, "I don't know how anyone could stand to be around you for more than a few minutes. I'm certainly having a time of it."
"You're one to talk, Lorenz. As if anyone could tolerate your insufferable snobbishness for any longer."
"Hmp, you have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't I?" A smug grin crossed Sylvain's face, but was quickly replaced with a look of confusion as Lorenz poured a cup of tea and offered it to him. Sylvain just stared at it with an eyebrow raised, and Lorenz let out an annoyed huff.
"Take it already."
"Why?"
"It would be rude for me to indulge without offering some to my traveling companion. Wanted or not." Sylvain pursed his lips at that, but took the cup from Lorenz anyway.
"Thanks, I guess," Sylvain mumbled, lifting the cup to his lips and taking a small sip. The warm tea chased away the morning chill, and the taste made Sylvain let out a content sigh.
"Bergamot? Damn, that's my favorite," Sylvain said, a small smile crossing his face as he moved himself closer to the fire.
"Oh? How interesting," Lorenz said as he pulled out six Pokeballs, "It is also one of my favorites. How I loath to have something in common with you of all people."
"Egh, I feel sick just thinking about it," Sylvain said, the loud exaggerated gagging noise he made causing Lorenz to send a glare his way.
"Stop being so childish," Lorenz said, rolling his eyes as he tossed his Pokeballs behind him, releasing his entire team. "Come, my dears. The tea is absolutely delightful today." His Pokemon let out excited chirps as Lorenz began handing out cups of tea, and Tox and Lavender were quick to join in as well.
"Sylvain, are you not going to have your Pokemon join us?" Lorenz asked, and Sylvain shrugged.
"I guess I could. Wouldn't want to use up your precious supply of tea, though."
"Oh, nonsense. I have plenty stored up, and I can always restock in Fhirdiad if need be. No need to worry." Lorenz said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. Sylvain sighed and shook his head; he really should have known that Lorenz would have an entire stock of tea with him. He had been notorious at the Academy for inviting women to have tea with him, and ultimately getting rejected every time. Sylvain had often teased him about it, leading to rather hostile arguments that more often than not had almost resulted in them trading physical blows. It had never come to that, luckily.
"Alright, if you say so." Sylvain said, and soon the rest of his Pokemon had joined the massive tea party. After the tea had been dispersed to everyone, Sylvain and Lorenz's Pokemon talked happily among themselves, and Sylvain couldn't help but smile at the sight. He had to admit, even though their trainer was an insufferable twat, Lorenz's Pokemon all seemed to be well-trained and got along with his own rather well. It was odd, considering a few of them had been battling earlier this very morning, but Sylvain guessed that to Pokemon, fighting in battles brought them closer together. If only that worked for humans too.
"I must say, Sylvain," Lorenz said, snapping Sylvain from his thoughts, "your team is rather impressive. I'm surprised to see how much it has changed over this past year."
"Well, yeah," Sylvain said with a shrug, "I think the last time we battled I only had Ty, Lux, and Dash with me, of my current team."
"Do you still rotate your team out every now and then?"
"Well, yeah. Gotta keep all of my 'mons trained up and ready for anything." Sylvain said with a grin. In addition to his current team of six, Sylvain had six reserve Pokemon: Arcanine, Corviknight, Umbreon, Steelix, Walrein, and Pangoro. They had all gotten their time to shine in his main team, and he wouldn't trade any of them for the world.
"Yes, yes. As it should be. One should always have at least two full, diverse teams of Pokemon to battle with." Lorenz said, nodding as he took a sip of his tea.
"Heh, there's another thing we agree on."
"Unfortunate."
Sylvain couldn't help but snort-laugh at that, and Lorenz even let out a small chuckle. Sylvain hated to admit it, but Lorenz was actually being quite tolerable at the moment. In the end, they were both future Gym Leaders and their rivalry did push Sylvain to be a better trainer, so his relationship with Lorenz was a bit more complicated than what it looked like on the surface.
"Your team's seen some changes too. Where'd you find a Froslass? I've never heard of them or Snorunt appearing anywhere in Fodlan." Sylvain asked, glancing over at the ice/ghost Pokemon. Her attention was pulled from her conversation with Dash and Ty as she floated over to Sylvain, bringing a graceful hand up to her chin. She tilted her head as she gazed at Sylvain with big, blue eyes overflowing with curiosity.
"Ah, my dear Aurora here is the newest addition to my team," Lorenz said, a look of fondness crossing his face as he reached over to pet Aurora's head, and she cooed with delight, "I actually just caught her on my recent visit to Sreng. She is a beautiful, pristine example of her species, and she has already shown immense potential in the few battles that we have engaged in." Aurora let out a cry of joy at the praise and wrapped her arms around Lorenz, pulling him into a tight hug.
"A-Aurora! You will make me spill my tea, darling!" Lorenz said as he tried to push her away with his free hand, "And you are messing up my hair!" His plea fell on deaf ears as Aurora only hugged him tighter. Luckily for Lorenz, Ty had been watching this whole exchange, and he grabbed Lorenz's tea cup from him before it could spill. Sylvain burst out laughing at the scene, and Lorenz glared at him before sighing in defeat and embracing Aurora in return, earning a pleased hum from the affectionate Froslass.
"Thank you, Ty. At least you have some grasp of common courtesy, unlike the person who trained you." Lorenz said, and Sylvain's laughter faded as his eyes narrowed.
"Tch, whatever. Ty learned everything from me."
"Yes, learned everything not to do."
"Why you-"
Sylvain stood and took a step towards Lorenz, who had also risen from the ground, but they were prevented from moving any closer to one another when Ty stepped in front of Sylvain, and Serenity in front of Lorenz. Ty crossed his arms over his chest and a burst of fire erupted from the spots on the back of his neck, signifying annoyance. Ty let out a few growls and Sylvain sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Ugh, fine, I'll calm down." Sylvain mumbled, and he snorted to stop from laughing when Serenity smacked Lorenz over the head with her tail.
"Will you stop that, Serenity? Ugh, at this rate I'm going to have to redo my hair-"
"Oh hell no! We are not wasting any more time here for that!"
"I do recall winning a bet that prevents you from complaining."
"Fuck you!"
Sylvain pushed his way past Ty this time, seething with anger as he stalked his way up to Lorenz. Lorenz met him halfway and Sylvain grabbed the collar of his shirt, cursing the fact that he was just an inch shorter than his bastard of a rival.
"What the fuck is your problem, anyway? Why do you have to be the most stuck up, insufferable snob that I've ever met?" Sylvain hissed, his face only inches away from Lorenz's and eyes set into a heated glare. The unique amethyst eyes of his rival narrowed as he glared right back at Sylvain, and Sylvain continued to hold his gaze even as Lorenz's hand came up to fist into the front of his jacket, jerking Sylvain closer so that their foreheads were barely touching. They were so close that Sylvain could smell the sweet scent of Lorenz's shampoo; lavender with a hint of rose. It was amazing that someone who smelled so good could be such a fucking thorn in his side.
"My problem?" Lorenz echoed, his voice low and surprisingly threatening, "My problem is you Sylvain. You have always aggravated and instigated these pathetic confrontations and I-"
"Me? You've started just as many of these fights, you arrogant douche bag!"
"How dare you!"
Just as Sylvain and Lorenz both pulled back their fists to throw a punch, a powerful blast of ice-cold water slammed into them, knocking both of them off of their feet. Sylvain winced as he hit the ground hard, and he lay soaking wet on the ground for a moment to try and process what had happened.
"Majesty! What are you doing?" Sylvain pushed himself up to find Lorenz yelling at the Milotic, who just flicked her tail and turned her nose up at her trainer in response. Sylvain chuckled, but his humor faded when he saw all 12 of their Pokemon staring at them, with a mixture of looks ranging from disappointment to annoyance to anger. Lux and Tox looked the most angry, as electricity sparked dangerously over their bodies, and Sylvain paled slightly.
"Haha, it's fine guys! We're gonna get along now, right Lorenz?" Sylvain said, laughing nervously as he got to his feet and threw his arm over Lorenz's shoulders. He felt Lorenz bristle at the contact, and he turned his head to shoot a venomous glare at Sylvain.
"Get off of me you-" Lorenz started, but his gaze turned to the angry electric Pokemon and his mouth snapped shut. Sylvain was relieved at that, for he certainly did not want to experience what it was like to receive an electric shock while soaking wet, and he expected that Lorenz felt the same. Sylvain's arm dropped from his rival's shoulder when Tox and Lux calmed down, and Lorenz groaned as he peeled his wet hair from his neck.
"Ugh...How bothersome…" Lorenz muttered, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. Sylvain violently shook his head, sending beads of water everywhere, including on the already soaked Lorenz. Sylvain snickered when Lorenz shot him a sour look, and he was surprised when Lorenz dissolved into a fit of laughter. That made Sylvain's grin widen. Huh, odd...
"Hey, uh, sorry about...all that." Sylvain said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand while he waved the other awkwardly in front of him. He hated to admit it, but he had been acting like a prick, even if Lorenz deserved it. Lorenz averted his gaze for a moment, before sighing with defeat and turning back to Sylvain, a surprisingly guilty look appearing in his eyes.
"I, well...I accept your apology," Lorenz said, "And...I'm sorry too. I lost control of my temper...how incredibly uncouth of me." An awkward silence fell upon the two for a few moments, before Sylvain peeled off his wet jacket and walked off towards his tent.
"Well, I guess we better get dried off and changed. Didn't think anything would stall us more than your insufferable morning routine, but…" Sylvain said, glancing over his shoulder with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Hmp. I do have to go through that routine again, though, so do get comfortable, Sylvain. Maybe you'll have enough time to do something about that messy mop on your head that you call your hair." Lorenz said, turning up his nose as he sauntered to his own tent.
"Eat shit."
"Profane degenerate."
With that trading of insults done with, both men retreated to their tents to change and dry off. Sylvain sighed, already tired from arguing with Lorenz for the entire morning. He wasn't sure if he was going to survive this journey, or at least make it to the end without throttling the insufferable bastard. Sylvain let out a frustrated grumble as he stripped out of his wet clothes and threw on some dry ones. He just had to keep reminding himself that he was doing this to make Tox happy, but it was almost not worth it, if Sylvain was being honest with himself. He could only hope that Tox's infatuation with Lavender would wear off and Sylvain would never have to look at Lorenz's dumb face ever again.
Sylvain left his tent and tossed his wet clothes to Ty and Dash, leaving the two fire types to dry them off for him as he packed up his tent and other supplies. Lorenz had given his clothes to Majesty and Serenity, who had them hanging off their tails to air-dry. Lorenz was back to fixing his hair and makeup, so Sylvain resisted the urge to complain and instead pulled out his phone, texting his childhood friend group chat to inform them of the drama of the morning.
Ingrid was sympathetic, but told him to behave for the sake of Tox's happiness, Felix relentlessly teased him about his situation, and Dimitri wished him luck and offered to buy him a beer when Sylvain got to Fhirdiad. Sylvain was grateful for that, because he'd probably need a stiff drink or twelve after his time spent with Lorenz.
Finally, just a little bit after noon, Lorenz was finished getting ready and had packed up his things. They both returned all of their Pokemon to their balls - with some resistance from the two love-struck Toxtricity - except for the two Rapidash.
"We should make it to Fhirdiad tomorrow morning if we ride through the night." Sylvain said, hopping onto Dash's back. The Rapidash neighed excitedly and stomped her hooves, restless and eager to get moving.
"Indeed. It is a good thing that we both have fast, ride-able Pokemon," Lorenz said as he followed suit and mounted Beauty, "I shall buy you some treats when we reach our destination and give you a good brushing, my dear Beauty." Beauty whinnied as Lorenz cooed at her, running his hands over her neck fondly. Sylvain rolled his eyes and took hold of Dash's mane, and a sly grin crossed his face as an idea popped into his head.
"Hey, Lorenz?" Sylvain said, and Lorenz raised an eyebrow at him as he waited for him to continue, "Let's make this a race. Last one to Fhirdiad has to buy tomorrow's meals!" Sylvain did not wait for Lorenz to answer as he yelled for Dash to go. Dash reared up and neighed before taking off at a thunderous gallop. Laughter filled the air as Sylvain turned around to see Lorenz yelling at him, but the wind whipping past his head prevented Sylvain from discerning what Lorenz was saying.
Sylvain turned his attention back to his front, and he heard another set of hooves thundering behind him, and he knew that Lorenz and Beauty had given chase. The two rivals raced off to Fhirdiad together, and Sylvain would be sure to order the most expensive items on the menu for his meals after he won this race. The absolutely sour look that was sure to cross Lorenz's face would be so, so worth it.
So I know I hinted that Dimitri and Dedue would be in this chapter but, uh, it'll be the next one, I promise lmao Thanks for reading!