The bright Alolan sun was beating down onto Gladion's back as he brushed Silvally's fur. He contemplated taking off his jumper, but he wasn't wearing anything but a long sleeved shirt underneath, which wouldn't do him much good. And he was with Moon, so taking off his clothing was off the table. The reigning champion had once again beat him in a friendly battle, but that was to be expected. It had been three years since they met near Brooklet hill, and two since she had become the first champion of Alola.
She had not been beaten yet. She had only gotten stronger.
He released his focus on Silvally and looked over to the formidable party of six that Moon was tending to. Her Silvally and Suicune, the strongest in the troupe, were nuzzling her for attention while she cared for the massive Buzzwole in front of her. The others; Incineroar, Kartana, and Lycanroc (midnight form) were doing their own thing. As he observed her team not in action, he wondered if anyone would be able to beat her.
Silvally regained Gladion's attention by nuzzling his arm and whining. It shook its freshly brushed fur out and looked pointedly over to Moon's own Silvally. "Fine. Go ahead."
Silvally let out a silvery bark of joy before bounding towards the other. Using the tree he was near, he stood and folded his arms, watching the two roll around and play.
"Is that a smile I see, Gladion?"
He hadn't even realized he was smiling, but he glared at Moon, the smile he had turning into an angry scowl. She was barely containing her giggles. Her smile made him torn between narrowing his eyes and smiling himself. He chose the former, but this just seemed to make her giggle more. "Shut up..."
"I'm just messing with you, Glad."
She knew he hated being called Glad, Gladdy, or anything other than his name for that matter. It didn't matter who it was.
"You know i hate it when you call me Glad."
"That's why i do it, silly."
All Gladion could respond with was a quiet "Hmph," to which Moon didn't respond. Instead, she leaned onto the same tree and watched the two Silvallies play.
"Moon?"
"Yes?"
"You're leaning on my arm."
She stood back up. "Oh no, I'm sooo sorry Gladdy."
The dripping sarcasm in her voice made him roll his eyes, but instead of Moon leaning on the tree, she rested right on top of him, her shoulder blades digging into his chest. She did it gently, so he wasn't winded or short for breath, so he took the chance to call his Pokémon. "Silvally!"
When it looked up, he beckoned with his eyes to Moon and issued the command "tackle," watching as it ran towards her and gently pushed her to the ground. Free at last, Gladion reached into his pocket and pulled out a starry bean, Silvally's favourite.
Within seconds of its excitement, Gladion too was pushed to the ground. He had forgotten that such a violent response was the result of giving Silvally too many beans. Now he was laying almost on top of Moon, so close that he could feel the rise and fall of her chest beside him. She was laughing hysterically. "I guess thats karma, eh?"
He sighed. "I guess so." He leaned back into the cool grass, closing his eyes.
"Y'know what, Gladion?"
"No I don't know. Care to enlighten me?"
"Jeez, you don't have to be so hostile all the time... I just wanted to say that i am glad you finally decided to be my friend."
He looked over to her. "What made you think about this all of a sudden?"
She paused for a couple of seconds. "Your... The way you smiled. It was... Nice to see."
"I smile, Moon. That can't be the only reason you are friends with me."
"Of course not. I also respect that you chose to like me anywhere near as much as you do your family and Silvally. I-I just really value your friendship... Because ever since we met at Brooklet hill I thought we would be stuck between being enemies and bare acquaintances."
He faced back towards the sky and closed his eyes again. "That was never going to happen. I just didn't want to admit back at Brooklet that i liked your style of battle and your attitude."
She chuckled. "That's cute."
"Shut up."
She began to laugh, which made him hot with embarrassment. Why had he been so sentimental and open? He felt her reach for the phone in her pocket suddenly, and say 'awesome!' When she checked it.
"What's awesome?"
"Hau is organising a party!" She began to read the message aloud. "Yo Moon! How are ya? I presume Gladdy -" she chuckled again "- is with you, since y'all are stuck at the hip." She trailed off, obviously hiding part of the message from him. "I'm organising a party tonight and i want you two to be there. It's just in the town centre as per usual. 6:00 be there. Bring your strongest Pokémon."
Gladion decided to ignore both the fact that he was once again called 'Gladdy' and the fact that Moon was hiding something. "Are you going to go?"
"I've already responded. I said we will both be there."
"We?!"
"Yes, both of us. Come on, Gladdy."his made him snap, and he rolled over, pinning Moon down by the wrists. "I swear to Arceus if you call me by anything except Gladion ever again..." He stopped. He hadn't thought of anything. He was even more flustered by Moon's smile.
"Aww, cute, you don't have anything to punish me with."
Gladion released her and faced away, hiding his embarrassed blush. To his surprise, Moon's Silvally sat directly in front of him, looking to Moon.
"Tackle."
And just like that, he was on the ground again. Moon had decided to lay her head on his chest so that he couldn't get up. He grunted, not in pain but in surprise. He raised his head and watched as she raised her finger to her lips. "Hmm. We still have seven hours until the party. What should we do?"
"Well, you should get off me for a start. Then maybe we can decide."
"I don't think so. This is a very comfortable pillow. I think ill stay here for a while."
She moved around, making herself comfortable. He grunted in annoyance. "Silvally, could you please help me?"
His Pokémon only took its trainer being pinned down as an opportunity to groom his hair. Gladion struggled under the weight of both Moon and Silvally, Moon somehow staying on even though she was laughing her head off. Silvally plastered his hair messily back, and only when it was satisfied with its work did it back off. Moon was still laughing, so hard that she had fallen off him, allowing him to get up.
Moon tried to sit up, but he just pushed her back to the ground and stood up, walking towards the nearest river to wash himself of the copious saliva. When his Pokémon started to follow him, he angrily ordered it to stay with her.