Author's Note: I have Questions(tm) about Poppy, as I'm sure most of us do. And since Hassel is a teacher and generally seems like a Good Dude, I figured he'd be a good way to hammer out some headcanons I have for Poppy. So yeah, this is a fairly simple idea for a fic, but there's also some fun stuff in here, including the Art Boyfriends, Geeta getting picked on even by people who are well-adjusted, and a bit of fluff at the end. Good times.

The Copperajah at the League

Hassel was late, Brassius thought as he checked the time on his phone. He didn't mind a few minutes' wait, but it was strange… Hassel was usually punctual, after all.

Then, his phone rang, as if on cue. Hassel himself—Brassius grinned as he answered it. Before he could say anything, though, he immediately had his previous question answered.

"Sorry, Brassie," Hassel said sheepishly. "Poppy's parents are late picking her up—do you mind meeting me at the League?"

"Of course not; I'll be there in a minute, Hass."

He hung up, stretched, and slipped his phone into his pocket. The League was a short walk from Mesagoza—Brassius wouldn't need to call a Flying Taxi. He'd been waiting near the Academy, and he circled around the side of the building. The plan had been to go out for dinner, make a quick stop at Hassel's studio, and then head over to Hassel's apartment for the night. They could probably still do that; Brassius doubted this would take too long.

Within a few minutes, the League office was in sight. Hassel was standing near the Pokémon Center with Poppy in tow. She'd latched onto his leg, and Hassel smiled and nodded obligingly in response to whatever the girl was saying.

"Hey, Hass," Brassius called as he approached.

Hassel greeted him with a wry, "No dramatic entrance this time, Brassie?"

"It dulls the impact if I do it every time."

"Fair enough," Hassel admitted, at almost the same time as Poppy said, "Hi, Grandpa Brassius!"

Brassius blinked. "…Grandpa?"

For once, he was unsure how to respond. Should Brassius point out he was nowhere near old enough to be a grandfather? For that matter, he'd seen Poppy a handful of times at League meetings and such, and she'd never called him "grandpa" then. There was another part of Brassius that wondered if he should lean into it and play along for the sake of turning it into an Artistic Performance.

All of that was rendered moot when Poppy nodded and continued speaking. "Yeah! Grandpa Hassel said you were gonna go out for dinner after this. So if you're together, that makes you 'Grandpa,' too!"

Oh, Brassius thought as realization dawned. Okay, that made sense. And it was kind of cute, honestly. He glanced over at Hassel, who was politely trying (and not entirely succeeding) to muffle his laughter with his hand.

"Well, a real grandfather would've brought you a gift," Brassius finally said, deciding to go with the "play along" route. "I'll have to do that next time."

Poppy brightened up. "Ooh, really? Maybe you could—"

Whatever Poppy was going to suggest was cut off by the sound of loud squawking from above. A Flying Taxi landed nearby, and the Squawkabilly were just as noisy as ever. A short red-haired woman who must've been Poppy's mother scrambled out of the cab, while her father waved from inside.

"Sorry about this," she apologized as she reached for her daughter's hand. "Hiroshi had to work late. We appreciate you staying after—"

"It's no issue," Hassel interrupted gently as he relinquished Poppy. "Your daughter's an absolute delight, Gracia."

"Still…"

Poppy, meanwhile, turned and waved with her free hand. "Bye, Grandpa Hassel! Bye, Grandpa Brassius! See you next time!"

Gracia smiled and shook her head, waving as well as she led her daughter back to the Flying Taxi. Brassius watched them go, and then turned back to Hassel. In response to his questioning look, Hassel tilted his head to the side curiously.

"Yes, Brassie?"

"I'm not old enough to have a grandchild her age. Neither are you," he replied, still processing what had just happened. "…I don't think. How old is she?"

"Seven," Hassel answered as he reached for Brassius's hand. "Almost eight. I probably could have a granddaughter about her age if I'd been an exceptionally young parent… You do miss the mark, though."

Brassius grinned briefly as Hassel elbowed him, though he decided it wasn't the best moment to tease him in return. He'd realized Poppy was young, of course, but it was hitting him now exactly how young she was. That was…concerning in several ways, really.

"Seven," he repeated flatly as he started walking. "How did she get her position, again?"

Hassel sighed heavily. "Geeta found her doing some training and decided it was impressive for a girl her age to not only have a fully-trained Copperajah, but to also knock out multiple wild Pokémon at once. Both of which are fair points, but…"

Well, Brassius knew that once Geeta had decided on something, that was it. He had no personal problems with the Top Champion—besides her blatant lack of battle flair, of course—but not everyone was so lucky. To be fair, Poppy seemed perfectly happy with her role. It could've been worse, but Brassius still had questions.

"You'd think that'd limit the Elite Four's hours quite a bit," Brassius pointed out. "How long can she work?"

"In fairness, we don't get challengers as often as you might think." Hassel shrugged. "I suppose that's why I still have time to do some art on the side. It does make it easier to work Poppy in, but she tires easily on days we get several challengers."

Brassius watched Hassel as they walked. He clearly wasn't happy about the situation; his brow had furrowed slightly, and his lips were pursed. It wasn't entirely Teacher Mode kicking in, though Brassius had no doubt that was part of it. Some of the Academy students were around Poppy's age, and he was sure Hassel would prefer for Poppy to be around other kids instead of being locked up in an office building most days.

"And La Primera doesn't see the issue?"

"She doesn't seem to, no." Hassel glanced around for a moment before he continued. They were far enough from the League now, and not quite back in Mesagoza, so it was unlikely anyone would hear his next statement. "I do wish she had as many eyes on her as Poppy does, though. It was Geeta's decision, and Poppy doesn't quite realize how unusual she is. I worry about her sometimes."

Well, that was often how these things worked, unfortunately. The spotlight was on the wrong person. Maybe Brassius should criticize Geeta more often, he thought.

"And how does everyone else at the League take it?"

Hassel grinned again as he replied. "Well, fortunately, the rest of us make sure Poppy gets enough positive attention. Rika adores her, and Poppy actually manages to make Larry smile every now and then."

Brassius snorted in amusement. "That may as well be an 'I love you,' coming from him."

That was true enough, even if said smiles were only half a second long (which Brassius was sure they were). If anyone was a master of the mostly-bored-but-occasionally-annoyed poker face, it was Larry. He was certain Poppy took them as a point of pride.

"So what about you, then?"

"She likes being tall," Hassel replied matter-of-factly.

Brassius almost stopped walking as the implication sank in. "You don't."

"I do." Hassel sounded blatantly amused now. "I'd even let her sit on my shoulders more often if she hadn't started worrying about my back. The one downside to letting her call me 'Grandpa,' I suppose."

"That's adorable, Hass." Brassius didn't bother to muffle his laughter with his free hand. "You really do play the role well."

"I'm not 'playing at' anything. Putting on shows is your job." Hassel shook his head, though he was still smiling. "Besides, Poppy really is a good girl. I enjoy it."

By now, they'd arrived back in Mesagoza, and the sky was starting to dim. Brassius didn't answer right away, instead opting to glance around in silence for a few seconds. The various cafés dotting the courtyard probably wouldn't be too crowded by now, which hopefully meant dinner wouldn't take too long. And that, in turn, gave him an idea.

"You know, maybe we could spend a few extra minutes at your studio. I'm getting some ideas. If I'm going to be 'Grandpa,' too, then…"

The implication clearly sank in quickly enough, as Hassel replied, "She loves Cufant, you know. I hope your ideas incorporate that somehow."

"Excellent; thank you, Hass."

With that, they set off for dinner, and the gears of inspiration kept whirring as Brassius ate.

It took a few weeks for Brassius to finish his new project. He'd been working on a sculpture for a new installation series, and he needed to complete that first. But after sifting through the dozens of sketches he'd made in the meantime, he had a good place to start.

Brassius had settled on making an enameled Cufant pendant with a pink opal for an eye. Simple, but cute, he decided. It would suit Poppy well. Sometimes, not being too flashy was its own statement.

Finally, he found an opportunity to present it to Poppy. She immediately put the chain around her neck, threw her arms around his knees, and shouted, "Yay! Thank you, Grandpa Brassius!"

Hassel had a point, Brassius thought as he patted her on the head. She really was cute… Maybe he could deal with being called "Grandpa" after all.