Author's Notes:
I drew Aziraphale and Crowley with the Pokémon they have during the last chapter, before their Applins evolved. It can be found on my AO3 account. I'm LadyMango on there. (I can't link to it on here unfortunately)
"Right, gang," Crowley said, his gaze drifting between Bentley, Char and Ashtoreth. "On the count of three… One, two, three!"
They leapt out of their hiding spot behind a tree.
"Prepare for trouble at the double!" Crowley cried.
Loud music blared from behind him, coming from a little portable music player which Char was controlling. Fire flared dramatically – Char's doing once again. Bentley and Ashtoreth got into their usual position on either side of Crowley.
A scream came from the path and a lady wearing a long skirt promptly fell off her bike and into a ditch. Her Pokémon – a Murkrow – flew around her head in a panic.
"Oops. Sorry," said Crowley, momentarily forgetting he was midway through a robbery. He abandoned his theme song and threw aside the glitter he'd been holding in his fists - he liked to throw it when he announced his name for dramatic effect. "Are you okay?"
She climbed out of the ditch, a look of fury contorting her face. "You're not taking my Pokémon!"
"Nope. Definitely not. This is a robbery. I want your money. Er. Stick 'em up!"
The lady glowered as she reached for her belt, which was presumably where she kept her wallet. Crowley let out a sigh of relief. This was going to be easier than he'd thought.
The lady was suddenly holding a huge, deadly-looking bread knife, which she pointed right at him. "Not if I stick you first."
Crowley backed away. "Point taken. We'll be on our way. Sorry for, er... Sorry." He ran back into the trees.
Once Crowley had run a safe distance away and taken a moment to catch his breath, Bentley whirled on him. She revved her engine furiously, vibrating with annoyance and honking as she looked back towards the path where they'd left bike girl and her knife.
Crowley sighed. "Yes, I know that knife wouldn't have done much damage against your tough metal body, but we don't want your paintwork to get scratched, now do we?"
Bentley stopped honking and deflated.
On top of all of that, Crowley didn't want to resort to paralysing humans again. He still felt guilty for what he'd done to Aziraphale. Especially now that they were... What? Friends? Does having lunch together make people friends?
"C'mon, everyone. Let's go further up the path away from bike girl. There must be other trainers around here somewhere."
They ambled along just inside of the treeline until they saw someone new walking along the path. The stranger stopped at some crossroads. He looked lost.
Crowley leapt out, his Pokémon at his side.
"Prepare for trouble at the double! This is a hold up, so don't do anything rash! Just gimme your cash! Coz your Pokémon are trash!"
Crowley took this opportunity to look at the man's Pokémon. He had a Varoom, just like Bentley, but with a gold body instead of silver. A Shiny. Which was exactly the type of Pokémon Crowley was collecting and planning to hand over to Team Rocket. Crowley shook his head. Stolen Pokémon would certainly be too heartbroken at having lost their trainer to be of any use to Team Rocket - for selling or otherwise. He didn't want this Pokémon.
The man pushed his glasses up his nose. "Oh, shit. Turpin! Use Assurance!"
"Bentley! Lick!"
Bentley naturally got the first hit, speedy girl that she was, but it was clear the Turpin had extremely low speed stats anyway.
Turpin dropped to the ground, paralysed. The man stood in front of Turpin protectively, trying to shield him, to hide him. Perhaps he thought Crowley would steal him once he realised Turpin was a rare Shiny.
"Gimme your cash," Crowley said, sauntering forward. With his Pokémon surrounding him, he felt powerful, unstoppable. He pushed down the shame that flared in his belly. He needed the money.
The man dug into his pocket and pulled out a few notes, more than enough to pay Aziraphale back and replace the Poké Ball he'd stolen. He might even have enough left over to grab a light lunch at a cafe. Crowley had hit the jackpot.
There was a shifty look in the man's eyes. He was holding his satchel protectively, like he had more cash hidden away in there, but Crowley wasn't going to demand any more. This man was having a bad enough day as it was.
"There's a Pokémon Centre just down there if you want to heal your Varoom," Crowley said, pointing down the hill. "Only a five-minute walk away, if that."
"Oh. Er. thanks. Is that Lower Tadfield?"
"Yep."
"Good. The map in my Pokédex stopped working. I'm terrible with technology." The man let out a weak laugh and waved his Pokédex in the air awkwardly.
Crowley's eyes widened. "It's blue-screened! You need to restart it."
"I tried but it won't switch off. It keeps staying on this screen."
"You gotta hold the button down until it switches off."
The man did, but when it switched on again, it gave him a whole new set of error messages. He made a worried sound.
"Give it here. Mine does this sometimes."
Crowley spent the next half-an-hour fixing the Pokédex, re-downloading the maps that had somehow been deleted, and then locking the man out of anything that he might be able to use to break the device again.
During the time it took to fix the device, Turpin's paralysis status-effect wore off, and when Crowley looked up again, Bentley and Turpin were chasing each other around like old school chums. Ashtoreth was curled up, fast asleep, and Char was just sat around looking awkward.
"Thanks for all your help," said the man, named Newt, and as Crowley watched him walk away he took a moment to reflect on how terrible he was at representing Team Rocket. But it did make him feel better knowing that Newt had at least received some tech support in return for his money.
Crowley and his gang of Pokémon returned to the trees. Crowley took off his black cap, letting his long hair tumble down around his shoulders. He finger-brushed it, tidying it from where it'd been tucked inside of his cap all day. He took off his sunglasses and put them in his bag, and then he swapped his Team Rocket top for a black T-Shirt sporting a band logo - The Rolling Geodudes. Last but not least, he swapped his Team Rocket boots for his mock Seviper-scale-print boots.
The shop keepers wouldn't serve him if he was wearing his Team Rocket uniform, and while Pokémon centres would heal his Pokémon with some reluctance, they'd also call the police. He'd learnt that one the hard way, only just managing to outrun Officer Jenny the one and only time he'd forgotten to get changed first.
Crowley bought a replacement Poké Ball for Aziraphale at a nearby Pokémon Centre along with some Poké Balls for himself – he'd forgotten to ask Newt to hand his spares over – and then he healed his Pokémon. Luckily, Pokémon Centres always healed Pokémon for free. This had been a literal lifesaver when Crowley had been penniless. They also allowed people to charge their Pokédexes for free, all funded by the Pokémon League.
Finally, Crowley went into a café where he ordered a cup of tea and a slice of angel cake for himself and mini cupcakes for all of his Pokémon, and then, with the last of his money – after subtracting the amount he needed to pay Aziraphale back, of course - he bought a present for Aziraphale. His heart raced with nervous excitement at the thought of giving it to him. He had just enough food and supplies to last until his next payday, which was in about two weeks' time. On that day, he'd go to Team Rocket HQ for the monthly meeting, hand over one of his Shinies and get that greatly needed bonus pay on top of his base pay.
It was a couple of days later, and Aziraphale had just set up his table in the middle of a flower field. He filled up his teapot from the kettle while his Pokémon watched.
"Hi," said a familiar voice.
Aziraphale looked up, and there was Crowley, standing amid the wildflowers. Crowley gave him a little wave.
"Oh! Hallo!" Aziraphale said, waving back. He looked Crowley up and down. He was wearing normal clothes today. He'd gone without his sunglasses, and his hair was down, red curls shining beautifully in the setting sun.
Crowley sauntered towards him. "I'm glad I found you again."
Aziraphale's stomach swooped, his smile widening. He'd been eager to see Crowley again too, and it was wonderful to learn that Crowley felt the same.
"I wanted to give you these," Crowley said, proudly handing over a Poké Ball along with the rest of the money he owed him.
Aziraphale kept smiling, trying his best to hide his disappointment. Of course this was more about Crowley wanting to clear his debt than actually wanting to spend time with him. Of course Crowley wouldn't be as excited as Aziraphale at being reunited.
On that day in the orchard, Aziraphale had been surprised by just how much he enjoyed Crowley's company. He'd originally invited Crowley to lunch because he'd felt sorry for him and because he'd hoped to talk some sense into him. But now he had a full-blown crush. Who'd have thought he'd have a thing for bad boys?
"Would you like a cup of tea?" Aziraphale asked. "The kettle just boiled."
"If you're offering."
Aziraphale's gaze slid up and down Crowley's slender frame once again. His T-shirt had an image of four faces on a black background. Written above it was 'VespiQueen' and below it was 'Bohemian Rhapsobee.' Aziraphale hadn't heard of the band before. It must be Bebop. "You're not in your Team Rocket uniform? Did you quit?" he asked hopefully.
"Nah. I only wear it when I'm working."
Aziraphale nodded. It was a shame Crowley hadn't listened to his warnings, but Aziraphale was confident he'd be able to get through to him eventually.
Aziraphale took two mugs out of his rucksack and used them for Crowley and himself. He then filled up the two teacups that came with the tea set for the Pokémon.
Aziraphale put one of the teacups down for his own Pokémon on the table and then placed the other at Crowley's end of the table. "Your Pokémon are more than welcome to share a cup."
Crowley's Pokémon immediately descended upon it, all except for his Shiny Sinistea, who'd gone over to say hello to Aziraphale's Sinistea. They both drank side-by-side from the same cup, Caramel on one side of them and Oscar on the other. Aziraphale had to top up both cups from the teapot almost immediately, struggling to keep up with so many thirsty Pokémon. Appletun and Aegislash hadn't even had a look in yet.
Crowley laughed and then unbuckled his rucksack. "I've got some bowls for the larger Pokémon."
"Thank you."
Soon, Appletun and Aegislash were drinking together from a bowl on the grass. The Pokémon on the table now had an additional bowl to drink from as well.
Once the Pokémon were taken care of, Aziraphale and Crowley sat back with their own mugs of tea. Crowley was fidgeting with the hem of his band T-shirt. His foot tapped nervously on the ground as he rooted through his leather rucksack once again. He pulled out a box and pushed it towards Aziraphale on the table. "For you," he said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing. "To say thanks."
"Oh! Oh, Crowley!" Aziraphale gasped as he pulled the box close. "Thank you so much! You didn't need to- Oh, but they look delicious."
It was an elegant candy box with a cellophane window on the top to show off the candies within. The sweets came in a variety of shapes, and there were two of each kind. There were stars, clovers, flowers, berries, strawberries, ribbons, and good heavens, hearts! Aziraphale felt his face flush.
Caramel - always excited when it came to food – raced over and clung to the corner of the box. She was practically vibrating.
Realisation dawned.
"Oh! These the sweets that Caramel needs to evolve!"
"Yeah," Crowley said. "But humans can eat them too. I thought your Milcery here might like to choose a couple of them."
Caramel let out an excited squeal.
"I think you're right," Aziraphale said with a chuckle. He leaned closer to Caramel. "Do you have a favourite?"
Aziraphale opened the lid, and Caramel looked at all of the candies before choosing the two purple ribbons and lifting them from the box.
Aziraphale found a leaflet tucked into the lid. "Aha, instructions on how to evolve. You hold the candies and depending on the time of day and how long you spin and in which direction – clockwise or anticlockwise – you'll turn into a different Alcremie. Oh, just look at the pictures of the Alcremies! Mint Cream, Ruby Swirl, Vanilla Cream… So many options. Ooh! Caramel Swirl! Your namesake!"
Caramel looked at the pictures enthusiastically.
"Which one do you like the best- Oh!"
Caramel was already spinning, around and around - following the instructions for the Caramel Swirl, Aziraphale assumed – and then she started to glow white and transform.
The bright light faded to reveal an Alcremie, her hair and dress giving the impression of being made of whipped cream. But she wasn't beige and white like a Caramel Swirl. She was pink, yellow and blue with a cream body.
"A Rainbow Swirl Alcremie!" Aziraphale gasped, a huge smile on his face. He looked up at the red sky. "Because you evolved at sunset. Of course! You look beautiful, my dear."
The two ribbons Caramel had been holding were now in her hair, either side of her face. Except… no. One was missing. But then Aziraphale saw it at her throat like a little bowtie. He gave her the softest smile.
Crowley let out a delighted laugh. "Caramel, you look just like Aziraphale and Oscar with your new bowtie! You're all so fancy."
Aziraphale gave Crowley a fond look. "Thank you so much for this."
"Eh. Least I can do." Crowley shrugged, as though it were nothing.
Aziraphale offered the box to him. "Would you like one?"
Crowley took one of the stars gratefully. Aziraphale took one of the hearts.
It was delicious.
There weren't many sweets in the box, so Aziraphale put them away for later. He wanted to savour them another time, when he could take a private moment to marvel at how kind and thoughtful his new friend was.
Oscar was soaring through the air with Crowley's Flapple, and then the pair of them landed on the grass amid the wildflowers, a short distance apart. They faced each other and bowed.
Crowley put down his mug. "I think our Pokémon want to battle. Whaddya say? Want a friendly battle?"
"Oh," said Aziraphale, his stomach swooping at the thought. Oscar and Flapple both made enthusiastic sounds. "Yes. A one-on-one fight."
Aziraphale mentally went through Oscar's attacks. Flapple and Oscar were both Grass-types, making them both resistant to Grass attacks. Flapple was a dual Grass and Dragon-type, but Oscar didn't have any attacks that were super effective against Dragon-types. He did however have a Flying attack which was strong against Grass Pokémon. Perfect.
"There's a Pokémon Centre just over there," Crowley said, gesturing at the red roof of the Pokémon Centre on the nearby road. "We can heal our Pokémon straight after, no problem. We won't need to dip into our restoratives." He was on his feet now, a look of excitement on his face. "Ready, Aziraphale?"
Aziraphale took one last sip of his tea and then nodded.
"Flapple, use Wing Attack!" Crowley cried.
"Oscar, use Peck!"
Aziraphale fumbled with his Pokédex as the two Pokémon collided, both of their attacks hitting their targets.
So they were both using Flying attacks. Wing Attack was technically stronger than Peck, but because Oscar was a higher level it meant Flapple's health took more of a beating.
"Acid Spray!" Crowley yelled. Pink gunk that looked like paint flew at Oscar and hit his chest, leaving pink dots on his feathers before he flapped his wings and shook them away. The attack didn't do much damage, but it did unfortunately leave him poisoned.
"Peck," Aziraphale shouted, knowing he was onto a good thing.
Oscar swooped in, pecked the Flapple and then soared upwards back into the air. He winced as the poison drained a small fraction of his health. Flapple was panting, his health low, but there was a look of determination on his face, and he seemed to be enjoying himself despite the way the battle was going.
"Wing Attack!" Crowley shouted at the same time that Aziraphale yelled "Peck!"
Oscar's attack landed first. Flapple fainted and immediately dropped through the air. Crowley dashed forward in an attempt to catch his Pokémon, but Oscar swooped down and caught Flapple carefully in his talons before dropping the unconscious Pokémon into Crowley's open arms.
"Thanks, Oscar," Crowley said, hugging his Flapple close.
Oscar flinched, the poison draining his health once again. He landed heavily amid the flowers, his health now in the yellow.
"It's okay, Oscar. We'll take you straight to the Pokémon Centre. Unless you'd rather have an Antidote right now?" Aziraphale grabbed his rucksack. "I have-"
Oscar started to glow white.
Aziraphale froze.
"Woah!" Crowley said with a gasp. "He's evolving!"
Oscar let out what could only be described as a scream as white light surrounded him.
Aziraphale dropped his rucksack and dashed across the grass.
The light faded, revealing Oscar who lay collapsed on the grass. He was still a Rowlet. He let out a sound of distress.
Aziraphale scooped Oscar up into his arms. "It's okay. It's okay."
"What's wrong? Is he alright?" Crowley asked.
"He always force-stops his evolutions. It really takes it out of him."
"He doesn't want to be a Dartrix?"
"It seems not." Aziraphale stroked the top of Oscar's head. Oscar stopped shaking, the tension draining from him as he relaxed against Aziraphale. "It's okay, my dear. Shall I find you that Antidote?"
Oscar shook his head and pointed with an outstretched wing in the direction of the Pokémon Centre.
"Alright. It's not far away."
Oscar wriggled his way out of Aziraphale's grip and then settled on his shoulder, pressing himself against Aziraphale's neck.
They headed towards the Pokémon centre at the side of the road, right next to the flower field. They left the table up and the tea service out. The area was open enough and deserted enough that Aziraphale decided it was safe to do so. He could still see his table as they reached the openair field station, and it only took a moment for Nurse Joy to heal their Pokémon.
The sky was growing dark, the moon glowing overhead. Aziraphale found himself worried that this would be where he and Crowley parted ways.
"Would you like to come back for some cocoa?" Aziraphale asked.
Crowley's eyes widened, a smile spreading across his face. "Yeah!"
Crowley very kindly offered to do the washing up while Aziraphale got a pan of milk simmering on the camping stove. Before long, everyone had a mug - or a cup or a bowl - in front of them, complete with whipped cream and marshmallows.
There came the sound of a bag being unfastened, and there was Oscar, diving headfirst into Aziraphale's rucksack. He flew over to Aziraphale with the book of fairy tales and dropped it on his lap. Caramel rushed over to Aziraphale's side with a gleeful sound.
Aziraphale turned to Crowley, his cheeks burning. "They like it when I read stories to them. Would that be alright?"
"Sure. What're we reading?"
Aziraphale opened the book to the first page and ran his finger down the contents page. "Um… The next story is… The Three Little Tepigs."
Crowley pulled his chair closer and leaned in. "Is that a library book?"
Aziraphale looked down at the sticker on the inside cover, which read 'New Haven Library.' A list of due dates had been stamped on it. Aziraphale still had three weeks before the book needed to be returned.
"Yes. It's from the library where I work. Back home in New Haven."
"Wow. You're a librarian? But won't you get in trouble for skipping work? New Haven is really far away. What if they fire you?"
"I'm taking a month's holiday. My manager rather insisted actually. I'd accrued rather a lot of hours, and she said I'd lose them if I didn't take them." He let out an embarrassed laugh. "I just really enjoy my job. I can read as many books as I want, and I get to shush people all day."
Crowley laughed. "Sounds like an amazing job."
"It's a dream come true. But I've always wanted to travel. Go to different cities, see the sights, try the local food. I'm very much enjoying getting out into the world."
And he really was, even if it had turned out to be more perilous than he'd ever imagined.
Aziraphale flicked to the correct page and then started to read. Although Crowley's presence made him feel self-conscious at first, it wasn't long before he became lost in the words. He'd read out loud to people before, although usually only to children on a school trip to the library.
Before long, Aziraphale was on the last page of the story. "The big bad Mightyena strolled up to the brick house, knocked on the door, and said in a low and gruff voice, 'Little Tepig, little Tepig, let me in!'"
Aziraphale paused for a sip of cocoa. It had gone cold already. He downed the rest of it in one big gulp.
Aziraphale took a deep breath. "'Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!' came a shout from with the house. 'Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!' Well, he huffed, and he puffed, but he could not blow the house down. The Mightyena was furious. 'I'm going to climb down the chimney and eat you all up! Your brothers too! I know you're hiding them in there!'"
Oscar let out a worried hoot, and Aziraphale petted his head reassuringly.
"The front door slammed open and a giant Emboar stomped out of the house - That's right, Oscar, the final evolution of the Tepig! – 'I'd like to see you try!' the Emboar yelled. Behind him stood his two brothers, who had also evolved into Emboars. A fireball grew and grew in the first Emboars hands, and the Mightyena ran away as fast as he could, his tail between his legs, never to be seen around town again." Aziraphale closed the book. "The end."
Oscar flapped his wings and let out a pleased hoot.
Crowley clapped enthusiastically. "That was great. I really like how you did all the voices."
Aziraphale dipped his head modestly. "Thank you."
Aziraphale glanced around. Seviper was staring at him, enrapt, and Flapple had curled up on Appletun's back. The two Sinistea - who had been side by side on the table during the entire reading - were now holding hands. Aziraphale melted at the sight.
Oddish let out a sleepy yawn from where he sat on Crowley's lap.
Crowley yawned in response. "It's getting kinda late. I'd better be turning in. Er… Is it okay if I set up my tent here?"
"Of course," Aziraphale said with a smile. "I'll put my tent up too."
Aziraphale took his compressed Poké Tent out of his rucksack and pressed a button. It expanded and unfurled in seconds, a sleeping bag and pillows tucked away inside, along with a chest of clothes. Aziraphale's understanding was that Poké Tents used the same technology that made it possible for massive Pokémon to fit inside of tiny Poké Balls.
Crowley's Poké Tent was similar but smaller, and it was well-worn with age. It was certainly a cheaper model, but it was sturdy and perfectly weatherproof.
Aziraphale stepped inside of his own tent. "Good night, Crowley. Sweet dreams."
"Good night, Aziraphale, and thanks for the hot chocolate." Crowley ducked into his own tent, but then he stopped and turned back round to face Aziraphale again. "Er. I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for the other day. For- For stealing from you and paralysing you. It was a really shitty thing to do. You didn't deserve that."
"Nobody deserves that, my dear."
Crowley nodded. His gaze dropped to his feet. "M'Sorry."
"I forgive you."
A smile pulled at the corner of Crowley's mouth.
"You could find other ways to earn money, you know," Aziraphale said. "I could help you find a job."
"Thanks, but I've already tried. No one wants to hire some random sixteen-year-old with no references."
"You could have trainer battles instead of robbing people. Make money that way. Prize money."
Crowley didn't look convinced. "But I'd have to give them money if I lost, and then I'd be left with nothing. It's happened before. Besides, I don't think I could win without cheating and using my paralysis trick."
"I think you could win," Aziraphale said. "And if not… Well. You could just cackle evilly and run off." He gave Crowley a wink.
Crowley laughed. "Yeah! I'll think about that one."
It'd be better than robbing people at the very least.
Once Aziraphale and his Pokémon were inside of his tent, he locked it up tight, read for an hour or two, and then fell fast asleep.