Chapter 308 - My OC Stash #8 - Alola Galar by Paulzies (Pokemon) (1/2)
-Just a chill, stress-relief Pokemon fic~ Props to the author for writing in best girl Nessa, cannot wait for the ship to sail!
Synopsis: Being Champion just wasn't his thing. That was why he left Alola. He'd always been an adventurer at heart, and now he was taking his first few steps in what felt like a completely different world. But he wasn't alone. He had his team with him.
Rated: T
Words: 24K
Posted on: fanfiction.net/s/13446637/2/Alola-Galar (Paulzies)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 0+1
A/N: For all my fellow Trainers that are spaghetti-upsetti about the incomplete Pokedex in Sword and Shield, the lack of Mega-Evolutions and Z-Moves, this fic's for you.
He wondered if Hau had forgiven him yet.
He never intended to hurt him.
He thought Hau would be happy being Champion.
But even now, months since he'd last seen his best friend—and he was reluctantly forced to wonder if that still held true—the look of betrayal on Hau's face continued to haunt him.
The smile melts. Thick eyebrows scrunch together, like Caterpies worming on his forehead, and Hau's lips twist into a frown.
Hau's face, which has always been tan, darkens several shades, and he can't help but take a step back when the new Champion of Alola glares at him.
”You…you lost on purpose, didn't you?”
He gulps.
The six Pokeballs on his belt, holding his fainted team, feel like they suddenly weigh a ton each. He's tempted to lie. But he has a feeling that things will only become worse if he does.
”Being Champion was always your dream, Hau,” he says. ”It's your turn.”
Hau's hands ball into tight fists.
Incineroar, Hau's partner, looks nervously at his trainer. He still remembers the day when he received Primarina—back then, she was still a Popplio—and Hau, clueless about the type advantages, had proudly proclaimed that Litten, being Fire-type, was the strongest.
His lips twitch when he recalls his first victorious Pokemon battle. It was also Hau's first loss.
”Forty-two times,” Hau says with a trembling voice. ”That's the number of times we've battled before today. FORTY-TWO TIMES!”
That's a lot, he realizes. But he hasn't been keeping count.
”I've lost every single one of them.”
”You won this one,” he says softly.
”Did I?” Hau sneers.
He's taken aback by the venom in his rival-slash-friend's voice.
”Do you honestly think that I have no chance of ever beating you in a fair fight? Is that why you let me win? Because you PITY me?”
It isn't pity. It's acknowledgement. Hau's been training hard. He knows about the late nights in the gyms, the hours spent in the libraries, the heated sessions with the Kahunas and the Elite Four. Hau deserves to be Champion.
He tries to tell this to him, but what comes out of his mouth is something completely different.
”I let you win because I don't want to be Champion anymore.”
Hau looks as if he's been slapped.
He doesn't know why he said it. But it's true, anyway. The experiences with Necrozma and the Ultra Beasts made him realize something. He doesn't like being Champion. Not with all the expectations and responsibilities that come with the title of being The Strongest.
He just wants a fresh start.
He wanted to explore again. To see new Pokemon and meet new people. To venture into the unknown. To go on another adventure. The Champion's throne had only chained him down, shackled him, and every time he saw reports and infographics about the other regions, a sense of longing to break free from Alola would always emerge.
”You're the only one I trust to take my place, Hau,” he says. ”While I'm gone.”
He sees Hau bite his lips.
That's one reason why he's always liked him; Hau always wore his emotions openly.
He could see the inner conflict in his rival as clear as day.
”I'm not as strong as a Trainer as you, though,” Hau says, looking down.
He has a strong feeling that the anger he hears isn't directed at him.
He smiles. ”You don't have to be the strongest Trainer to be Champion. You just need to be strong enough.”
”Am I though?”
”Yes.”
”It sounds as if you're just trying to comfort me.”
”That's because I am,” he says, ”but that doesn't make it any less true.”
Hau sighs. What little anger that remained leaves his body with that small exhalation. That's another reason why he likes Hau. He never stays angry for long.
”You're really leaving?” Hau asks.
He nods.
”Where are you going?”
He pauses. ”I haven't decided yet. Somewhere far away, probably.”
”Will you come back?”
”Of course.”
That seems to raise Hau's spirits.
His friend straightens. ”Then it's not over yet.” Hau levels a finger at him. ”I refuse to accept this win.”
He expected this.
”But you accept the role of Champion?” he asks.
”Just until you come back,” Hau says, grudgingly. ”We'll have a rematch. And next time, I'll show you that I don't need your pity.”
”Thank you, Hau.”
”You better come back, Elio.”
He knew he'd chosen correctly when he stepped off the boat and nobody paid a second glance to him. Here, he wasn't Elio, Champion of the Alola Region.
In Galar, he was just an ordinary Pokemon Trainer.
And he was ready to start his new adventure.
Chapter 1
It reminded him a little of Konikoni City, especially with the lighthouse that stood markedly near the outskirt of town. But unlike Konikoni, Hulbury was built on a hill, and terraced houses lined the streets that winded up its slopes. And at the base of the it, a giant blue dome was seated, its support pillars giving it the look of a very large spider that sparkled with decorative lights.
So this was one of Galar's famous Gym stadiums.
He'd read, on the pamphlets in the ferry, that Galar—like all the other regions—had Gyms. He remembered Kanto's gyms. They were small buildings, no bigger than a school gymnasium, nothing like the massive stadium before him, and he wondered just how different it was from Alola's unique Island Trials system.
The symbol above the entrance, shaped like a water droplet, caught his eye. So this was the Water-type Gym?
Ninetails, with Freeze-dry, would be doing most of the work, then.
He paused. Was it right for him to use his team in the first place? They were powerful, well-trained, worthy of the title of champions. It wouldn't be right to use them for a Gym challenge, would it?
In the first place…wasn't he here because he wanted to start a new adventure?
He'd get to know the new Pokemon here, make a new team, and see how things went.
That was the joy exploring—he loved venturing into the unknown.
XxXxXxXxX
Despite the hustle and bustle in the market, the scream for help was extremely clear to him.
He dropped his dinner, weaved through the throngs of shoppers, and ran towards the harbor where the scream had come from.
A small crowd had gathered at the railings, pointing towards the open sea.
He followed their fingers.
At first he did not know what he was supposed to be looking at. Then he saw the arm break through the surface of the water, flailing desperately, before being immediately swallowed by the sweeping waves again. Cries of alarm rippled through the crowd.
”His boat overturned!”
”He's going to drown!”
He could see a group of men in sailor uniforms working to unmoor a speedboat tied to the docks.
They would not make it in time.
He unlatched a Pokeball from his belt. Keeping it close to his body, he clicked the release button.
”Go.”
A flash of red light and the sound of a released Pokeball later, an orange blur shot to the sky.
It had not gone unnoticed.
”That's a Charizard!”
”The Champion! He's here!”
For a moment, he was confused when the crowd heaved a collective sigh of relief. How did they know?
”Thank goodness, Leon's here! I'd recognize that Charizard anywhere! He'll save the day, I'm sure of it.”
He frowned. Were they thinking of someone else?
Charizard roared.
The sea was rough today. The waves were as tall as a man and combing through the sea at a worrying pace. The man would be swept away soon.
If he didn't drown first.
”There!”
He saw the hand shoot into the air again, waving frantically. This time it was accompanied by a head. It was too far away, and it only surfaced for a brief instant before the man was pulled back down.
His gaze drifted to a nearby sign.
Dangerous currents. Do not swim.
Too late.
But Charizard had seen the man as well, and the winged lizard dived down, hurtling down towards the earth like a comet. And orange streak was drawn through the air, and the subsequent splash created a plume of water as tall as a house.
The crowd fell silent.
A few seconds later, when nothing happened, a tiny knot of worry formed in his c_h_e_s_t.
Charizards…were not aquatic creatures. And even if he had trained his to be particularly sturdy against water attacks, he hadn't actually taught it to swim. Its powerful muscles and great wings might not be enough to fight against the unseen and unyielding currents of the deep.
He rubbed the Keystone in his Mega-Ring nervously. Maybe he should have Mega-Evolved it.
But he believed in it. Charizard would never let him down, and it was the only one in his party that could have traversed the great distance of water to save the drowning man quick enough.
The crowd gasped when it burst out of the sea, its leathery wings unfurled and spanned out to their majestic lengths. The gasps turned into cheers when they saw the man hanging by his collar, which was locked in the maws of his savior.
He smiled.
Attaboy.
His Pokemon's return was graceful. Careful, even, with clawed arms supporting the man like a princess.
Great wings beat the air down towards the crowd and they parted, forming a giant clearing in front of him. Very quickly, he was walled in by the ever-increasing number of awed and fascinated onlookers.