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It had only been a month since you moved to the Galar region, trading the familiar sights and sounds of Goldenrod City in Johto for the quiet tranquility of the farming community known as Turffield. You hoped that it would be smooth sailing after resigning from what had become a stressful job at the radio station.
Had hoped, at least. But after two weeks ago, you had begun to understand one thing: you can't trust Wooloos.
It had been the oddest thing; the moment you walked into the limits of the town, it was like you could feel a pair of eyes on your back. You turned to find a ball of wool staring back at you, its face nonchalantly gazing back at you. It wasn't necessarily your plan to have it follow you to your home, but you didn't know what else to do. You didn't even know what type of Pokemon it was.
A quick check of the PokeDex revealed it to be a Wooloo, and it seemed to be a mighty friendly one, so you took it home. And it was content for a while, always watching you as you milled about your small house and rubbing against your leg when it wanted food. You took great care of it and loved it. And then it ran off when you let it outside and never came back.
No big deal, it must've been wild and enjoyed its' freedom, right?
Well, then some of your things went missing.
You were an avid gardener, lovingly taking care of your flowers and vegetables back home to the point that you would forget what time it was in the afternoon. So it was a disappointment when you found that your gardening gloves had gone missing from your gardening shed one day after a long day of work.
Then your trowel went missing. And the little foam pad you kneel down onto to work in the flower beds went missing too.
It was strange when, despite you asking anyone in Turffield about the missing items, no one could recall having the same thing happen. So you finally counted your losses, and started keeping the remainder of your gardening stuff inside the house. You also began labeling your things in case someone came across one and decided to return it.
That had been two weeks ago, and it was just the other day that you had made the mistake of leaving your brand new pair of gloves outside while you went inside for a break. The refrigerator door had just shut and you were on your way to relaxing with a glass of water when you heard the sound of something outside. Curiously, you peeked out the back door and spotted a ball of wool sniffing at your gloves. Your Wooloo had come home! It was back and-
You nearly dropped the glass when you saw it clamp onto one of your gloves and try to leave. You burst out of the house yelling, "Drop that glove!". The poor thing was scared half to death, it started rolling away from the scene of the crime and out the garden gate. You gave chase, bearing down on the Wooloo with all you had!
Unfortunately, you lost the chance to grab it when your foot hit a lone rock in the road and made you face-plant onto the ground. That Wooloo was gone before you could say "scoot", and you were sore and exhausted. Picking yourself up from the ground, you dragged your feet inside the house, away from the afternoon sun, and got cleaned up for bed.
It wasn't until the next day that a box had been left at your door; inside was all of the gardening supplies that had been snatched, along with a note that smelled slightly of sweat, hay and Wooloo wool:
"Mornin' to you, Y/N! I'm sorry if this might scare you a tad, but I think these are yours!
It seems one of my Wooloo has been running off to Arceus-knows-where and nipping people's belongings. At least, it's been nipping yours. I don't know what's gotten into her, she's been wandering off ever since she came back a little close to two weeks ago-"
Two weeks ago. This Wooloo belonged to someone, and you had just taken it home without a second thought! Shame overtook you as you continued reading:
"-and she's been coming back with something of yours! I'm so sorry for her causing you trouble like this!
However, I did notice, and I apologize wholeheartedly if I'm being too forward, that it looks to me that you're a gardener as well! I keep a garden in my free time between work at the stadium and my farm duties. If you'd like, you can stop by the stadium and we can talk tips and tricks in between rounds!”
Whoever this was, they had just barely scratched the surface of her heart. She could never find anyone back home to discuss gardening with! And they worked at the stadium, too. They must have a hellaciously busy work schedule during the challenge season!
lI can't wait to meet you, Y/N. I know we'll get along right from the get-go!
Cheers, love!
- Milo”
If your heart hadn't soared by the end of the letter, you knew it would when you decided that you would meet Milo tomorrow at the gym.
The next day, you found yourself inside the Turffield Stadium with a case of regret. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all, you had thought as you followed a crowd of people into the main arena. It was the middle of the Gym Challenge season, apparently, and the crowd was pumped to watch another match. You heard some people say that the match wouldn't be much of anything since Turffield was the first in the gym roster and would generally be the easiest to beat, but the Gym Leader's kind and supportive attitude to the challenge newcomers won the hearts of many fans that cheered their name.
A name that you recognized all too late, as the horn sounded and the crowd cheered: the match was over, and as you looked up from the letter that was crumpled in your hand, you could see on the big screen that Milo had been defeated. You were surprised to find that any preconceived idea about Milo's physical appearance had been shattered the moment you laid eyes on him. Of short stature and bulky build, Milo was easily comparable to an Ursaring, but his features and personality as a Gym Leader were far more friendly than the bear Pokemon itself. His emerald eyes and freckled face had never once shown any sign of frustration in the battle, and in losing he was well-content with congratulating the opponent in earnest joy for their success. His wide hat crowned an unruly mess of reddish-pink curls, and his uniform was fit for the task of rounding up Wooloo and battling challengers-
"Baaaah!"
You were snapped out of your stupor by the sound of a Pokemon nearby, and the feeling of nudging at your hand - specifically the one that held the letter! You looked down just in time to see a Wooloo (if not that Wooloo) snatch the letter from your hand and plow its way through the crowd. "Hey! Stop that Wooloo!" Your cries fell on deaf ears as the sheep Pokemon made its' way out of the main arena and down the steps leading to the main lobby. Chasing after it, you were surprised to find that the lobby was void of any sign of life, and the damned Wooloo was trying to get past a door that seemed to be stuck open by a smidge of a crack.
You thought you might sneak up behind it and catch it off-guard, but before you could get a grip on it, the Pokemon had managed to squeeze through the gap and was making a break for freedom. The door was surprisingly hard to open any further, but prying it open a tad further gave you enough room to inch in and follow the Wooloo once more.
And judging by the sounds of it, it had to have been cornered at the end of the hall. You've got it now! "Now I've got you...!" You turned the corner, and saw the Wooloo with the note in its mouth!
And standing in front of it was a pair of beefy legs clad in work boots and green shorts. Dammit.
The look on the Gym Leader's face quickly shifted from surprise to joy in a matter of seconds. He'd seen the note in the Wooloo's mouth and had put together the puzzle pieces. "Goodness, is that you, Y/N?"
Your cheeks bloomed red as you felt the door of escape slam shut far out of your reach. "Uh, y-yes, that's me! … You must be Milo then?"
"Yes ma'am! I do apologize for leaving that box and letter out like I did, but when I brought it over yesterday, it seemed like no one was home."
"No, it's fine, I just went ahead and got ready for bed after I was outside," you replied, but quickly noticed something odd about what he had. "Wait.. how do you know where I live?"
This time, Milo's face gained a pinkish tinge to it. "Mighty sorry about that, but I was afraid to tell you in the letter about it.. I actually followed the Wooloo just far enough to find out which house it had gotten to! But that also means I saw what happened when the Wooloo got away... You weren't too banged up from falling, were you?" The pink tinge of his cheeks failed to fade away as he tilted his head in worry.
You, of course, couldn't forget that you had utterly failed in getting the Wooloo back and had eaten dirt upon your failure. "Oh, that, I'm fine! I've had much worse falls before, so you don't have to worry about me!" It wasn't that he remembered your faceplant that made you nervous; it was the look of worry that he wore so uncharacteristically that tugged at your heart strings. This was a man that had too big of a heart for the world. "You did good in that battle earlier, by the way! I never thought you were the Gym Leader for Turffield from your letter."
Milo's broad grin returned with a hint of shyness as he picked up the thieving Wooloo. "Well thanks! I figure a lot of visitors to the area are hesitant to talk to me when they find out I'm a Gym Leader.. I guess I just didn't want to scare you off, so I didn't rightly mention that. You don't seem to be from Galar, if you don't mind me sayin' so. What region are you hailing from?"
"Um, I'm from Johto.. It's a long way from home at the moment, I'm afraid."
"Johto?! Very interesting! What brings you all the way over here?" Milo's enthusiasm about your home region made your heart swell again; it was becoming a feeling you knew darn well you weren't properly equipped for.
But you also knew that you didn't really want to go into detail on why you moved to a new region. "Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted a change of pace for a while! Johto's great, but sometimes it's best to branch out and try new places, y'know?"
"I hear ya," Milo agreed as he fished the letter away from the Wooloo's mouth. It had long since become half-way mush, but despite that, Milo grinned at the remnants of the note he had hastily scribbled out before returning your stuff. "Sometimes I wonder if I could ever get away from Turffield and Galar, but I'm too rooted here to call anywhere else home! And I bet I'd miss it even if I was able to leave. It's a very nice place to be!"
You nodded in agreement before an intercom sounded above your heads; "Milo to Leader's Locker Room, Milo to Leader's Locker Room! Please prepare for next round, Please prepare for next round!"
Wooloo bleated as Milo scratched the back of his neck, that ever-present grin still on his face. "Back to the arena, I guess! Are you going to stay and watch a few more rounds?"
You shook your head, trying desperately to think of an excuse to not stay. "No, I'll pass. I think I.. actually need to get some groceries for the rest of the week."
Your hesitation never caught Milo off guard, and he gave a quick nod. "Same here! There should be a few more left, but it'll be a good while before I can honestly call it quits for the day. We should really get together and talk again soon!"
"We definitely should!" Your words had betrayed your heart as it nearly leaped out of your chest. "Should I, uh… leave you my number?"
"Yes, let's trade numbers right quick!" Your body acted against you as you handed the stoutly farmer your number and took his, and before parting gave a handshake between the two. His hands were calloused from working, as were yours by a fair bit less. But his grip was a nice median between firm and soft, and the smell of hay and a faintly sweet scent was gently floating about him. If you stayed any longer, your heart might just bust out and play your hand.
"Until next time we meet, Y/N!" He looked into your eyes, and you could tell that he really truly enjoyed meeting you.
You gazed into his eyes, and you prayed to Arceus that he couldn't tell just how head-over-heels you had fallen for the kind-hearted farmer in one day. "'Til next time, Milo!"
He turned to leave for the locker room, with that shameful Wooloo in hand. The infernally cute Pokemon bleated at you as they passed through the doors and left you alone in the hallway.
Nope, you had decided, you still couldn't trust that Wooloo if you tried.