Chapter Text
You were given your first Pokemon when you were 13 years old, just barely a teenager. It was a bit later than most other children because your parents had wanted you to be thoroughly prepared before you got your first partner. They had already arranged for you to have a mentor, a family friend that had been training Pokemon for years. He was the one who had decided what your first Pokemon would be and had presented you with it on your birthday.
Kabu was the most beautiful man you had ever seen. Granted you hadn't seen very many real men in your life, but you were sure he was the prettiest. He towered over you, partly due to your own short stature, and had the kindest smile. His dark hair fell in the most natural and lovely way, and you frequently caught yourself staring at him when your parents had him over for dinner.
Of course to him you were just the newest trainer he was going to mentor. He was 20 years your senior and obviously had no interest in a 13 year old. And yet, you continued to pine after him.
Every day, you met with him outside of town to practice. Your Charmander had gotten significantly stronger over the few months that you had been training with him, and you had a feeling he was about to evolve. Your feeling was confirmed when you stepped through the tall grass, Kabu right behind you, and were pounced upon by a Geodude. It had the type advantage, but one thing Kabu frequently stressed was having moves that may not be perfect for your Pokemon's type but that could help your partner face an opponent with advantage. The rock Pokemon hurled boulders at you and your partner, and you both dodged them as you commanded your partner.
Having gotten your opponent down to its last points of health, you prepared for the final strike. As soon as the Geodude fainted, your Charmander was suddenly covered by light and you couldn't see what was going on. You'd never seen a Pokemon evolve in person, but you saw that Kabu was closely watching so you figured you should too. There was a small burst of light and then your Charmander was no more. A bigger Pokemon stood before you, just as confused as you. Your partner glanced back and saw your excitement and a grin formed on his face. He waddled over to you through the grass to embrace you, but hadn't quite gotten a hold of his new longer tail. It swiped in front of you, burning your hands.
Jumping back in pain, you tumbled to the ground on the verge of tears. The Charmeleon retreated into his Pokeball out of fear. You held your hands close to your chest as Kabu knelt next to you. "That's the problem with fire Pokemon," he said quietly, helping you to your feet. "They can burn you too."
When you stood, you nearly collapsed into his arms from the pain. He saw that you weren't able to walk well, and hoisted you into his arms. And then everything felt okay. You held your head close to his chest, trying to cover the tears and blush on your face.
He carried you all the way back to your home and knocked on the door. Your mother answered and nearly collapsed when she saw the state you were in. "It's okay, just a small burn from her new Charmeleon. I'm going to run back to my house and get my burn heal for her." He set you back on your feet much to your dismay, and said he'd be right back.
You sat on the couch in the living room, keeping the burned part of your hands turned upwards. Your mother came in and was shocked that you weren't crying. "That looks painful, honey. How are you not in tears?" Truthfully, it was because of how close you had been to Kabu. How tight he had held you in his arms as he ran to your house. But you couldn't say that. "I'm going to be a fire specialist, I have to get used to being burned."
And that was the moment you decided you'd be a gym leader some day.
Whether that meant taking over the Lavaridge gym or going somewhere else, you would do it. And Kabu would be proud of you. And maybe he'd even be so impressed by you that he would fall in love with you.
It was more likely for you to become Champion than for him to reciprocate your childish crush, but then again, you were young. You could dream.
You trained with Kabu for years. He became more than a family friend, he was your friend. He had guided you through incredibly important parts of your life, leading you to a goal you felt like you were getting closer to achieving every day.
He had watched you go through silly relationships in high school that never lasted, and he was always there when you were upset about them ending. Although, you were never all that sad. You were only a teenager and they weren't going to last anyways.
And despite all those years of trying to force it away, your crush on Kabu persisted. But now it was more than a crush. When you were young, all you knew was that when you saw Kabu, you got butterflies in your stomach and you liked when he smiled at you.
But now you were 17, your birthday was rapidly approaching, and every time you saw Kabu, your chest ached. No one else had ever made you feel like that and you felt stupid that he was the one who made you feel that way. He was the only person who seemed to be off-limits. He was your parents' friend. He was more than twice your age. And he had no interest in you.
Was it love? You had no idea. You didn't have anything to base it off of. All you knew was that he set a fire blazing inside you whenever he was close. You had spent many sleepless nights thinking about him, trying to forget about those stupid things he made you feel. He was your mentor, for Arceus' sake.
You now nearly had a full team of fire Pokemon. Your first partner, now a Charizard, an Arcanine, a Rapidash, a Houndoom, and a Blaziken. It had been a long journey, but you were excited to complete your team this year. After your birthday, your parents said you could travel to another region to catch your final partner. Kabu had offered to accompany you, as he had been fairly well-traveled before settling in Hoenn.
It was the day of your 18th birthday, and you had hardly slept the night before. You hadn't seen your mentor for nearly a week, as he wanted to give you some time to relax before your birthday. But knowing you would soon leave on a trip with Kabu was exhilarating, even more so given the fact that you'd be 18 and could maybe finally confess how you felt to him. You sped out of your room, expecting to see your parents and your mentor with breakfast ready as they did every year on your birthday.
But all you saw was your parents looking sadly at what looked like a letter.
Your father looked up to see you and sighed. "Hey kiddo. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but... Kabu was invited to be the leader of the fire gym in Galar and had to leave straight away. He's not going to be able to make it."
You felt crushed. This was something you had been looking forward to since the day you had been told about the trip. And now he was gone, and you couldn't go.
And he was gone.
He was in an entirely different region and he wasn't coming back.
Your mother wrapped an arm around your shoulder. "He did leave you a present. He wanted you to be able to round out your team." She handed you a shiny Pokeball with a note attached.
'You always had a special connection with her, and I wanted you to have something to remember me by. Take over Lavaridge and come visit me. -Kabu' As soon as you read it, you knew what it was. As a child, you had a fondness for his Ninetales. She was a beautiful creature and you loved to pet her soft fur and play with her in the sun. She always liked you and listened to your commands. She was one of the few Pokemon he had raised from an egg and he gave her to you. You sighed, holding the ball close to you.
"I'm... going to go train." Your parents were understanding. They knew you had a connection with Kabu and could see that him being gone without warning was upsetting for you. Heading outside, you almost immediately ran into Flannery. "Hey! I heard the news about Kabu and wanted to see you. I... well, I need some new trainers for my gym and since you seem to be done with your training, I was wondering if you'd be interested! I know what you can do, you'd be a great fit."
It was perfect timing. Something to take your mind off the sudden absence of the first and only man you'd ever loved. You immediately agreed and headed to the gym with her to begin learning.
Two years passed. You were quickly recognized as the best trainer in the Lavaridge gym, and Flannery knew it. Not wanting to give up her gym just yet, she suggested you go to Galar to visit Kabu. You had almost completely forgotten about the incident. It was better to forget it and just keep moving forward in life rather than dwelling on it.
But you could never forget about Kabu.
You had always wanted to visit another region. You'd lived in Hoenn your whole life, and seeing the world seemed to be something all young people wanted to do. You took Flannery's not-so-gentle suggestion and started planning a trip to Galar.
Heading back to your own home, you looked up flights and expenses. Your parents had moved back to their hometown the year prior, but you wanted to stay in Lavaridge. It was quiet and abundant with kind people and fire Pokemon.
You didn't want to tell Kabu you were coming. You planned on seeing one of his exhibition matches, but were going to leave him alone. He clearly didn't want to see you, otherwise he wouldn't have left without warning.
Within a few days, you were ready to go. You had a flight, hotel rooms booked in all the major cities, tickets to any major matches happening while you were there, and all of your teammates that could come to the region packed away with your clothes and other essentials.
Hitching a ride on the back of your Charizard, you flew to Slateport City and headed to the newly constructed airport. You didn't want your partner flying such a long distance by himself. You got through customs and security rather fast, and made your way to the boarding area. You sat down, suitcase under your legs, and thought about what you were doing.
You had read up about all of the Pokemon that lived exclusively in the Galar region and you were excited to see them. Despite being a fire type trainer, you were interested in Toxtricity. You planned to catch a Toxel as soon as possible. But the one Pokemon you had your eye on specifically was a Sizzlipede. You'd always thought bug-types were cite, but having a fire/bug mix was even better than just one type.
You'd done plenty of research on all of the gyms and the unbeatable champion. You were sure you'd never meet any of them yourself, but you figured it was always good to be informed.
Kabu was the leader of the gym in Motostoke, your third stop during your trip. You didn't plan to stay there long. You wanted to avoid seeing him as much as you could, but there was a pulling feeling that made you want to go to Motostoke right away.
Shaking that feeling out of your head, you heard your section called to board and you headed onto the plane.