THAT SYLVEON
I know, I know. I've been in great writing form. Truly, these next few weeks over summer should be interesting. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! I'll always be eternally grateful for your superfluous love and support! Thank you, thank you! Mwah!
We don't own Pokemon, or any other mentioned and/or inferred to franchises.
The Blaziken, who was still at the Punnichi headquarters, began to shuffle uncomfortably in his seat. The sun was abseiling below to greet it's fellow friends on the other side of the earth, the amber glow of the parting sunlight gave Barry the feel that a farewell was on the horizon, much like the moon that was soon to come.
He sat perpendicularly to Lola, who had her nose in a worksheet concerning electro-chemical cells. With his wandering eyes, he observed the actions of the hazelnut Lopunny closely. It was difficult to swallow the fact that this studious rabbit Pokemon was the same Pokemon who had… well, swallowed him, just a few days prior.
"Hey, um… Lola? I should probably be going, and all." spoke up Barry, after what seemed to be hours of working in the silent bedroom. "Although, today was extremely productive." Lola perked up, finally taking a break from her work, and straightened her back.
"Ahh, you're kinda right. It is getting late, after all. Thanks for coming over, though."
"It's alright. Thank you for having me."
After packing his stuff away, Barry stood up from the desk. As did Lola, to escort him downstairs.
"Hold on, Barry." abruptly uttered Lola, before Barry could walk out the door. The Blaziken turned around to give his companion all his undivided attention. "Umm… I know that we're still trying to see where we stand in this relationship… are we still dating?"
That was a question Barry himself hadn't even fathomed. Scratching his head with a talon on his hip, the blazing chicken gave his most honest response; "Uhh… I dunno."
Sighing, Lola let her shoulders go limp. Barry definitely didn't like the look of the low-spirited Lopunny, so he walked over to her with his arms out, wrapping her in the warm embrace like uhh… like a burrito.
"At least, don't leave-leave me, alright?" requested Lola, looking up at the Blaziken from under his beak, slightly muffled by his feathers. "I know as of right now, it's complicated, but just be sure to come over a lot, m'kay? Just so I know we haven't… broken up or anything. We're just having some alterations going on between us. I don't want anyone else to find out, though! Our relationship is currently under hiatus."
GEE! I WONDER WHAT ELSE IS UNDER HIATUS.
I don't know who wrote that. Anyways, Barry gave a nod of approval, ultimately letting go of Lola after a few moments. A few thumps came from outside in the hallway, but both parties chose to ignore it. Eventually, the Bursyamo left the building, albeit on a positive note. Not too positive for Lola, but a net gain at the very least.
After dropping her feathery and fiery friend out, Lola paced up the stairs to her sister's bedroom, with an agenda in mind. She rapped on the door a couple times before Lori fully opened her door. Her fur was dripping water, courtesy of a well deserved shower.
"Hiya, Lola. Is Barry still here?"
"No, he just left." replied Lola, pushing on the door to enter the room. Of course, the peach carpet that complimented the lavender walls was also very wet. "That's not what I'm here for. What's your deal with Barry, eh? I knew what you were up to."
The smallest of smiles came upon the mouth of Lorelei. "I can't lie, sis. Maybe I was flirting with him a little." She then put her paws up once she saw the distaste on her younger sibling's maw. "I won't do anything drastic while you two are dating, and you know that."
"Ugh… 'Course… Although, I'm not really sure that we're dating, as of now."
"O-Oh?" Lori's interest in the conversation suddenly hit an all-time high. "What happened between you two?"
Lola made herself comfortable on her sister's bed, while she began to expatiate. "Um, well before you had come downstairs, Barry was telling me about how he wasn't sure about his feelings, and felt like he was uncertain about this entire relationship. So, we agreed that we'd take time away from each other so he can get to grips with his emotions. In a way, we kinda are dating, but we're just on a break."
"Ohh, understood. That's a serious shame, Lola." responded Lori, as she placed a hand on her hip in front of her mirror, checking out her slim reflection. "Hopefully things work out with him one way or another."
"Thanks, man. Really helps."
Turning around, Lori plopped herself next to her living reflection, despite being one year older or so. "Lola, we're sisters. That Barry won't affect anything between us, because he's not blood."
"You're right. Thanks again, Lori."
"No worries, Dolores."
*Knock Knock Knock*
The door to Anais' room rumbled with fury. The peaceful Sylveon was doing what teenagers her age usually do when they're alone on a weekday evening - watching anime, of course. This show was called Fullmetal Alche-Misdreavus. Good grief, was it interesting.
"Yes?!" bellowed the Pokemon, disturbed from her binge-watching. "You can come in!"
Ah, but of course, who else would it be? Francesca came bounding through the entrance without much consideration for any nearby objects within the radius of the door.
"HI, ANAIS!" the Quilava practically screamed, running right into the room. The sheer rate of change in momentum was enough to make Anais jump from her desk.
"Arceus' sake, 'Cesca!" exclaimed the shocked and stunned Sylveon, not sure if she could recover from that jump scare. What was this, Five Nights at Ursaring's? "Are you trying to take my door off?"
"Sorry, Ann! I just have a question for you!" explained the volcano Pokemon, sounding slightly melancholic for her actions. Anais had noticed that she carried a familiar object in her paw (that for once, wasn't someone else's phone). "Come take a look at this."
Once her heart beat had returned to normal, Anais stood up and complied with a sigh. The object was a borderless photograph that she had seen earlier in the day, only with her dad instead. It was the same one with her beloved grandmother, alongside the unidentified Blaziken.
Francesca pointed a digit at the fire type in the photo. "You see that Blaziken? That's not Uncle Brendan, right?"
All this palaver over such a minor question. Anais shook her head with the intention to end the exchange there and then, and return back to her stories.
"That's not him. It's probably one of Gramma's friends or something."
"Oh. Well… Hang on, Anais." continued Francesca, pausing slightly. Anais was now sure that she was doing this deliberately.
"What?"
The young, adolescent fire type made a face, getting a look at the picture with a little more clarity. Well, so she thought. In actuality, Francesca made a pouting face and pretended like she was thinking.
"I mean, I know they're both Blaziken's and all, but don't you think this dude here sooorta looks like Uncle Brendan?" hypothesized Francesca. Anais didn't look like she saw the significance of what she had said, though.
"Not really, no." deadpanned the pink furred maverick. However, once she saw the downcast expression cast on the Quilava's face, she immediately felt like someone put a 50 kilogram dumbbell on her stomach.
"Aww, okay okay, alright."
For goodness sake. This girl seriously doesn't quit.
Stop being such a mean cousin! At least act like you care!
UGH. Whatever. Only because I feel bad.
"Okay, okay listen, Franny," the Sylveon began, "How about we go and ask my mom if they recognise him. Maybe he's just a really old family friend."
Francesca lit up like a jack o' lantern on a Halloween night.
"Really?! Aw, thanks, Ann! I wonder who it is!" she sang, dancing out of the room, while Anais reluctantly trudged behind her.
The duo travelled down the stairs, past the occupied Julius and vacuous Julley, and out into the garden located beyond the kitchen. Cassidy, who now proudly donned the name of 'Breon-Solian', was currently tending to the rest of her vegetables out in the garden before it got too dark. Twilight was really seeming to last forever. The sky was painted with strips of orange, pink and green on a dark blue canvas.
"Hey, Mom!" called Anais, accompanied by her younger fire-type cousin. "Can you help us out?"
Cassidy put down her gardening tools. None of these Pecha berries seemed to be growing anyway.
"Sure, what's going on with you two?"
Francesca brought out the picture, just barely visible under the setting sun, and showed it to the ice-type Eeveelution. "Could you tell us who's this Blaziken in this picture?"
"Hahaha! You guys really can't recognise your Uncle Bren… oh wait, that's not him, is it?" Both Anais and Francesca shook their heads.
"We had asked Dad earlier, but he said that he had not clue either." replied the daughter of the fresh-snow Pokemon, scratching her chin softly.
The conundrum really had all the cogs in Cassidy's brain working at a 100% efficiency. Despite that, no answer seemed to pop up.
"Sorry guys, I really can't put a name on that guy. Although, he's next to Grandma. I suppose you'll have to ask her." advised Cassidy, putting her sunhat on, despite the fact that it was 8pm, the sun was setting and it was 10 degrees (Celsius) at most.
Anais didn't seem too hot on the idea (get it, 'cause it wasn't hot out to begin with), as she let out an audible huff.
"Everyone knows that Gramma never answers her phone, though." whined the impatient fairy haughtily. "Do you guys think Uncle Brendan would know?"
Cassidy shrugged her shoulders, yet still brought out her phone. This brought a flavour of excitement to the Quilava, and the hint of a wild Swanna chase to the Sylveon.
"Maybe? You'll never know unless you try. Let's send him a picture of this…"
Let's shift our attention to a certain Blaziken. No, not that one. I'm talking about his father. Brendan Bursyamo woke up in a very tired state next to his wife the following morning that his son returned from his friend's house. Thankfully, Brendan was able to escape sleeping on the couch for yesterday's discourse by being very careful with his words the day before.
Brendan took a look to his right, and- oh dear, the sunlight was really bright. Okay, Brendan instead rotated to lay on his left. Of course, in his view now was his collection of all 17 of his Emerald Delta battling hoodies - classic green home colours, of course - lined up perfectly on the wall. Even better, there was his mini trophy cabinet on the floor below it, since Jasmine wouldn't let him have the bigger variant in their bedroom.
Speaking of her, there was also his pregnant wife, Jasmine, who was currently writhing in her sleep. By the look of that stomach, the aura Pokemon looked like she was ready to pop. How could he forget? Mind the trajectory of that chest spike, by the way.
The first thing any sane modern Pokemon would do was check their phone. Brendan did just that, and discovered the notifications of a few missed calls from good friend Cassidy, alongside a couple messages and an image. Upon reading the messages, and seeing the photos, the father of one spent a good five minutes staring at the photo, before throwing in the towel.
"Hey, Jazz?" softly spoke the Blaziken, slowly shaking his wife from side to side to wake her up.
"Brmbrmmm... Whaat?" Jasmine moaned, rubbing her head for a few seconds and sitting upright. "Oh, good morning, babe…"
"Sorry for waking you up, Jasmine. Could you help me out here?"
Using her glimmering (yet utterly exhausted) orbs, Jasmine squinted at her husband.
"...I'm hungry."
Brendan wasn't sure whether that was a yes or no. Regardless of the weird answer his wife gave him, he showcased the photo of the mysterious fire type who bared a striking resemblance to himself to his sleepy partner.
"Do you recognise the Blaziken in this picture?"
Jasmine looked even closer at the picture. It wasn't her most optimal time to use such thinking power; she was jaded, famished and it was 6 in the morning.
"...I really want yoghurt."
Sighing, the world-famous battler knew that this was an uphill battle that he was never going to win, therefore he slumped back down in bed, and sent a response back to the sender.
Considering he had a two-week long international tournament to get going to soon, Brendan figured that now would be an opportune time to get some shut-eye befo-
"BARRY!" bellowed Jasmine at the top of her lungs.
"...Yes..?" came a quieter voice from beyond the room. Brendan was deducted of whatever remaining time he had to sleep, and unfortunately, so was his son.
"GET ME SOME YOGHURT… AND SOME WHIPPED CREAM!"
"..."
"..."
"...Okay, Mom…"
Many thumps were heard via the sound of Barry moving about the house. Brendan felt sympathetic for his only child, always being sent on mindless errands throughout the day.
Soon, a couple of knocks came from the door, before Barrágan poked his head through the door.
"Mom? Your yoghurt."
Jasmine greedily accepted the bowl of yoghurt, stuffing her face in the dairy goodness. "Mhmhm, thanp mou!" she mumbled with a full mouth.
While he was here, Brendan pondered that maybe his son would be able to aid him in his quest to find the answer to the question given to him by Cassidy. It was well worth a try, that's for sure.
"Oy, Barry." accosted the elder father Blaziken, getting his phone out. "In this picture, you've got Mom standing next to some 'Ziken. Do you recognise the guy at all?"
Barry itched the keratin coating of his beak carefully, but had no luck whatsoever. "Sorry, I've never seen such a person in my life. Although, the Umbreon in the picture doesn't really look like Mom."
"Of course…" An exhale of defeat left the exasperated Brendan. "And no, Barry, as in my Mom."
"Grandma was an Umbreon?!"
Brendan and Jasmine face palmed painfully (of course, after the latter had finished her bowl of yoghurt). The young'un still had yet to learn about the concept of in-laws.
"Ust… Nevermind. Don't worry about it, Barry." sighed Brendan, slumping back in his bed. "By the way, I'm off to another tourney today, so make sure you take care of your mother. No staying up doing homework, ya nerd."
Nodding one last time, Barry exited the large room so he could get ready to get going to school. In the meantime, Jasmine felt a talon traverse across her blue and beige furry torso, caressing her very developed baby-bump. The Lucario had giggled, doing a complete 180 compared to her mood prior.
"Y'know, from time to time I can feel a bunch of kicks from the inside, and sometimes it tickles, and other times it fucking hurts."
Brendan grinned, not only at his wife's comment, but also via the happiness that a new child could bring to their family.
"Must be weird carrying a whole life in your belly. We haven't even thought of a name for it!"
"Jacie."
The two that were snug as a Ledyba stared dead into each other's eyes. There was no questioning the certainty in the steel and fighting type mother had in her choice for the name. Thankfully, Brendan broke the dead-lock by speaking up.
"You know, I think that's a really nice name, Jazz. But, what if it's a boy?"
Weirdly enough, Jasmine shook her head.
"No way, goofball. I'm just so sure that it's gonna be a girl this time, especially since Barry was born." elucidated Jasmine, putting a paw on her husbands talon so they could stroke her stomach together.
"Ahaha, alright. We'll bet on it."
Anais was on her way to school early. Not only to execute the plan as soon as possible, but also so she wanted to get out of the house promptly so she didn't have to walk with Francesca to school. Yes, she was in the lower year, so they didn't even hang out in school. It was merely the concept of having to be within range of the Quilava that irked her.
But, it's 7am? What're you gonna do for the remaining hour and a half?
You're such a scrub. You and I both know Raidon and Barry spar early before school. So, I'll 'spectate' the spar, and while they're occupied - Hoof, kick, hoof, kick - BA! Then, I'm out.
I uhh… Really didn't get what you said.
It's okay, it takes an intellectual.
Anais turned into the large black school gates, and manoeuvred her way throughout the building until she reached the gymnasium sub-section. Her predictions were correct, as the only two in the room were a certain Luxray and Blaziken, currently in the process of doing their stretches on a mat.
"Oh heyy, you guys!" happily cheered Anais, trotting across the gym to take a seat at the benches. "Are you guys about to spar? I'd love to watch."
Upon seeing the Sylveon, Raidon seemed to grace a greater smile… As well as some extra blood around the cheeks.
"Hi Anais!" he nearly exclaimed, wiping his paws on the map, soaking up some electrons. "You can definitely watch if you'd like."
Anais nodded, noticing that there wasn't much input from her cousin. The Blaziken looked discomforted doing those stretches of his. Regardless, she made herself a good area on the bench, sitting such that the battling duo's belongings were only a metre away from her left.
Both parties of merciless battlers stood up from their individual spots, and assumed some kick-ass fighting stances. At least, that's what Anais thought.
This time, they didn't wait for the now-silent Sylveon to make the call for them to begin. Raidon made the first move by somersaulting up in the air, planning to strike the Blaziken with a paw full of current. Anais shifted to her left slightly.
Albeit able to dodge the attack via sidestep, Barry ended up stumbling a little in the process. Raidon saw his sloppy evasive manner, and decided to go on the offensive once more; this time, just to test his reflexes with a quick attack. Anais shifted again.
The elusive Luxray zipped from side to side at terrific velocities with the intention to perplex the Blaziken. Whether it worked or not, you'd have to ask him, but Barry decided to skip the nonsense and solely attempt to block the attack. Anais was nearly at her target.
Two of the battlers collided, slamming right into each other. Barry was firm in defending his body in a crouched position, but Raidon's rate of change of momentum provided just enough force to knock the Blaziken onto his backside. Anais finally reached her target.
"Hey, something wrong, Barry?" asked Raidon, jumping up and down excitedly by the floored fire type. "You see like you've been out of form."
Barry huffed, crossing his legs and leaning on his arms. "I don't know. I just feel like I'm a bit rusty. Could we go again after a break?"
"Sure." Raidon supposed, smiling inwardly because he was able to get the best of Barry, in spite of whatever the Blaziken was going through.
Raidon claimed the victory, and trotted off the mat with glee (while Barry was left on the mat to regain his stamina). He trotted over to a very shady Anais, carrying that same big smile he had before the battle had started. Was she always that close to his bag?
"Hey, Anais. Did you see that battle?" snarkily questioned Raidon, pulling out a water bottle out of his bag. "We'll probably have another one, but Barry wants to take a break first."
I'd never tell a lie; he sorta looked cool out there in battle and all.
Well duh, we already know that you fancy him, Anais. Just ask him out now while you have the opportunity!
A-Aah, just wait! I know that this'll work, just you wait.
"Y-Yeah, you looked really cool out there in battle and all." blurted Anais, realising she had forgotten to reply to the Luxray.
Damn! Did I say that aloud?
Yup.
Raidon's eyebrows shaped an acute angle once his ears had heard what Anais said, affecting him so much that he felt the need to put his water bottle down.
"Y-You think so?" hyped the ecstatic and eager electric type, seeming to be a thousand times more invested in the conversation. "L-Like, what bits did you think were the best?"
For reasons that she couldn't entirely explain, Anais found amusement in the Raidon's jumpiness to be credited. To an extent, it sort of made him look cute… something felt off when I typed that. Wielding a smile of her own, Anais replied as she leaned in a little closer to the elated battler.
"Well, I really thought you looked pretty sweet when you tackled Barry earlier." pondered Anais, noticing a few blushes of red below the Raidon's gleaming eyes.
"Ahaha, thank you. I've been practicing a lot."
Raidon wasn't sure how to take this; he hadn't been complimented this generously for awhile, especially from someone as critical as Anais Breon-Solian. The black-furred only child began to rub his paws awkwardly against the squeaky clean floor.
But, he had been getting some practice outside of battling, if you get me.
"I think, you looked pretty nice when you came through the doors." Raidon meekly replied, struggling to focus his eyes upon the Sylveon's. "You have a really nice smile, and seeing it made me really happy as well."
An unexpected vibration of delight swept over Anais like a tidal wave. She couldn't help but broaden the smile that she donned already.
"Thank you so much… I don't think anyone's ever said that to me…"
"Aha, well, it certainly is true."
"..."
"..."
The two seemed to be lost in each other's gazes; Anais was drowning in a sea of blue and yellow, while Raidon failed to navigate through an azure labyrinth. Neither knew what to do next, nor were they sure that they even wanted to do anything next. Anais' eyes wandered to her left paw, which was at a dangerous distance to be in contact with the Luxray's arm. She wasn't even sure how it got there, yet by pure instinct, Anais lurched away.
"U-Uh…" murmured the flustered shamble of emotions, slightly startling the Luxray.
"..."
"Hey, Raidon? Are you done with your break?"
The voice could not have been any more timely. Barry had stood up from his quick rest on the floor. Turns out he just needed to stretch his hammies a little bit more.
"Y-Yeah, I'm coming!" called back Raidon, getting a glance at the Sylveon before he jogged back to the mat.
At that point in time, Anais felt that same feeling that she felt yesterday when she had told off Francesca. Although, it was different. The sensation was heavier. Immensely heavier.
W-W-W-Wha…?! What the fuck just happened there?
Oh dear… You've got a really bad crush. Baaaaad, with a capital B-A-D.
...I know…
Looking in awe was the clueless fairy Pokemon. Every muscle in the Luxray's body worked in tandem with each other as he trotted over to Barry. It was an inexplicably confusing sense that made Anais' breathing fluctuate uncontrollably.
…
...Well?
Forget the wallet idea.
I'm glad you finally came to your senses. So, what's next for Anais Breon-Solian?
Said Sylveon was still staring at the pair that were going at each other. Of course, now that the Blaziken was fit, Barry took no chances in showing the Luxray any mercy as Raidon was launched off the mat. At that instant, Anais realised what she really had to do.
I… I need to ask him out.
Ugh. I'm glad you finally came to your senses.
I know, I know, this chapter came out a lot faster than expected. I know I didn't expect it at all. However, this couldn't have been done without the help of fellow friend and beta reader DegenerateFluffington. Credits to you! Credz credz credz! What a shift he put in.
Now, I did say I was to reply to your reviews, right? If you have anything you'd like me to respond to, jot down a review, and I'd definitely get down to reading and replying. Thank you very much.
Before I do that, though; Oy, you. Nono, not you, I meant him/her/they. Are you reading this, but have not joined in on our "That Universe" Discord server? Don't be one to miss out on quality updates from the author(s) themselves, as well as an excellent place to promote your own stories! Send me a request to be invited at Luanastar#8453 on Discord itself. Don't worry, I won't bite :3
"Actually, she will bite, but only if you ask nicely ;3" -DegenerateFluffington
D'acc, allons-y:
Johnny7733 - Thank you very much for understanding the predicament here! Don't fret, though, as I'd always try to update as often as possible as I become more free. Really do hope to see you around more.
Hot Ramen0 - I'm extremely elated that you've taken a liking, but don't over-read! If you read for the lemons… you've come to the right place ;P
CH13F - It's an insult to even suggest that we've forgotten you, Chief. It's definitely upsetting to see a story you loved suddenly stop, though. Life, am I right?
Wait, wait… Barry x Lola is called Larry? XD That's genuinely amazing. This is why I love you people. It's either that or Bola :P
Thunderwolf7226 - Thank you very much for reading. I do apologise about the weird and/or otherwise vague dialogue. We'll have a go at improving upon that. Thank you!
Plague Dog UnleasheD - Show the entire world! We're deffo not dead (yet). Thanks for understanding our situation, also. I agree, writing can be quite difficult. I'm happy that you've noticed there is a correct answer to the sibling question, though; Giratina would make for a kickass brother/sister. Thanks to you for being real in general, dude.
SceptileBlade - Now, there's been a bit of a continuity error in the genders for the Legendaries in this story. Although often referred to as a male, Giratina is genderless. However, Cresselia is a female, as she's always a female in the games.
Djsoresupon3 - You get all the brownie points in the world. I really thought no one would get that. You really know your football. Nice one, dude!
Ant4456 - That's honestly one of the most tempting ideas I've ever received. Veeerry tempting...
TurboThunder - Well... Your comment was seemingly timed to perfection XD thank you so very much!
Sorry, this might just be me, but does anyone else just love the exchange going on between "JustaMegaMothim" and "Justsomeonenamed"? Absolutely beautiful XD
Thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a review if you're itching to share a lovely opinion. See you all next chapter! (And make sure to clean those keyboards of yours! They can break if left dirty and unclean!)
-Luanastar