Chapter 3: Birthday Part 2
[For this chapter, I had to make up a bit of backstory for the pasts of Plumeria, Guzma, and Team Skull in general given that there wasn't info on the subject that I needed and so Warren's backstory would make sense. Also adding a small city to the base of Mount Lanakila for later. I know there used to be one in the games but it got destroyed by the island guardian but I needed a place for a character to live in. Hope you guys don't mind.]
(Back in present day)
"He woke up!?" Tiffany exclaimed, fully invested in the story. She made herself comfortable on the bed by sitting cross legged and up straight facing Warren. She also was holding Gabe in her arms. Warren still had the same hunched over with his hands holding his head up by the chin. Azalea was still sitting on his lap, leaning into him while also reminiscing that day.
"Yep, scared the shit out of both of us." Warren laughed a little while petting Azalea.
"Zor..." Azalea said in agreement.
"What happened next?" Tiffany asked.
"I ran of course. I was able to get away for a while, surprising that that fatass was able to keep up, but...took a wrong turn..." Warren stated.
(5 years ago)
After a few minutes of running with no real direction of where to go, young Warren took a sharp left, checking behind him to see that his old man was keeping up.
"Zorua!" Azalea cried out, getting her trainer's attention.
"Huh, woah!" Warren exclaimed as he slid to a halt upon seeing where he ran to; a dead end alley. "Fuck..."
"No where left to run you little shit." Warren's dad said menacingly while standing in front of the only way out, fists clenched in anger. Fear began to rise as Warren hold on Azalea tightened. "You and that creature are done for."
"S-screw you. I won't let you hurt her!" Warren yelled out trying to sound unafraid but failing because of a stutter. Azalea also began to growl. "What even is the problem!? What have I done to deserve this!?"
"Your mere existence. That broken bitch only had you to spite me, everything she did was to spite me. I wanted your ass gone once we found out you were conceived." Warren's dad said coldly causing Warren to flinch a little and tears to appear in his eyes at the words. His dad then pulled out his belt again, causing Warren to back up fearfully until his back was against the wall. "And she finally pushed it to far this time. She knows damn well I hated Pokémon and training. I'll send that thing back in a box."
"No...you won't touch her again..." Warren said fearfully with tears in his eyes. Warren's dad slowly made his way to his son, belt ready to strike as Warren held his eyes shut while trying holding Azalea away from his dad.
"Zorua!" Azalea managed to wiggle her way out of her trainer's grasp and hopped in front of Warren, ready to fight.
"Azalea no! This isn't your fight." Warren said fearfully.
"Good, this will make things quicker." Warren's dad said.
"Zor!" Azalea growled at her attacker. Warren also noticed that Zorua was also shaking in fear but still wasn't backing down.
"Damnit..." Warren said quietly before wiping the tears from his eyes and looking around, soon finding a kind of pipe on the ground. Warren quickly grabbed it and held it up ready to fight. Warren then steeled himself before talking. "You're not doing this alone then. I'm done taking crap from you for no reason!"
"There's plenty of reason you little shit! Now both of you are done!" Warren's dad yelled as Warren and Azalea clenched themself.
"Zubat! Supersonic on the pig!" A female voice suddenly yelled out along with the sound of a Pokeball opening. Both parties turned their attention to the teenage girl standing at the entrance of the alley with a Zubat. She was fair skinned and had golden-yellow eyes, gray eyeshadow, and pink hair that was done up in tails. The tails were tied up in a black hair tie. She wore a gray, sports bra-like t-shirt with black outlines and a red design on the front, black, baggy sweatpants, gray sneakers, and a white bracelet on her left wrist. She also had some sort of skull-shaped medal around her neck. Her Zubat immediately let out a Supersonic attack aimed for Warren's dad.
"AH! What the hell!?" The dad cried out while clutching his eyes shut and holding his hands tightly against his ears to quiet the attack. Warren and Azalea also shielded their ears, feeling the intense sound even though it wasn't directed at them.
"Hey kid!" The female yelled getting Warren's attention. "Grab your Pokémon and let's go!"
"R-right, come on Azalea!" Warren said while quickly running up to his Pokémon and grabbing her. Warren then quickly made his way to the female stranger.
"H-hey! Where do you think you're going!?" Warren's dad yelled upon seeing his son running past him.
"Harder Zubat!" The female commanded, causing Zubat to screech harder to keep Warren's dad immobilized. Once Warren got to her, the female pulled out another Pokeball.
"Salandit! Thunderwave on that guy!" She said tossing the Pokeball into the air. This released a female Salandit into the air and she immediately flipped and launched a yellow, paralyzing wave of poison sludge from her tail at her target. This caused Warren's dad to seize up and fall to the floor, silenced and unmoving.
"Return you two, good work." The teenager said returning her two Pokémon before turning her attention to Warren. "Come on, I'm sure someone woke up to that noise."
"Right." Warren said nodding before he and the teenager took off, the teen taking off towards Hano Resort with Warren following.
(40 minutes of running later, Hano Beach)
"*pant* So, as grateful as I am for the save, you're still a stranger to me. Who are you?" Warren asked the girl after they both caught their breath. After agreeing that they were far enough away, they decided to rest and sit on the stairs that led down to Hano Resort's beach.
"*pants* The name's Plumeria." The teen, now known as Plumeria, stated before standing up and turning to the kid and his Zorua. "Now what was that all about? What made the asshole attack some kid?"
"That asshole was my father, and let's just say we had a falling out. It was a long time coming..." Warren said solemnly before Azalea noticed his change in mood and nuzzled him in his chest. This caused Warren to bring his attention to her, smile, and pet her head. Upon hearing this, Plumeria sighed and sat back down next to him.
"Yeah, parents and adults suck sometimes." Plumeria stated simply. "While I don't have the same situation as you it seems, I don't have the best relationship with my folks either..."
"I hope it doesn't get to that point for your situation. No one deserves that and I still can't understand why I had to go through it." Warren stated sounding a little frustrated.
"I don't think we'll ever get an answer to that one kid. What we really should focus on is the now though." Plumeria said placing a hand on Warren's head to pat it. This caused him to flinch at the sudden contact and as a result, Azalea notice and started to growl loudly at Plumeria to remove her hand and raise both of them in defense and surrender. "Woah there Pokémon, not trying anything."
"Woah there Azalea, it's okay." Warren said rubbing Azalea's back which helped her calm down. She kept her gaze on Plumeria, however. "Sorry, I guess she's pretty protective of me now, especially after what happened."
"True true. That's good." Plumeria said putting her hands down. "At least you're safe now. Now moving on to where you'll be staying. Considering how your dad's not an option for you anymore, where's your mom at?"
"No idea." Warren said noticeably bluntly, causing Plumeria to wince.
"Not an option either, right. Any other relatives?" Plumeria asked.
"My dad kept me pretty isolated so I have no idea." Warren stated, causing Plumeria to sigh and stand up.
"Alright then, follow me." Plumeria said walking down the rest of the stairs to the beach. Warren got up as well and Azalea hopped out of his arms to stand beside him.
"Where to?" Warren asked as Plumeria went into her pocket and pulling out keys. She then tossed them into the air before catching it and turning her head to look at Warren.
"The reason I was back on this island in the first place. Now come on, I need sleep." Plumeria stated before continue onto the beach. Warren and Azalea looked at each other before quickly following her onto the beach. They were soon walking along the beach, Azalea taking in the sight of the nighttime view.
"Zorua." She said in awe, catching Warren's attention.
"Like the view huh? Bet cha didn't get something like this back where you came from. The view is just as great during the day but I like the shining moon better." Warren stated staring at the moon as well.
"Where did you get that Pokémon from anyway? Haven't seen any on the islands. What even is it?" Plumeria asked, causing Warren and Azalea to turn their attention to her.
"Her name is Azalea and she's a Zorua apparently. She's a gift from my mom. Got her today for my birthday." Warren stated solemnly causing Plumeria to wince a little.
"Of course this all happened on his birthday. What does the universe have against this kid?" Plumeria said quietly to herself before speaking to Warren. "At least one parent sent you something. Seems like she cares."
"I hope she does, she and Azalea are all I got at this point. Now I just got to find her. I don't know where to start though." Warren said.
"Worry about that later. Right now..." Plumeria said stopping, causing Warren and Azalea to stop as well. The new trainer and Pokémon looked ahead of them to see what it is they had walked to on the beach. "We made it."
"A boat?" Warren questioned.
"Yep, came to this island to...call in a favor from someone. It seems like they came through. Now let's see if this works." Plumeria said as everyone walked on to the boat, Plumeria having already unfastened the rope that was attached to a rock on the beach and that was keeping thew boat from floating away. It was a two floor, medium-sized boat with the controls on the second floor. Both parties immediately went to the control room, Plumeria taking the controls while Warren and Azalea took a seat on the bench in the room.
"So...you know how to drive this thing?" Warren questioned.
"Of course. If my fam taught me anything, it was how to drive this thing." Plumeria stated before putting the key in the ignition and turning it. The engine sputtered for a second before roaring to life, causing Plumeria to grin proudly. "And this fucker works, I honestly had my doubts."
"Very reassuring to say out loud." Warren deadpanned, Zorua crying out in agreement. "Where are we going now?"
"Just sit back and relax kid. We'll be at my place in no time." Plumeria stated before activating the forward acceleration and sailing off. Warren decided to stop asking questions when he felt Azalea jump onto and into his lap and arms. She let out a little yawn before laying down and snuggling herself into Warren's arms. Warren looked down at her.
"Tired huh? Not surprising considering what just happened. Sorry you had to go through that girl." Warren apologized to Azalea, who responded by lifting her head up and giving a lick to Warren's cheek before snuggling back into him, slowly falling asleep. This caused Warren to smile at her and Plumeria to smile as well upon seeing the exchange, though Warren didn't notice this.
"It might be best to get some sleep now, we're gonna be driving for a little while." Plumeria stated.
"And what about you? You're okay doing this at this time?" Warren asked causing Plumeria to wave nonchalantly at him without looking at him.
"I'll be fine, I'm more of a nocturnal person anyway. Now sleep kid." Plumeria said. This led to Warren leaning back against the wall and allowing the sleep to take him as well, now feeling just how exhausted he was.
(One hour later)
"Alright kid, wake up." Plumeria said while nudging on the kid to wake him up. He began to stir and soon opened his eyes. He then sat up, Plumeria stepping back a bit to give him space while resting a hand on her hip, and raised his arms to stretch and let out a yawn. The movement had also caused Azalea to wake up as well, her hopping off of her trainer laps to yawn and stretch like a cat.
"Where are we?" Warren asked in a tired voice while rubbing his eyes.
"The beach of Route 16, Ula'ula Island." Plumeria said simply before making out onto the boat, Warren soon getting up and following after her with Azalea in tow. The boat was now partly beached at the front and Plumeria hopped off the boat onto the beach. Warren sat on the edge and slid off onto the beach before turning with his arms at the ready to his Pokémon on the ledge of the boat. Azalea hopped off into his arms and Warren quickly set her down to allow her to walk on her own.
"Is...this it?" Warren asked looking around, not really finding anything of note other than a Pokémon Center.
"Nah, we still gotta walk through the meadow to get to my place. Follow." Plumeria commanded nonchalantly as she began walking. Warren and Azalea quickly followed behind her, all three soon entering and walking through the red flower filled meadow of Ula'ula island. After a several minutes of walking across the wooden bridges that made the path through the meadow, the three made it out and were now walking along a stone path going going past a police station and towards a walled off town that Warren and Azalea were naturally intimidated by. This caused them to stop walking and look up at the massive wall in front of them. Azalea even gulped and nuzzled up against her trainer. When she opened the door that served as the entrance to the walled town, Plumeria turns around and sees the two's expressions. This caused her to chuckle a little.
"What? Getting scared on me now?" Plumeria joked to get a reaction out of them.
"What!? Of course not!" Warren yelled back while picking Azalea up and keeping her in his arms. This reaction led to a grin forming on Plumeria's face.
"Good, come on you two." Plumeria said as she turned back around and made her way inside. Warren and Azalea looked down and up at each other respectively before nodding and following her inside.
While the outside wall was intimidating, the inside was a bit more depressing. As the party walked, Warren and Azalea looked around to see the abandon houses and lack of lighting. The only real light source was the bright full Alolan moon, though it was getting pretty close to going down at this point given how early in the morning it was. Warren also saw a rundown Pokémon Center that looked like it hasn't functioned in quite a while. The was a black van in front of it as well as a teen, about two years older than Warren, fair skin, and wearing all black shorts, black snapback cap, with an all white wife-beater t-shirt with blotches of random colors all over it, who was currently spray painting the left front of the Pokémon Center. As he was doing that, a teenage girl, around four years older than Warren, appeared from the back of the black van. She was wearing white leggings and a large black and white T-shirt that was two sizes too big for her. She had black, short, straight hair in bangs and circle rimmed glasses. She looked to be struggling with carrying a box and was on the brink of falling backwards with it. The spray-painter turned when he heard the struggle, Warren catching sight of the gas mask he was wearing that only covered the lower half of his face. The painter quickly hopped over to the girl and grabbed the box, receiving a smile and thanks from the girl before both walked into the rundown Pokémon Center. Other than those two and Warren's group, no one else was out and about on the streets. It was then that Warren started asking more questions to Plumeria.
"So Plumeria?" Warren said.
"What's up" She responded.
"What is this place anyway?" Warren asked.
"This place is called Po Town, at least it used to be called that by its former inhabitants. Now we treat it as our base of operations." Plumeria explained.
"Po Town...why does that place sound familiar?" Warren said to himself. "Wait, we? You mean you and those two other people we just passed? And what do you mean base of operations?"
"Nah, there's more of us. And you'll see in a sec. Everyone's probably sleeping or hanging out in here." Plumeria said motioning to the large, rundown mansion that they were now at the entrance to. If not for the flickering lights inside that he could see from the open windows, Warren would have that this place was a haunted house. "Welcome home."
"Home? You live here?" Warren questioned surprised while pointing up to the mansion.
"Yep, we call this place the Shady House." Plumeria explained.
"Very fitting." Warren said bluntly, Azalea crying out a little in agreement.
"Yep, now let's get inside, got someone you need to meet." Plumeria said opening one of the double doors and leaving it open to allow Warren to follow her through. Inside were a three other kids, two boys and a girl, around Warren's age or a year younger. They were relaxing on the stairs and when they saw Plumeria, their faces beamed up.
"Big sis! You're back." One of the boys, who had blue hair, said.
"Who's that boy?" The girl with pink hair asked.
"Uh Warren..." Warren said shyly, not really used to talking to new people nor in the right mindset to do so.
"That's a cool Pokémon you go there. What is it? Where'd you get it?" The last kid, who had brown to black hair and was slightly pudgy, asked excitedly as all of the kids converged on Warren. Any closer and Azalea would have started growling at them but Plumeria broke up the situation.
"Alright guys, save the interrogation for later. We have stuff to do. Go to bed or something." Plumeria said, point them off with a thumb.
"Aww, okay big sis." The kids said dejectedly before making their way down the hall past Warren's groups, the girl waving back at Warren as they went causing Warren to wave back shyly. He then turned his attention to Plumeria who as about to start making her way up the stairs.
"Big sis?" Warren questioned to her while following after her.
"Not related to them, but don't have it in me to tell them to stop." Plumeria stated.
"I can see why they call you that." Warren said as they continued their trek. After a few minutes, they turn a corner to find a lone door at the end of a short hallway. They stopped just before the door and Plumeria turned her head to look down at Warren.
"You ready?" Plumeria said.
"Not sure what I'm supposed to be ready for." Warren said honestly, causing Plumeria to glare at him and intimidate him. "Okay okay, I'm ready."
"Alright, let's go." Plumeria said as she opened the door. Inside the room you could see a king sized bed on the left side with a shelf filled with various drinking bottles behind it. The thing that stood out most in the room was the big throne like chair on top of a few steps at the far end of the room, with a purple carpet starting at the doorway leading up to the throne. Sitting in the throne was an older teenager. He had black hair that had the had the side and back shaven down and pale-ish skin. He wore an all black, half-sleeve sweater that went past his butt, all black sweat pants, a white T-shirt with purple design in the middle, gray sneakers, and a gold bracelet on his left wrist. He was currently sleeping on the throne with his left hand supporting his head.
"Yo, Guz!" Plumeria yelled out causing the older teen to jolt awake. Upon seeing Plumeria, he let out a dark but natural grin.
"Plums, good to see you got back, was waiting up for ya." The older teen stated while standing up. Warren was already intimidated by the guy but upon seeing that he dwarfed Warren's 5'5" height by another foot, Warren felt the fear slowly creep back in as he tightened his hold on Azalea.
"I told you I was gonna be gone all night and I told you to sleep. Also, don't call me that." Plumeria said folding her arms across her chest as 'Guz' (pronounced goo-ze) made his way to her and towering over her as well, though Plumeria didn't look intimidated in the slightest.
"But you get to call be Guz." Guz stated.
"Your point?" Plumeria said without a beat while raising an eyebrow.
"Gah, whatever. And you know I couldn't sleep knowing where you were going..." Guz said before slowly looking behind Plumeria to see a random kid holding a Zorua and bag. He then nodded upwards to the kid and asked, "Who's this kid?"
"Come on kid." Plumeria said before nodding towards Guz. "Introduce yourself."
"W-Warren, sir." Warren answered quietly while looking away.
"What was that kid? Didn't hear ya." Guzma said in a taunting tone as he bent his torso down to Warren's level, having his. Hands resting on his hips. Azalea began to glare and growl at the closeness of this stranger but glaring and growling was all she could muster given the intimidating look and aura he was giving off. Warren felt and heard Azalea's growling and finally mustered up his courage.
"Warren." Warren said with a bit more confidence but still looking away.
"Nope, try again." Guz taunted again now brandishing a smirk. This caused Warren to growl in frustration.
"It's Warren! You need me to yell it any louder!" Warren yelled angrily while glaring up at Guz with clenched teeth and growling.
"Zorua!" Azalea also cried out feeling her trainers intensity. Both interactions only succeeded in making Guz's grin bigger and causing him to stand up straight and laugh.
"Ha! Now that's more like it! That's the energy I need!" Guz yelled out before getting back into his crouched pose with his hands on his hips.
"Ugh, it's four in the morning Guz. No yelling please." Plumeria groaned as she walked past the two males and towards the bed in the room.
"Yeah yeah, get some sleep girl." Guz said a little jokingly and a bit seriously as he and Warren watched her fall face and stomach first onto the bed and quickly passing out, sprawled out on the bed. Guz then turned back to the kid. "The name's Guzma kid, don't forget it. Now..."
Guzma then turned around and made his way to his throne. When he sat down and leaned back into a comfortable position, he motioned Warren to approach him, which he obeyed. Guzma began speaking again when Warren got close enough to the foot of the throne.
"What's your deal kid? Why you here?" Guzma asked.
"Well, I said I didn't have anywhere to go and Plumeria brought be here." Warren stated.
"I see, not surprising, Plumeria is a big softie." Guzma said looking over to the bed and seeing Plumeria raising her right arm and giving him the middle finger, causing him to laugh and bring a grin to his face. "Heh, but back to you though. WHY are you here?"
"Oh, well...let's just say me and my dad had a falling out." Warren stated bitterly while looking down. When he looked back up, he saw that Guzma also lost his grin and had a somewhat dark expression.
"You don't say..." Guzma said simply.
"Yeah, didn't like that I got a Pokémon *raises Azalea to give attention to her* and w-wanted to..." Warren said struggling to get the last word.
"I think I got you kid." Guzma said, sensing that the kid was struggling.
"Thanks. Anyways, I was ready to fight him off with a pipe that I found and Azalea but if it wasn't for Plumeria, things wouldn't have gone that great for us." Warren stated.
"Heh, you were ready for a brawl then huh?" Guzma said, gaining a small smirk.
"Yeah, but I don't think I would have done much to be honest." Warren stated honestly.
"But you were ready and willing!" Guzma stated enthusiastically while pointing right at Warren. "That's how it always needs to be. Can't let those shitty adults or anyone come at you like that without putting up a fight. You goin' down? At least go down swingin'."
Despite the aggression, Guzma was making a good point that Warren agreed with.
"Yeah...yeah, you're right." Warren agreed with Azalea giving a cry of agreement. "But I still want to get stronger along with Azalea so that we can protect ourselves."
"Oh you will, especially if you stick around here and watch yours truly." Guzma said confidently.
"You?" Warren said not trying to sound rude but said it a bit too quickly.
"Yeah me, kid!" Guzma said a bit annoyed while pulling out a Pokeball from his pocket and tossing it in the air. It opened and out came a massive looking bug monster that Warren had never seen before and was understandably a little scared.
"Woah, w-who or what is that?" Warren asked, taking a step back and moving Azalea out of the way. Warren was still a little curious about the new Pokémon, however. Azalea could only glare and growl at it as to show that she wasn't scared of the large creature. The façade was instantly shattered when the large Pokémon looked down at her and gave his own threatening glare with glowing red eyes, causing Azalea to flinch, break eye contact, and snuggle further into Warren's hold. This caused Warren to tighten his hold on her.
"That right there is my main weapon, Golisipod. Once he comes out, no one fucks with me. He's got my back and I got his. This guy has been with me from the beginning and we got into our fair share of scrapes. Want to be one of them?" Guzma said threateningly while resting a hand onto its back.
"What!? Uh, no." Warren quickly stated, realizing how unmatched he and Azalea were. This answer caused Guzma to laugh.
"Not surprising, the smart ones always give that answer. I can see that you are a smart kid, weak as shit though." Guzma stated while returning his Golisipod and standing up.
"Hey/Zor!" Warren and Azalea yelled at the same time, offended.
"Noise." Plumeria groaned causing Warren to flinch and give a silent apology.
"Listen fam, being weak ain't the problem. Staying weak is another story. You gonna stay weak kid? Run back to that asshole dad of yours and beg for forgiveness because things are scawy here?" Guzma mocked while crossing his arms across his chest.
"Of course not." Warren said a bit pissed at the questions and his tone.
"So you and the Pokémon are willing to get stronger so that no one fucks with you anymore?" Guzma continued, enjoying the anger that was coming off of Warren.
"Hell yeah." Warren said with confidence.
"Zor!" Azalea quickly cried out feeling her trainer's energy. This answer brought a massive grin to Guzma's face and unknown to both parties, Plumeria even let out a small smile at the exchange.
"Now that's what I like to hear." Guzma stated before reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. He tossed it in the air towards Warren and Azalea, Azalea catching it in her mouth. Releasing one of his hands from holding her, Warren gently grabbed it from her and held it in front of him. It was a necklace with a locket attached to it. Warren held the chain and allowed the locket to fall out of his hand and in front of his face, it swinging a little,
"What's this?" Warren questioned.
"That is our symbol. The symbol of the team I'm forming. A team of rejects and outcasts that Alola and its guardians don't understand, guardians that want to keep us down apparently. A group that won't be subject to these traditions that lock us down and reject us for not wanting to do it or not being good at it. This team will look out for one another and fuck over those that disrespect and hurt us." Guzma explained triumphantly. This declaration caught Warren off guard.
A Team? Like one of those evil teams out of Hoenn and Kalos that I heard about? Warren thought hesitantly. "You mean like those other evil teams? The ones going after world domination or destruction."
"World destruction? Domination? You stupid?" Guzma stated bluntly, catching Warren off guard. "That sounds like way too much work. All that planning and shit, who got time for that? Plus we ain't exactly rolling in cash to pull off shit like that even if I wanted to do all that. Just beating down weaklings and shit-talkers and taking their cash is fine with me."
"Huh, okay..." Warren said a little unsure but soon got over it. "What's the name?"
"Team Skull" Guzma stated proudly.
"Edgy." Warren said a bit sarcastically.
"I know, it's really gonna scare the shit out of these islanders." Guzma said not catching Warren's sarcasm. "So you in kid? Just know that you'll have to provide for yourself very quickly."
"What do you think girl?" Warren asked after shifting Azalea around to face him. She looked like she pondered for a second before nodding and reaching up to lick Warren's cheek, causing him to laugh a little. This action from her seemed to give off a vibe of "I go where you go" and "I trust you." Warren then thought for a second himself before speaking again.
"Honestly, I feel like I owe you, Plumeria for saving me and you for letting me stay here. Providing for myself won't be too much of a problem all things considered so yeah, I'm in." Warren said confidently with Azalea crying out a bit in agreement. Their answers brought back Guzma's grin.
"Welcome to Team Skull!" He stated proudly.
(Present day)
"Woah." Tiffany started retaining the same sitting position. "That was crazy."
"Oh yeah, it was quite the ordeal." Warren stated.
"It's kind of like how you found me..." Tiffany stated quietly while looking down, causing Warren to look up at her a little worried.
"Tiff?" Warren questioned. Tiffany then shook her head before looking back up at Warren with a smile.
"While I'm sad that you had to go through all that and really wish that you didn't have to go through that...I'm glad you're here today. The Team wouldn't be the same without ya and I'm sure there are others who feel the same way." Tiffany stated truthfully, causing Warren to blush.
"Ah don't get all mushy on me. Hate that shit." Warren lied while scratching the back of his head sheepishly and embarrassed. Tiffany then launched onto his back and hugged him tight, a bright smile on her face. Gabe had also clung onto Warren's arm, hugging him with its smaller body while Azalea nuzzled into Warren's lap and stomach.
"Yeah yeah, we all know you don't. Happy Birthday Big Bro." Tiffany said, deepening the hug.
"Zorua./Sandshrew." Both partner Pokémon cried out, giving their our celebratory gesture. This brought a content smile to Warren's face as he held Azalea close with one arm, the other arm holding Gabe, and leaned his head onto Tiffany's.
"Thanks fam. I appreciate it." Warren said before the group fell into a minute of content silence in each other's embrace. After that minute, Tiffany spoke.
"Question..." Tiffany spoke up.
"Hmm?" Warren responded.
"Was Plumeria as cute as she was back then as she is now." She asked, causing Warren to groan soon after in joking annoyance. If he was looking at her face, he would have noticed the somewhat perverted smile that was now on her face that was now looking at him.
"Aaaand there goes the moment." Warren laughed a little before effortlessly pushing Tiffany off of him, causing her to flop onto the bed while giggling. "Mind out of the gutter. Is there any point in the day that you don't think about her?"
"Come on, have you seen her?" Tiffany said before laying on her stomach, holding her head up with her hands, and swinging her feet in the air. "Now give me the deats."
"Don't answer that question." A voice suddenly said at the doorway. Everyone turned their attention to the door and found out who it was.
"Speak of the devil, hey Big Sis." Warren greeted Plumeria who was leaning on the door frame with her arms crossed.
"Hey Plums!" Tiffany said excitedly while sitting back up into a cross legged sitting position facing the door.
"Don't call me that." Plumeria said sternly but Tiffany only smiled innocently at her. Plumeria then turned her attention to Warren. "And who are you calling the devil kid?"
"Heh, no one Sis." Warren said, picking up and placing Azalea on the bed before getting up and walking up to Plumeria, holding out the winnings he made today. "And this is for you. Was on my way to you but *looks at Tiffany and both their partner Pokémon on the bed, all looking away and giving innocent smiles* I got sidetracked."
Upon seeing what he was doing Plumeria gave a small grin.
"Keep it Warren. It's your birthday after all." Plumeria stated.
"But-" Warren started.
"No buts, you already contributed enough for the gang recently. Keep it for yourself. Keep up the good work kid." Plumeria stated making Warren feel a bit good about himself.
"Yes, and use it to treat yourself bro, it is your birthday." Tiffany stated with a finger snap and a bit of playful sass.
"Maybe but I wouldn't know what to do with the extra cash other than save it." Warren said honestly.
"Well..." Plumeria started getting everyone's attention. "I heard from the grapevine that there was some sort of open mic competition happening in your hometown Tiffany."
"Tapu City?" Tiffany questioned. "Where at?"
"Some underground bar or something called..." Plumeria said, trying to remember the name. "Bugout?"
"Oh the Dugout? I know the place. I can take you." Tiffany said excitedly.
"Sand." Gabe said afterward, sharing in his trainer's excitement.
"It'll help get your name out there kid." Plumeria stated.
"I mean...you know what, sure. That honestly sounds fun." Warren said with a grin while Tiffany sprang up from her seat, Gabe hopping off of her beforehand and landing on the floor beside her, Azalea joining his side to share in the excitement of going somewhere.
"He said it. Now let's go have some fun!" Tiffany shouted before running up to Warren and grabbing his hand. She soon started to drag him out of the room.
"H-hey, cool it girl. You're going to pull my arm out of the socket." Warren said as he allowed himself to be pulled into the and down the hallway, both partner Pokémon following close behind. Plumeria laughed a little at the scene before her.
"Have fun kiddos. Don't cause any trouble." Plumeria stated at the retreating party before she turned to head towards her and Guzma's room. Warren's party quickly made it to the stairs at the center of the house, both him and Tiffany finding Okazaki at the bottom of the stairs, smoking and messing with his speaker while listening to music with his headphones. Okazaki then started hearing and feeling loud footsteps coming down the stairs, causing him to look up and see everyone coming down the stairs towards him.
"Oh no..." He said to himself as he took off his headphones and as Tiffany and Warren reached them.
"Come on Oki! You're coming with us." Tiffany said, confusing Okazaki.
"Coming where?" He asked.
"Some open mic competition at Tiff's hometown. I'm gonna enter it. You wanna tag along?" Warren asked in a calmer tone.
"Of course man, sounds dope." Okazaki said as he stood up.
"Good, cause I might need your beats for the place." Warren stated as he led the group out the front door.
[Note: If you watched the anime, Okazaki is actually a character in it. He's the one who was rapping about Team Skull when Guzma was first introduced. Also, went into a rabbit hole of Plumeria fan-art after searching for a description of her design and found fan-art of a younger version of her that was pretty dope. Credit to the artist Meron on twitter. I lost the link to it a while ago but if you all find it, awesome. I hope you all enjoyed. Anyway, onto the outro
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PEACE]