Hello everyone! Happy Pokemon Day. It's the day after Pokemon Day where I live but to celebrate Pokemon's 25th anniversary I will be posting two chapters! Let's enjoy 25 years of Pokemon with some Tsukkiyama magic :)

Hey all! Let's give a big thank you to my beta reader KaraKozakov ( /users/KaraKozakov). They were so kind to reach out and help with beta read for me from now on. If you have time please stop by their page and take a look at their stuff. Also, let's give them a big thankyou 3

Any artwork you may see associated with this fic (on AO3, or Tumblr) has all been created by my good friend SlothyClaws. That is their instagram also have a website ( .com). They do commissions and their commissions are open to anyone that is interested. Go and give their page a look if you are interested.

Chapter 105, I choose you!

Desert Training

Once back at the center Yamaguchi bid Kageyama a goodnight before heading back to his room. He could tell Kageyama wanted to talk more but he was sure they'd have more time later to talk. He was exhausted from the fun day and it seemed like they were all headed in the same direction anyways so there would be time.

Yamaguchi found the room to be empty. Assuming Tsukki was still with Kuroo he decided to take a shower. By the time he was out he found both Tsukki and Eevee laying on the bed relaxing. Tsukki's eyes followed him as he readied himself to turn in for the night.

"Where were you?" Tsukishima asked as Yamaguchi joined him in bed. There was an edge of annoyance to his voice that caused Yamaguchi to frown.

"I was with Kageyama," Yamaguchi replied, wondering why Tsukki was so upset. "It was cool outside and I feel fine now," he said assuming it was him being tried that caused Tsukki to be so upset.

Tsukishima studied Yamaguchi for a long moment. He knew damn well that Kageyama was out to take his boyfriend the first chance he got. He couldn't help but wonder why the world wouldn't just let him have a nice moment alone with Yamaguchi without something trying to kill them or split them up.

"Did you have a good time with Kuroo?" Yamaguchi asked, snuggling close to Tsukki in an attempt to butter him up.

"He is so annoying and Hinata only makes it worse," Tsukishima flaty replied.

"So you did have fun," Yamaguchi teased, planting a playful kiss on Tsukki's chin.

"I wanted to scratch my eyes out," Tsukshima grumbled.

Yamaguchi released a light laugh. He was happy Tsukki was finding time to have fun with others even if his boyfriend would never admit it.

The two cuddled close as they calmly talked about their day. It was nice and both were able to fully relax. Before long Yamagucih was resting his head upon Tsukki's shoulder and fell asleep.

In the morning Yamaguchi woke up earlier than normal, though Tsukki still beat him out of bed. He dressed himself, quickly gathered up several items, planted a sloppy kiss on Tsukki's cheek and made his way to the hostel kitchen. He had made plans to make brunch with Yachi that morning. He wasn't shocked to see Hinata accompanying her as he had shown an interest in cooking recently.

Yamaguchi planned to teach the two his family's special souffle pancakes. They were warm, delicate and another Alolan specialty. The technique was difficult so he wondered if Hinata would be able to do it.

"Did you two have a good sleep?" Yamaguchi asked as they all started cutting up the fruit. Eevee and Yachi's Bulbasaur happily skipped around the kitchen as they worked.

"It was fine except Kageyama was snoring loudly," Hinata mumbled as he crudely chopped some Pecha berries.

"I-Is that so?" Yamaguchi weakly laughed, happy that Kageyama wasn't around else an argument would have broken out.

"I didn't hear anyone snoring last night," Yachi hummed, stopping her chopping for a moment to recall if she had woken up mid sleep.

"I don't know how you could have slept through his wheezing snores," Hinata whined, his chopping getting more uneven by the moment.

"Hinata, be careful," Yamaguchi swiftly scolded. Pecha Berries were normally cheap but out here they cost a bit more.

"Oh, sorry," Hinata smiled sheepishly as he corrected his knife.

Yamguchi turned to Yachi to see if she had finished her lot of berries but he found her frozen stiff and pale in the face. "Yachi, a-are you okay?" he reluctantly asked.

"I knew it," Yachi squeaked out, her voice almost inaudible. Her cheeks went from pale to red.

"Y-Yachi?" Hinata leaned over Yamaguchi to check on his panicking friend.

Yachi made another squeaking sound that resembled hot air seeping out of a tiny hole.

Yamaguchi and Hinata exchanged worried looks. What had gotten Yachi so upset?

"I was the one snoring last night!" Yachi threw her hands up in the air as she shouted this to the world. Berries rolled around the counter at the sudden movement.

"Yachi there is no way-" Hinata reassured but was cut off once again for Yachi wasn't finished with her outbursts.

"I am the only one who didn't notice such loud snoring so it must have been me," Yachi wailed, her voice wavering in sorrow. "I knew it. I knew I snored when I slept. You guys always told me it was one of you two but I knew it was always me."

Yamaguchi elbowed Hinata in the ribs sending him a scowl for having set Yachi off with all his complaining.

"N-No, Yachi. It wasn't you," Hinata insisted, still a little caught off guard by his friend's outburst. "I m-mean it wasn't even that loud of a snoring so maybe you really didn't hear it and that's why it didn't wake you."

His reassurance had little effect on poor Yachi. "This is so embarrassing," she cried into her hands.

"T-The snores weren't even coming from where you were sleeping so it wasn't you!" Hinata was speaking much faster now as he too began to panic.

"Oh Arceus, why didn't you two just let me know that I snored?" Yachi howled like a wounded Yamper. "I even shared a room with Shimizu back at the camp! What if I snored then too!?"

"H-Hey, if it makes you feel better I snore, when I sleep too," Yamaguchi gently tried. "And I even drool sometimes," his cheeks when pink at admitting this out loud.

"R-Really?" Yachi eeped, peeking at Yamaguchi between her fingers.

"Yeah, I often drool on Tsukki but he still keeps me around and I'm sure my snoring has kept him up," Yamaguchi couldn't believe he was admitting this but if it helped Yachi he'd do it.

"I drool, too!" Hinata piped in, sounding not the least bit embarrassed to admit it.

"Wow, to admit such embarrassing things just to make me feel better. You two really are my best friends," Yachi sniffed, smiling now.

"What are friends for it not to share embarrassing stories with," Yamaguchi shrugged. "B-But please don't tell anyone that I drool when I sleep."

"As long as you don't tell people I snore," Yachi agreed with a small nod.

"I don't get why you two think snoring and drooling is so embarrassing," Hinata shrugged.

"Hinata, I just don't understand you sometimes," Yamaguchi sighed as he went back to chopping the berries.

"I wish I could have the confidence you have, Hinata," Yachi sighed wistfully.

Hinata only looked at the two in confusion. He had no clue what they were talking about. Instead of asking for clarification his mind had already wandered to a new topic. "Hey, Yamaguchi, what are those red marks on your neck anyways? Did something bite you or something?"

Yamaguchi jumped out of his skin as his knife slipped awkwardly out of his hand. He sat frozen and mortified. In his rush to get down here he had forgotten to cover up the hickies.

"Hinata!" Yachi hissed. "You can't just ask someone something like that."

Hinata only looked to Yachi in more confusion before his eyes when the Yamaguchi show was still frozen stiff. "Your finger is bleeding," he bluntly said. Pointing to Yamaguchi's right index finger.

"Y-Yamaguchi!" Yachi shrieked upon seeing his injured index finger.

Yamaguchi didn't hear them. All that echoed in his mind was Hinata's voice pointing out the hickies.

The cut on his finger was not too deep and with the help of Yachi they were able to clean it up in a few moments. As they carried on with preparing the meal Hinata tried to ask a few more times only for Yachi to cut him off.

"I saw them yesterday too but I forgot to ask. What if someone is trying to eat Yamaguchi?" Hianta had said only for Yachi to swiftly change the subject.

Before long the pancakes were made and breakfast was served. Kuroo, Kenma, Kageyama and Tsukki joined them at the table. Yamaguchi once again found himself sandwiched between Kageyama and Tsukki. Both seemed very unhappy about his injured finger.

"It's no bigger than a paper cut," Yamaguchi hissed when the two started to fuss. It was strange but there fussing almost felt like a strange competition to see who could fuss the most.

"Anyways, I thought maybe we could do a bit of desert training today," Kuroo cut in before any more argument could be made. "This sort of environment will toughen up even the wimpiest of trainers and Pokemon."

"Yeah, training in the desert sounds fun!" Hinata agreed enthusiastically. "I'm totally in."

"Sorry but we are on a time schedule," Tsukishima cut in. "We need to get to Anistar City as soon as possible."

"We did plan on heading out today but it looks like a storm will be hitting the desert tonight," Kenma pointed out. "And the track from here to Lumios is a bit longer so we probably wouldn't make it out of the desert before the storm hit."

"Getting stuck in a desert storm sounds scary," Yachi shuttered.

"They are bad news so it's best if we stay put one more night but we should have time this afternoon to train before it arrives," Kuroo carried. "So, who is in?"

"Me!" Hinata shouted, standing as he raised his hand.

"I wouldn't mind training a bit in the desert," Yamaguchi said. He really did need to work on battling more anyways and this would be a good challenge for his team.

"Well, if you're given it a try then I will try too," Yachi said with a small smile.

"Yachi doing battle training," Hinata gasped, looking excited.

Yachi blushed pink at her friend's enthusiasm.

"Well I'm not leaving Yamaguchi alone in the desert with you two," Tsukishiam grumbled, looking from Hinata to Kuroo.

"I'm also in," Kageyama quickly added.

"I guess that makes all of us," Kenma shrugged.

"You too, Kenma?" Hinata looked like he was about to explode with joy.

"It will be for my research," Kenma mumbled.

This peaked Yamaguchi's attention. He knew Kenma was researching his sleep but battling too. What was this guy up to anyway? Kurroo trusted him so it probably wasn't anything bad but he still found himself quite curious.

"So after lunch we will head out to the desert for afternoon training," Kuroo cheered.

Yamaguchi was excited to get a bit more battle training in. He recalled what Kuroo had told him about believing in his pokemon and battling alongside them instead of acting as a human shield any time things got dicey. It was hard for him to knowingly allow his team to partake in a dangerous battle but intense training in the elements sounded like the right place for him to grow the trust he needed. His team really could take hits much better than he could and he never wanted to put them through the pain he had when he was hospitalized.

Once breakfast drew to an end Yamaguchi made his way back to their room to prepare. He knew he would battle with Brionne, Eevee, Riolu and Jangmo-o today and would try to get Swirlix to join in as well. He knew Swirlix wasn't as interested in battle as the other's but it was worth giving it a shot. He just wondered if Mimikyu was ready for such intense training. He decided he'd see what the conditions were like before letting her out of her ball.

With his team ready and pumped he made his way to the entrance with Tsukki to wait with the others. He talked with Tsukki, his tone holding a nervous edge, as they wanted for everyone else. He really did want to battle and train today but the desert was a rough place where anything could happen and with his track record he couldn't help but get a bit worked up.

Tsukishima did a good job at keeping Yamaguchi distracted while they waited. He could tell Yamaguchi was nervous and, though he was able to hide it, he was also feeling a bit nervous. He planned to stay close to his boyfriend this afternoon even if it meant Kuroo would tease him later.

It wasn't long before the others joined them. Hinata was jumping off the walls excitedly. He talked a mile a minute to both Kenma and Yachi. Yachi was a bit overwhelmed by the speed he spoke but Kenma merely nodded every now and then and looked at his tablet. Kuroo wasted little time joining Yamaguchi and Tsukki. Yamaguchi listened in nervous excitement as Kuroo listed off all the different pokemon they may run into. All the while Kageyama walked on the other side of Yamaguchi, opposite of Tsukki.

The walk out of the oasis was only about twenty minutes. The group decided to break into practice teams but still stay close. This way more people could battle at once.

"Kuroo, I was hoping I could battle a bit with you," Yamaguchi spoke up as they all started to split off. He had practiced battling with Tsukki many times and spent a whole week practicing with Kageyama. He wondered if Kuroo could teach him anything new.

"Me too!" Hinata shouted, jumping on Yamaguchi back and almost knocking him to the floor.

Kuroo released a loud satisfied laugh at Hinata's enthusiasm. "Looks like I'm popular today," he purred to Kenma.

Kenma sent him a dissatisfied grimace before returning his attention to his electronics.

"Don't worry, you two, there is enough Kuroo to go around," Kuroo hummed proudly as he joined Yamaguchi and Hinata. "How about you two take Yachi over there and help her out," he said as he looked from Tsukki to Kageyama.

Both trainers galred at one another causing Yachi to become a bit nervous.

"I-If i-it's too m-much trouble-" Yachi stammered as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

Yamaguchi sent Tsukki the meanest glare he could. Though he didn't speak a word his eyes read 'You better be nice to her!'

Tsukishima rolled his eyes before easing up a bit. "No, Yachi, it wouldn't be any trouble," he said, doing his best to sound sincere.

It must have worked for Yachi to relax a bit, smiling at Tsukishima.

"I don't mind as well," Kageyama nodded, his tone much nicer now that he was addressing Yachi.

"We can regroup in an hour or two," Kuroo nodded now that everything had been sorted.

Kuroo did not go easy on Yamaguchi or Hinata in their training. Hinata seemed ready for the challenge but Yamaguchi was taken a little off guard. He hadn't realized how easy Tsukki and Kageyama had been treating him up until now. Despite how overwhelmed Yamaguchi felt his team seemed more than excited to take on the challenge. Even Eevee was pumped to see what Kuroo had to throw at her.

"There isn't any point in going easy on you two if you want to get stronger," Kuroo said before commanding his Liepard to attack Riolu. His Liepard has already knocked out Brionne and Jangmo-o and didn't seem to be breaking a sweat.

The sandy desert made it difficult for both pokemon to move properly but Liepard still seemed to move much easier. Riolu was unable to dodge Liepard's claws and gave a great cry but despite this she stood ready to fight. Riolu was a tough cookie, that was something Yamaguchi couldn't deny. She was probably the best fighter on his team but Kuroo's Pokemon were a whole other level of strong when it came to battles. He couldn't believe that Kuroo was just a normal trainer. If Kuroo was this strong and was just an average trainer Yamaguchi feared to know just how strong an elite four member was.

After all of his Pokemon had been knocked out Yamaguchi took a seat under a beach umbrella they had set up while he tended to his team and watched Hinata take his turn. Yamaguchi was proud of his team. None of them had been able to knock out Liepard but they had shown Yamaguchi just how brave they could be even when going up against such a strong opponent. He and his team watched as Hinata took his turn.

Hinata was much better at battling then the last time Yamaguchi had seen him in action. Hinata and his pokemon moved in more unison then before. They jumped and dodged and it seemed like his Pokemon seemed to know what he was going to say before he said it. Yamaguchi couldn't help but feel amazed. Despite how fast Hinata and his team was they were only able to get in a few good hits to Kuroo's Liepard. Once again Yamaguchi couldn't believe that Kuroo wasn't an elite four member yet.

By late noon some clouds started to roll in and the gang decided to head back to the oasis before the rain came.

"I don't see why we have to rush back," Hinata complained, dragging his feet as he followed behind Kuroo. He had wanted to have one more battle with Tsukki. Fortunately Tsukki flat out refused.

"You idiot! Desert storms can be dangerous. Are you trying to get us all killed?" Tsukishiam snapped. Clearly tired of Hinata's complaining, he stood as far away from Hinata as he could.

"But isn't it going to be just as dangerous at the oasis?" Hinata asked. "It's also in the desert."

"The oasis will probably get hit by the storm too but it's situated in such a way that the storm will probably cause less damage," Kuroo explained as he guided everyone back.

"And we'd also be inside a building," Kenma quietly pointed out.

By the time they arrived back at the center the rain had just started to fall. From the forecast they saw on the TV screen in the Pokemon center it looked like that rain would fall well into the morning tomorrow with the brunt of the storm hitting the Oasis near midnight. Yamaguchi sighed heavily as he made his way to his room for a short rest. He wasn't scared of storms like he used to be as a kid but loud sudden noises, like thunder, often made it hard for him to sleep. Tonight was probably going to be a long night.

Author notes:

Yamaguchi getting some much needed battle practice. This can only help him with his future career as a trainer. It's a good thing he has become such good friends with so many talented trainers. I hope the desert strom doesn't bring anything crazy with it! Stay tuned to find out that and more!

Sorry this is such a short note. Since I am posting two chapters today I'll leave a longer note in the next chapter.