When Korrina was younger, she was never seen without her dear partner and friend, Pancham. Given to her as an egg by her father, a gift from a friend of his in Camphrier Town, before he and her mother left the region to work in Unova, she would care for it while her grandfather cared for her. And when it hatched...
"Wow! It's so cute!" the seven-year-old giggled, clinging tightly to the little panda pokémon. As it squirmed in her grasp and growled, she smiled, "You're also sort of grumpy, aren't you little guy?"
"Actually Korrina," her grandfather said as he entered the room, book in hand, "I think it might be a female." Korrina blinked, looked between the now pouting pokémon and her grandfather, then asked, "How can you tell?" The old man bent down and looked closely at the pokémon, which growled at his close proximity. Gurkinn hummed thoughtfully to himself, muttering absently, "I'm sure the people at the daycare said something about females having bushier tails or something... Or maybe they have no gender differences at all..." Shaking his head, he said, "We'll take it to a Pokémon Center tomorrow and give it a check-up." He stood again and left the room, leaving his granddaughter with the surprisingly grumpy pokémon.
"I don't care if you're a little guy or a little gal," Korrina said, smiling. She began scratching under Pancham's chin, making its scowl fall and it's growl turn affectionate. She laughed as she hugged it tightly, "I don't care, cause you're now my little Chammy Bear!"
It was on her eighth birthday that she received her first pair of skates from her parents, who were unfortunately stuck in Unova and couldn't come home to celebrate with her. Though initially unsure of them, as a previous attempt at ice skating when she was five had left her with a sore bottom and a bad impression of skating in general, once she had them and the safety equipment on, she found herself having fun. Even when she fell over, she simply laughed it off, as her Pancham - confirmed as female - would begin to fuss over her like a worried mother.
And when she got back to her feet and continued to skates through the streets of Shalour City, Pancham would run alongside her. They were inseparable.
"Why do I have to raise a Riolu? Cham- I mean Pancham and skating takes up all my time," Korrina asked, arms folded over her chest. Her grandfather sighed.
"You know fine well why. It's your job as the successor to be able to understand Mega Evolution, and it's best if you are able to use a pokémon that can utilise the ability." The 11-year-old pouted, then sighed.
"Fine, give me the egg. I was thinking of going down to the Battle Chateau on Route 7. I'll leave Pancham at the Day Care so she's kept busy and maybe all the battling will speed up the hatching process or somethin'," she said, her words descending into inaudible muttering by the end of the sentence. Her grandfather smiled as she left the room. The sound of Pancham excitedly greeting her partner and Korrina's own enthusiastic giggling made the old man's smile widen.
"Come on Chammy Bear, we're headed to Route 7," she said, her voice fading as the two left the Tower of Mastery.
Leaving Pancham had been surprisingly hard for the girl, however she promised to return after a good training session with her Mienfoo and her Machop. Yet when she'd returned...
"Chammy Bear, where are you?" she called out as she entered the Day Care. Walking up to one of the breeders that worked there, she asked, "Excuse me, where's my Pancham?" The breeder looked around the small garden and said, "I'm afraid I'm not sure. Last time I saw her, she was playing with a Purrloin someone left with us. Maybe if you check the area near the river?" When Korrina's expression looked panicked, the breeder quickly assured, "Oh don't worry, ma'am, the fencing there is perfectly safe." Leaving the breeder to get back to work, she skated over to the area indicated by the breeder. A Pangoro sat looking over the river, several Litleo playing around it. Two Espurr were curled up by the fencing, sleeping away. There were three or four Pancham there as well.
"Chammy Bear?" The blonde called out, focusing mainly on the small group of Pancham. Though she couldn't recognise her partner among them, she was hopeful it was either because they were playing so much she couldn't pick out her friend, or that her Pancham was hiding away somewhere just to make her worry before emerging again. As her focus was elsewhere, she missed the Pangoro's ears pricking up.
"Chammy Bear this isn't fun anymore. We gotta head home," she shouted, worry creeping into her voice. The Pangoro turned its head around. As it saw the girl, it got to its feet and sauntered up behind her. Korrina froze as she sensed the new presence behind her. Turning around, she jumped at the close proximity of the large, intimidating pokémon.
"Ca...can I help you?" she asked. The Pangoro mumbled, "Pan pan," as a low growling vibrated out of its throat. However Korrina didn't feel frightened at this; the growling sounded oddly affectionate. She paled as the breeders words came to mind again and she realised.
"...Chammy Bear?" she whispered, and to her dismay, the pokémon nodded. It - she let out a happy sounding growl and reached her arms forward as though about to engulf her partner in a hug. Korrina however backed away. The bag she had been holding containing the Riolu egg fell, almost landing on an unsuspecting Emolga that was playing with the pack of Litleo. Tears brimming in her eyes, the blonde turned sharply and skated off, jumping the fence and hurrying down Route 7. The Pangoro let out a distressed roar and took chase, easily clearing the white picket fence as she ran after her upset partner.
She'd made a sharp corner down Route 6, hoping to avoid people in general so she could be alone. Yet as she went along, she veered closer to the trees on one side until her skate caught on a root sticking out of the ground. She lay there for a few moments before crawling to an upright position. Korrina just sat by the tree that had tripped her, staring at the ground. Tears slid down her face, yet she was as calm as the word would allow for someone who'd just discovered her dearest friend had...changed.
She wasn't stupid, she knew how evolution worked. In most cases, even the friendliest of pokémon can suddenly become a completely different creature after evolving. That's what scared her; that she'd lost her precious Pancham. She'd seen what Pangoro could be like as she grew up, and what had scared her most about them was just how violent they could be. Showing no mercy during battle and worse, their trainers only encouraged this. Sure, in battle, you'd do anything to win, but that fighting style and that attitude had put her off ever letting Pancham evolve.
"Why didn't I check first?" she whispered, trembling. She shifted so her back was against the tree and she lay her head against her arms as they wrapped themselves around her legs, only to find this felt uncomfortable with her helmet on. She tore the headgear off and tossed it to the side, ignoring it as it almost fell down the hillside and into the tall grass below. She sat there, not really fighting the urge to cry yet not even trying to stop the tears that were already coming. The trees above, covering the entire path in shade, found themselves being disturbed by wind. A single leaf broke off from the force and floated down to rest on her head. A roaring in the distance made Korrina lift her head again, making the leaf fall off.
"Cham..." she breathed, gripping the tree as she tried to get to her feet, only for her feet to slide out from underneath her because of her skates. She let out a yelp of pain as her tailbone landed uncomfortably against a root. Another roar, sounding closer. Looking down the route where it connected with Route 7, her suspicions were confirmed as she saw the Pangoro from the daycare, her Pangoro running toward her. She remained where she was though, as attempting to stand again didn't seem such a good idea after the first attempt. The pokémon skidded to a stop by the girl and collapsed onto her knees, rapidly wailing in an upset tone.
"Chammy Bear, calm down," Korrina said, though she was drowned out as the pokémon continued howling. She tried again nonetheless, tried to calm the distressed pokémon, "Cha- Chammy Bear please. Calm down, please, just calm do- Chammy Bear!" Yet as her frustration grew, she found herself yelling more and more until she screamed, "Pangoro!" It couldn't be known whether it was the volume at which she'd screamed or the name that she'd used, however the Pangoro was silenced. As she panted, trying now to calm herself, Pangoro let out one more whimper as she lowered her head and nuzzled her partner.
"I'm sorry," Korrina muttered, giving the pokémon an awkward hug as, even while both of them were in sitting positions, Pangoro now towered over her. The girl began to giggle as Pangoro continued nuzzling, even dragging her onto her lap. She shuffled, trying to get comfortable, though she winced as she felt pain shooting up from her tailbone.
"Almost forgot about that," she murmured. A low rumbling arose from Pangoro's chest as she began growling that same affectionate growl, making Korrina giggle again.
"Stop that, that tickles," she laughed. As both pokémon and trainer fell silent, the girl couldn't help but think. She nuzzled her head deeper into Pangoro's fur and murmured, "I was wrong." Pangoro made a curious sound, prompting her to continue, "I always thought that if you evolved, you'd be all big and scary and mean like all the other Pangoro I've seen. So when I saw that'd you'd accidentally evolved while at the Day Care, I just instantly assumed you wouldn't be my Chammy Bear anymore." Pangoro was silent, and Korrina didn't know what she was thinking. Then, she lifted a giant paw and gave the blonde a light tap upside the head.
"Ow! What was that for?" Korrina yelled, holding her head despite that fact that it didn't actually hurt. Pangoro's brow was lifted and it wore, as best as could be distinguished, an unamused expression. Korrina rolled her eyes.
"Okay, I get it, it was stupid of me to think like that. But I couldn't help it, okay?" The pokémon growled playfully as she wrapped her arms around her partner and squeezed, making the girl gasp, "Okay, I get it! I get it! Arceus, now I know how you felt getting hugged like this as a Pancham." She was released, allowing her to breathe again.
"I think..." she panted, "I think we should go home now. We should've went back ages ago, and my grandpa would've been calling my Holo Caster for the past 10 minutes." A low rumble from Pangoro made her chuckle nervously and say, "My Holo Caster was in my bag. Which I sort of left at the Day Care. With...the Riolu egg." She buried her head and her hands and moaned, "My grandpa's gonna kill me." To her surprise, Pangoro lifted her up and to her feet, and when she stood herself, she growled, "Pan. Goro go," as though telling Korrina to hurry then. She smiled.
"Yeah. Lets go home, Chammy Bear." She skated over, picked up her helmet, then followed after Pangoro.
It was two years later, at 13 years old, that she got offered the position of gym leader.
"Can you believe this?" she laughed, dancing around her Pangoro before collapsing in her lap. Gurkinn watched with amusement, saying, "It's a big honour, especially for someone so young. I want you to take this seriously." Korrina sat up straight and said, "Of course!" She beamed up at Pangoro, saying, "We're gonna be the best team! You, me, Mienfoo and Machoke!" Pangoro nodded, a broad smile on her face. Gurkinn's smile fell as he coughed.
"About that," he muttered, catching Korrina's attention. She pursed her lips and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to use either of my Lucario for gym battles. I know your research is too important." Her grandfather shook his head.
"That's not it. Look," he stood up, sighing, "sweetheart, I'm afraid the League called earlier. They don't want you to use Pangoro in your gym battles." Korrina's eyes widened and she shot to her feet, confusion and annoyance on her face as she asked sharply, "Why?"
"The League is worried Pangoro is too violent. They don't want trainers getting hurt while battling, nor do they want the pokémon to be hurt too severely, especially since you're being placed at such a low stage of the League." Korrina pouted.
"I'm only the second gym of the region, and besides, Cha- I mean Pangoro isn't like others of its species. She can go easy on trainers, can't you?" she asked, turning to the pokémon and scratching under its chin and making her growl with pleasure. Gurkinn shook his head.
"I'm sorry Korrina, but they League has decided. You're either going to have to have your gym battles with just Mienfoo and Machoke or get one other pokémon to make a team of three." With that, the man left, taking a book and some research notes with him, and leaving a now dejected Korrina alone with her Pangoro. The girl fell back onto Pangoro's lap, upset and frustrated. The pokémon wrapped her arms gently around her partner and held her close.
"Well," Korrina sniffed, folding her arms and trying to keep a straight face, "I guess that's that. The "Almighty League" has spoken." Bitter sarcasm entered her voice as she said the "almighty League", though this made Pangoro laugh, which in turn made Korrina laugh herself.
"Hey you, I've told you before that tickles!" As she squirmed in Pangoro's grip she smiled up at the pokémon.
"It ain't the end of the earth if I can't use you for gym battles," she said, twirling the short strands of fur around her index finger, "It sucks, but it doesn't mean I can't still battle with you for other things. And besides, you're still my Chammy Bear, aren't you?" Pangoro nodded, and Korrina shifted so she could wrap her arms around her beloved friend and partner in a hug, which was happily returned.
Explanation time!
I personally - and some friends of mine - expected Korrina to use a Pangoro in her gym battle. Cause I mean, why introduce a pokémon like that if you ain't gonna let the Fighting Gym Leader use it?
Unfortunately, she doesn't use one. But I'd like to think she does still have one; we just don't see it.
I guess you could call this backstory. Hope it doesn't suck, I couldn't help but think some bits sounded a tad awkward when I was writing, though a friend said she couldn't see anything awkward when I let her read it.
Thanks for reading as usual, hope you enjoyed! Please review, suggest, fave and follow. Any anons that can't do those, it would be nice to drop a wee review even if just to say "Hi, I'm reading!". You don't have to though, but it'd be nice.
Thank you once more!
Angel-chan x