Hi all! I'm back with more Pokémon cringe and cheese! Plz note that my version of Gladion in this is a hybrid of the series and game (Sun and Moon) as well as my own crazed imagination.
The events in this story do not follow the game completely, though I have aligned some chapters with it.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
Gladion's POV
"Are you even taking this seriously?" I scolded the boy. I'd never met someone before that was so… happy to lose a battle.
"I am!" he protested, his face the complete opposite of serious. "So seriously! I'm seriously enjoying it!"
"…Enjoying it?" I repeated, nearly face-palming. I stifled a sigh, deciding to keep my cool. If I've learnt anything, it was that wasting energy on an opponent that wasn't having it was a sign of uncontrol.
"You can enjoy Pokémon battling when you put everything you have into it…" I said instead, glaring at the young trainer. "Which, clearly, you haven't."
"Oh, hey Moon!" the boy said, turning to a newcomer. I hadn't wanted to draw any more attention to myself—especially, if it was infuriating attention.
"Hi, Hau," the girl said. She had short black hair, which was half covered by a red beanie, and she had the most gorgeous grey ey-
Gladion, what are you even thinking? This is just another obstacle on the victory road.
"Who's this?" she asked her friend—were their names Moon and Hau? Did I catch them properly?
Hau shrugged and said, "He's plenty scary, that's for sure."
"You're Moon?" I asked abruptly, remembering what Hau had said earlier.
"Yeah, that's me," the girl said, confused.
"Hmph. Not very cautious," I said. I liked to insult an opponent before battling—it helped me distance myself from them, made it easier to not trust. I was struggling this time though, I'll admit. That girl… Moon, she made me curious. I stamped on my feelings, easily hiding them from view.
"Even some Pokémon have a better sense of self-preservation than you do," I continued, still scowling.
"Rude," Moon muttered, unaware that I'd heard her, so I ignored it.
"My name is Gladion. I battle for my partner, Null, to make it strong," I said instead. "Though most of our time gets used up doing small jobs for Team Skull." Why was I being so open with her? No one girl is ever that intriguing. Focus, Gladion… you don't want to end up making a fool of yourself, do you?
"You're from Team Skull?" Hau asked in shock, looking me up and down. Of course I wasn't wearing that abomination of clothing that Team Skull called uniform! I wasn't that unfashionable!
"Battle me," I told Moon, pretending to not have heard Hau. "I won't take no for an answer."
"You're on!" Moon said, a little too over-enthusiastic for me. Suddenly, I had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well for me at all.
I only had two Pokémon on me at the time, so already I felt as if I was losing the battle.
First, I called for Umbreon, my faithful partner ever since I was a kid.
Moon called on her Brionne.
"Water gun, let's go!" Moon yelled to her Pokémon.
"Dodge it, Umbreon! Use Dark Pulse!"
"Dodge it!"
"Drag your attack over!" I cried, determined not to lose, though I might as well already have lost. Umbreon obeyed loyally, landing a successful attack.
"Use Aqua Jet!" Moon called.
"Iron Tail!" But my command was a second slow, and Umbreon was knocked out milliseconds before its attack could make contact. I quickly returned the Eeveelution, hiding the fact that it was housed in a Heal Ball.
"Go, my mighty beast!" I said, throwing Nulls Premier Ball.
"What is that—" both Moon and Hau started.
"Use Air Slash!" I commanded steadily, not giving Moon a moment to recover.
The attack hit Brionne, but it was strong. Moon really did a good job training that one, I thought before catching myself.
What am I thinking? STOP CARING.
"Use Bubble Beam, followed by Pound!" Moon shouted.
"Dodge and use Crush Claw!" I said. Null growled before leaping out of the way.
"Dodge it!" Moon called. "Use Aqua Jet!"
"Null—" I broke myself off, feeling a familiar shiver.
Oh, NO, please Arceus, not now…
But it was already happening. I bit my lip and clenched my wrist with my right hand, secretly digging my nails in my skin to stop myself from crying out—and from transforming fully.
I could feel a purple scale emerging on my leg. It broke through my skin painfully, but when it had finished, the battle was over, and Null had fainted.
I quickly called it back, a little stunned, acting like I'd tried my hardest, cleverly covering up the small, agonising moment.
"How annoying!" I said, a little pathetically to be honest, but I wasn't able to think about it when MY FREAKING LEG WAS ABOUT TO TURN INTO—
I stopped myself, taking deep breaths before fully registering what happened. I scowled largely, mainly at myself, and put one hand over my covered eye and the other across my body.
"Hmph… It's not like me to slip up like that." And it wasn't, it was only because of MY STUPID CONDITION that I had lost the battle. "I've got to keep fighting stronger opponents. Looks like I'm still not ready…"
"Sorry, what?" Moon asked, sending Brionne back inside its ball.
"That kid there, his Pokémon aren't weak," I said as if Hau weren't standing right in front of me as I said it. "And sure, it's fine to enjoy battling… But this brat… he's just using that as an excuse not to try hard because he can't beat the kahuna. Because he can't beat Hala when he's serious!"
"You know my gramps?" Hau asked, surprised. He didn't look hurt from my insult, but I'd covered up my own emotions enough to see through the mask. I didn't care though. I was having a bad day. "Wait. So you think I'm strong?" Hau smiled, infuriating me further.
"Awww, look at you, little Gladion! Aren't you just a real cool guy?" came a male voice from behind me, which broke off into laughter.
I turned around to see two of Team Skulls grunts.
"I guess it's no surprise a homeless kid would turn out spinless, too, huh?" the female grunt, Rapp, said. "No worries! We've got enough backbone to cover for you!"
The male, Tupp, walked past me to confront Moon and Hau.
"Just give it up already," I found myself saying, my back still to Moon and Hau.
"Huh?" Tupp asked, whirling around.
"You know you can't beat me. You'll just get your Pokémon hurt for no reason, and they're good Pokémon."
"We came all this way and for what?" Rapp said. "For a big fat waste of our time, thanks to you. If you hadn't gotten in our way, we could've stolen the totem Pokémon from Brooklet Hill! Let's get out of here!"
"Listen up good, Gladion…" Tupp threatened, pulling me closer by the neck of my hood. "The boss does like you. That's true. But you're just some hired help we keep around for when we need you. You aren't part of Team Skull, not really. And you never will be. Got it? You better get it."
I felt myself scowling further as Tupp released me. I watched the grunts walk away, chortling to themselves.
Do they honestly think I want to be an official member of a troublemaking, low-life gang that steals Pokémon? I thought sourly with my eyes closed so I didn't do anything rash.
Well aware of Moon and Hau staring at my back, I left without saying anything. I'll forget I ever met them in a few days anyway, hopefully.
And I'll forget I ever saw Moon with her glamerou—
GLADION. STOP IT. YOU'RE ACTING AS BAD AS LILLIE. STOP CARING.
It's not like she'll ever like the experimental mistake of a monster that you are anyways.
Moon's POV
Hau and I decided to stay a night at a nearby Pokémon Centre.
And, typical me, I couldn't stop thinking about the battle I'd just had.
Except, not typical me, I was more intrigued by the member of Team Skull that I'd been facing more than anything else.
I hadn't even reviewed the overall battle or studied more about my opponents Pokémon yet!
On realising this, I pulled out my manual Pokédex, as Rotom had nothing about the mysterious Pokémon that I'd fought.
After half an hour of flicking through the pages, I realised that Rotom was right. That Pokémon was either a newly discovered species or maybe even a legendary. I wished I could've asked the boy.
The teenager was also pretty mysterious himself. He hadn't worn the official Team Skull attire, which was why I was so surprised that he was working with them. Or perhaps even for them, from what I'd gathered from the grunts that had shown up. He'd worn a ripped hoodie and a red belt with a bag equipped to it. (How in Arceus' name did he manage to wear such dark clothing in this weather?) His hair was a white-blonde and covered half his face, blocking one of his emerald-green eyes from view.
He'd seemed so… lonely.
But as we had battled, I thought I'd seen something flash across his face. He'd looked almost… scared. He had immediately gripped his shaking wrist with his other hand, bringing it close to his face. And then the fear was gone, vanishing back underneath the stony expression.
He was probably scared of me, I thought, grinning to myself. And still… there was something about him…
"Hey, Hau," I asked, turning to my friend, who was reading a comic with a keen smile.
"Yeah?"
"What did you think of that Gladion character?"
Hau shrugged before answering. "He was definitely keeping something to himself. What about that Pokémon, though?"
"It was… interesting." I remembered its fur was mainly black with claw-like front legs and purple scales down its back legs. The fin-like tail was blue, and it had hints of a white mane poking out from underneath the massive helmet it wore.
"Rotom had no idea what it was, did it?" Hau asked.
"No. It didn't," I said. Then a thought struck me. "I thought I saw something…"
"Hm?" Hau looked up, having returned his attention to the book in his hands.
"Did you see a purple… bandage on Gladion's leg?"
"Actually, I think I did see something like that…"
"But it wasn't there when he first met you, was it?"
"I dunno. I probably just didn't notice it. Why do you ask?"
I shrugged, not really having an answer. "He was… intriguing."
"I mean, yeah, if you find edgelords 'intriguing,'" Hau told her, turning back to his comic.
I sighed, knowing that he wanted to just read in peace.
"I'm going out," I decided, making up my mind.
"What? Where? It's nearly eleven o'clock!" Hau said.
"I'm just going to sit outside, don't worry," I told him before pulling on a hoodie and exiting the Pokémon Centre.
I should follow the trail that Team Skull left on, I thought, wanting to prevent any sort of trouble they might be planning AND ONE HUNDRED PERCENT NOT BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE A CERTAIN SOMEONE.
I shivered in the light breeze of the surprisingly cool night but kept walking up the path that the grunts had followed.
Soon, I came to a sort of campsite with a campfire and loads of Team Skull grunts. I quickly ducked behind a bush to avoid being seen. As I peeked through the leaves, I noticed that a man with a mean looking Golisopod was sitting amongst the punks.
"Boss Guzma!" one grunt called. I noticed that he was one of the ones that had approached us earlier. The blue-haired grunt, followed by his friend, the female grunt, made his way up to the man.
'Boss'?
"Yo, Boss Guzma, get a load of this!" he said, allowing the female to take over.
"Me and my bro were out causin' trouble today and one of our very own enforces stopped us from taking another Pokémon!" she yelled over the ruckus the rest of her team were making.
"Yeah, that Gladion kid stopped us, Boss," 'Tupp' said, pointing to a lone figure away from the rest of the group.
"GLADION!" the leader of Team Skull suddenly roared, silencing every grunt instantly.
The lone figure picked himself up off the log he had been sitting on and made his way to the light of the campfire.
It was indeed Gladion. Why did I suddenly feel all jumpy when I saw him?
Standing in front of the older man, Gladion didn't look too much smaller than him.
"What?" Gladion asked, a little rudely if that Guzma guy was his 'boss'. All of Team Skull was completely still, watching the scene, the air of anxiety growing thickly around the group.
"What have we talked about?" Guzma snarled, right in Gladion's face, but the boy didn't even flinch.
"What of it matters?" Gladion replied coldly. I was nervous for him. How much courage can one person have?
Guzma took a step back and went to slap the teenager across the face, but Gladion was quick. Swiftly, he held his hand inches away from his face, blocking the attack.
"Don't. You know I'm stronger than you," Gladion said without blinking.
Guzma glared at him. "Just remember who pays you."
I just saw Gladion's eyes widen ever so slightly, and in an instant, they were back to normal. But Guzma, clearly, had also seen his reaction.
The man smiled wickedly.
"I told you that you had one last chance. So, I guess I'll be paying you only once a week from now on," he said, turning back to the grunts.
The chatter slowly started up again, until all else was drowned in the rapping voices of the grunts.
Without the grunts or Guzma looking, Gladion bowed his head and made his way back to where he was sitting before.
Gladion was clearly the youngest member—even if unofficial—of Team Skull, but he seemed to have a lot more guts than any of them. Guzma was speaking to him like he was a lot older than any of his other followers.
I also then realised that Gladion was most likely living by himself. Didn't the female grunt call him a 'homeless kid' before?
What in Arceus' name is going on?
I crept through the bushes and trees, keeping as silent as possible, making my way to where Gladion was sitting.
But before I could approach the teenager, I saw someone walking towards him in the corner of my eye. I stilled.
Gladion hastily stood up, though it was hard to tell through the dim light, I was sure he was glaring darkly at the newcomer.
"Guzma," he said, hostility radiating off of his words. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to talk to you without anyone hearing."
"Please. Engaging with me in a friendly conversation? Doubtful."
"I never said it would be friendly," Guzma said in a low, threatening voice. "Listen here. You'd better drop the attitude, or I won't be paying you at all. You don't have anywhere else to go, your own mother doesn't even want you."
Gladion shifted slightly.
"I'm the only one that'll ever accept you."
"Accept me?" Gladion scoffed. "Ha, no. You don't 'accept me,' nor does anyone else. You just want me on your side to use me."
"You and your other failed experiment were created for it."
What?!
"That suddenly gives you the right to own me, does it? I won't be used. I will not put anyone else's personal gain in front of my own. I'm not a weapon."
"You were created to be one, Gladion!" Guzma said. "So, yes, you are."
A low growl escaped Gladions throat, so animal-like it took me a second to realise where it was coming from.
"Take that back."
"Make me," Guzma sneered.
"Maybe I will."
"You won't. You don't want anyone else seeing you the way you are. I'm not blind. You avoid triggering it every day."
"Exactly my point. I won't use it for you."
"You have to listen to me."
"And? You know very well that I could survive without you. Maybe not with people, but it's possible."
"Coming from such a rich background, I don't think you want to."
"No. But I can and will, if I have to."
The two were silent, scowling at each other in the dark.
"Anyway, you have my warning," Guzma finally said. "See yourself back to your inn room on Mele Mele."
"What? But what about the rest of Tea—"
"That's an order," Guzma told Gladion with the air of authority, stern enough to silence the teenager. "And be grateful I didn't say all that in front of the group."
Guzma spun around and made his way back to the campfire.
"Why must I be like this?" Gladion sighed to himself before releasing his strange Pokémon from its Pokéball. It growled sympathetically and nuzzled its trainers' shoulder, its large headgear making it awkward for it to show affection.
Gladion climbed onto it and headed for the harbour.
I sat there, hidden in a bush, trying to register what I'd just overheard.
Did I hear right? Gladion was created?
"What are you doing?"
I jumped and turned when I heard the voice.
"Hau!" I said, relief flooding me. "C'mon, I need to talk to you." I dragged him all the way back to our room for the night in the Pokémon Centre.
"Okay, what in Arceus' name were you doing?" Hau asked as soon as I had shut the door.
"I wanted to see what Team Skull was up to," I told him. "Those grunts we saw earlier told their boss that Gladion had stopped them from 'causing trouble,' and the boss, Guzma, was really angry. And, oh my Arceus is Gladion brave. But anyway, Guzma told him off in front of everyone, then went to talk to him in private."
"And you followed," Hau guessed, nodding.
"'Course, but get this. Guzma starts by saying something to the effect of 'I'm the only one that accepts you the way you are, haughty sniff' and then Gladion's like, 'you only want to use me, heavy scowl.' Guzma then says, 'yeah, duh, what do you think you were created for?' and Gladions response is, 'does it suddenly give you permission to own me,' and then they go on this tangent about how Gladion was created to be a weapon and how Guzma wants to use Gladion, this that and the other, and then Gladion was sent back to Mele Mele."
I finished, leaving Hau stuck on the 'what do you think you were created for?' part with his mouth hanging open.
"Wait, hold on, back up a sec, what? Gladion was created?" Hau asked in shock.
"I don't know any more details than you do," I told him. "But I think we should head back to Mele Mele Island and ask him ourselves."
"But you don't know where he lives," Hau said, still in the middle of digesting all of my words.
"No, but the next ferry to Mele Mele leaves in the morning," I said, an idea blossoming in my head. "And he's going to be on it."
That's all for now, folks!
I'd really appreciate reviews of the constructed feedback type!
