Chapter Text
Leon waved to his friend as he jogged down Raihan’s cement steps. He could hear the front door close behind him before he let Charizard out of his Pokeball. He smiled at Char and pet his neck. Leon didn’t need to tell Charizard where they were going, he already knew. Leon was really happy that Char was better at navigating where ever they went and didn’t get lost horribly like he normally did.
The walk back to the flat he owned was quieter than normal. Leon suddenly got a bad feeling and tensed up. Char noticed his tension and bristled a bit. The pokemon looked around, making sure they were safe. Leon gently pat him and chuckled softly.
“I’m just probably being weird…” He soothed his Charizard. The pokemon huffed but calmed a little bit. Char was still on edge as they walked. Leon couldn’t blame him, since he was still on guard himself. It was hard to be calm when you feel like your stomach is doing a billion flips a minute. Something just wasn’t right.
Leon shook his head, exhaling slowly as they rounded the corner. He wasn’t prepared for what he found before his eyes. At first, he thought he was looking at a severely injured Noivern, but the closer he got the more he realized this wasn’t a pokemon, but a hybrid. The growl that came from the broken body made Leon stop.
Any other sane person might have run away screaming, but not Leon.
Charizard growled back and Leon gently placed his hand on the pokemon’s chest to get him to stop. He shook his head at Char before he looked at the creature again. He slowly lifted his hands and walked forward. The growling got louder and Leon stopped again.
“I don’t know what happened to you, but I promise I’m not going to hurt you.” He spoke softly, watching the hybrid shift. He dared not move a muscle, trying to show he meant what he said. Leon waited with bated breath, watching the hybrid tremble. It looked so hurt and he didn’t want to wait too long. He really wanted to tend to the wounds it had. He then realized the growling had changed to soft whimpers.
“May I come closer?” The very curt nod was all he needed.
Leon gently approached the hybrid. A hybrid of a human and a Noivern. This was something he’d never seen before. That didn’t stop him from looking the creature over. Leon took note of several bruises and cuts all over the hybrid’s body. He gently coaxed it to unfurl its wings only to pause at the sight of a really young hybrid. If he had to guess, it was a Noibat hybrid and appeared to be near a toddler age.
He very delicately looked the Noibat hybrid over. He felt the older hybrid’s eyes on him as he checked the younger one. Luckily, there was nothing wrong with the little hybrid, so he went back to tending to the older hybrid. Leon removed his cape and draped it over the hybrid’s shoulder before he lifted it into his arms.
“My name’s Leon, what’s yours?” He made small talk, despite not knowing if the hybrid could understand him.
“...Piers…” The voice that spoke was deep, gravelly. It distracted Leon so much that he felt Char have to steer him back in the correct direction to his flat. He smiled at the pokemon apologetically.
“Piers is a nice name, does the wee bairn have a name?” he nodded to the little hybrid clinging to Piers’s chest.
“...Marnie…”
“Awww, Marnie. That’s cute! Are you okay if I take you back to my place? I want to better tend our wounds. I promise I won’t tell anyone where you are and you can stay with me. You’ll be safe.” He watched Piers perk, his ears swiveling a bit.
“...Safe…? No bad men… no ‘urt…?” The way Piers spoke made Leon realize that where ever he came from, Piers and Marnie were probably not treated right. If he could, he’d do everything in his power to make sure they never went back to that place. No matter how tough things probably got.
“Safe. I swear that you will never feel scared, threatened, or hurt ever again.”
“...Safe…” Leon looked down just long enough to see Piers close his eyes. He exhaled slowly, walking up the steps leading to his front door. He quickly unlocked it and walked into his flat. As he walked through the living room to head for his bedroom, he flipped on a few lights. Leon heard Char close and lock the front door as he entered the bedroom and laid Piers on the bed.
Leon checked to make sure Marnie was still okay. He then slipped into the bathroom to get his first aide kit. He chewed the inside of his cheek, grabbing one of the full restores he had hidden in the back of the cabinet. He stared at the pokemon medicine. Leon wasn’t sure if it would work, but if it did then…
He walked back into his bedroom, finding Piers looking around the room from the spot he sat in. Leon approached him gingerly, watching his expression. Once Piers turned his attention to Leon, he tilted his head at the items in Leon’s hands. Leon smiled softly and set the first aide box and Full Restore on the bed.
“Did the bad men use either of these on you?” Piers shook his head. “Which do you want to try?” Leon watched as Piers pointed to the Full Restore.
He sighed nervously, hoping with all he had that using the Full Restore on Piers wouldn’t do anything bad to the poor hybrid. Leon removed the cap of the medicine, delicately applying it to the wounds on Piers’s arms first. It watched the wounds close but gave the medicine some time before he deemed it safe. So he could use a Full Restore on a hybrid.
No, he could use it on Piers. That didn’t mean it would work on Marnie if she got hurt.
He wouldn’t wish harm on a wee bairn.
Leon sprayed the medicine on the rest of Piers’s wounds. He smiled as he watched the last of the gashes close up. He got up to return the first aid kit to its place and trash the now empty full Restore. When Leon came back out of the bathroom, he couldn’t find Piers and Marnie. He panicked, looking around the room. Just as he opened his mouth to call for Piers, he looked up and paused.
Piers hung upside down from his semi-flush light in the center of his bedroom, Marnie was hidden behind Piers’s wings, his tail wrapped around the base of the light source. Leon was thankful for two things. One, that his ceiling was so high up, otherwise Piers wouldn’t have much room to hang. Two, that his lights were
sturdy
. He invested in strong light sources, in both lighting and framework around the lightbulbs, a long time ago. Just for a reason like this.
Though he never expected to have a hybrid living with him. Hell, he never knew hybrids existed. There was talk about them a handful of years ago, but no one could ever prove their existence. Yet, here Leon was with two sleeping in his room above his bed. He flipped the light switch off, watching Piers’s expression relax as he slept.
Sleep wasn’t a bad idea.
Leon grabbed his PJs and walked into the bathroom once again. He came back out after a while, dressed for bed. He climbed under his covers, smiling as Charizard joined him on the bed. He reached over to pet the pokemon. As he looked back up at Piers, a pair of glowing teal eyes stared back at him.
Leon smiled tenderly, “G’night Piers.”
“...night…” The response was barely a whisper but Leon still heard it. In the morning he’d get up and make them something sweet for breakfast. Leon yawned big as he cuddled into his pillows and covers. If he recalled correctly, Noivern and Noibat loved fruits. Luckily for Piers and Marnie, Leon just stocked up on some fresh berries and ripe bananas. He’d own his own garden if he didn’t have to travel around Galar so much.
He sighed heavily, glad it was offseason. Rose wasn’t going to let him rest, but he at least got a month break to do what he liked before then. Being Champion was difficult sometimes, but it made money for Hop and his mom so that made him happy enough. Leon cracked an eye open, his sight drawn back to Piers. The hybrid was sleeping soundly now and Leon couldn’t help the pleased look on his face. He closed his eye and drifted off to thoughts of helping someone in need.