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“DAD!”
The door of Peony’s office swung open, causing most of the decor to rattle ever-so-slightly. Peony looked up, his Scizor stopping mid-cut to look up as well.
“Nia! You look positively frazzled! What’s got ya in such a fuss, darlin’?”
Peonia bounced over to her father’s side, shoving her phone so close to his face that she nearly dropped it down his turtleneck.
“Look at this! They’re giving away some rare fossil Pokemon at Rose Tower tomorrow to some lucky trainers, and I want ooone!” Nia yelled.
“Nia, dear-” Peony gave her a look, but she shoved her phone even further up to his eyes.
“Y’see that one on the left? Y’see it, y’see it? That’s the one! That’ll be my partner! You’ve GOTTA take me, dad, you just gotta! I thought maybe I could talk to uncle Rose about it, but I couldn’t find his number anywhere, and when I asked his secretary she said he was busyyy! So c’mon, dad, you GOTTA!”
As Peonia’s finger jabbed the screen, fake nails emphasizing the little brown dino on it, Peony sighed. He gestured for his Scizor to put the orange fabric they had been working on away- this wasn’t a conversation he could multitask.
“I know you’re excited, darlin’, but… There’s just no way. Me and your uncle haven’t talked in…” He paused, knowing he couldn’t explain years and years of silent tension and animosity to his kid daughter. “...A while.”
“No way he’d be willin’ to call in a favor. Especially not on such short notice.” Of course, that was just Peony guesstimating. He hadn’t seen Rose in person in eons, hadn’t gotten a grasp of how he matured and changed. Maybe the League made him stricter- maybe it mellowed him out.
Peony didn’t particularly want to find out.
Nia groaned. She put her phone away, folding her arms. “Dad, c’mon, we’re totally not on the same page here.”
“We don’t NEED uncle Rose to call us in, cos we got someone who looks like uncle Rose riiiiight here!” She grinned, gesturing in her father’s direction wildly.
That… wasn’t the response Peony had been expecting.
“Peonia,” Peony said quietly. “Are you seriously asking me to dress up as my brother and sneak into Rose Tower.”
“...Well, when you put it THAT way it sounds ridiculous!”
“That’s because it IS!”
Nia’s shoulders drooped, and her lip began to quiver. She looked at her father with those sad, SAD eyes, and Peony could feel his heart grow a size.
“But, dad… These fossils are all the way from Kalos… They’re SUPER rare…”
He bit his lip. He couldn’t give in! He wouldn’t be such a bad example for his daughter!
“An’, I mean… Haven’t you ever wanted to know what uncle Rose gets up to these days? Must be pretty excitin’, bein’ league chairman…”
Nia fluttered her eyelashes, pulling out a sheet of paper and waving it side to side. Peony squinted, seeing it-
The killing blow.
In orange and yellow crayon, Nia had written ‘THE FOSSILIZED PRINCESS- TRAPPED IN THE TOWER!’
“It could even be one of yer Adven-tours… Just you and me, dad.~”
Oh Arceus, she had done it now.
A loud sigh escaped Peony, his rolling chair being sent back as he leaned back in it, pressing his hands up against his face.
He peeked between a crack in his fingers, and Nia was practically beaming with excitement. Those expectant eyes of hers shone with passion, a passion he saw in his younger self so many years ago…
Oh, HOW could he say no…?
It was ridiculous.
It was irresponsible.
It was quite possibly illegal.
But Peony was going to get his daughter that fossil if it killed him.
He stood up, swinging his arms from side to side, tapping his foot a little- some stimming always got the energy out- and clapped his hands together, setting them on Nia’s shoulders.
“Let’s do this.”
Nia squealed excitedly. “YES!”
“...Okay, how do we do this?”
“Not to worry, my darlin’ daughter! Papa’s got this!” Peony ruffled Nia’s hair, grabbing his coat off the rack. Scizor followed him with an alarmed look.
“Scizor, return!”
The bug Pokemon rolled its eyes, as if it already knew how ridiculous he was being, but retreated back into its ball.
“Keys?” Nia asked.
“Check!”
“Pokemon?”
“Check!”
“Wallet?”
“Check!”
Peony turned around, giving a thumbs up to his daughter.
“Go-get-em attitude?”
“CHECK!” Nia finished, and both of them rushed outside.
Circhester was always pretty cold, so both Peony and Nia could decently get away without their coats on during the spring or summer, but it was around the autumn and Peony was NOT going to let his dearest little girl get a cold! Still, the sun shining down on the plaza was enough to make Peony contemplate going back and leaving their coats, even if just for a moment.
The two of them walked into the local hairdressers, Peony holding the door open for Nia. All the hairstylists looked up thanks to the bell, and immediately all of them greeted the father-daughter combo. It made sense, considering Nia’s regular appointments.
“Morning, Nia dear! The usual for today?” The head stylist chirped, already filing in the appointment on her computer.
“Uh-! I’m… the one who’ll be seein’ one of you lovely ladies today, actually,” Peony said, cutting her off quickly.
“...Oh?” The stylist stared at Peony’s shaved head, giving him an uncertain look.
“Ah! What I meant is, er… I’d like to have a wig stylin’ done?” He flashed an awkward grin, rubbing behind his head.
The stylist’s face relaxed, and she gave Peony a reassuring smile that made him feel like he was melting of embarrassment only SLIGHTLY less. “Ooh! Of course, sir. I’ll get you a chair right away.”
Peony followed the stylist and sat down, wiggling until he felt like he sat comfortably in it.
“So, sir, did you have a specific style in mind for today?” The stylist asked.
He sighed, slowly handing her Chairman Rose’s league card.
“...I’ve got a picture.”
“Wow! Bold! Hey, has anyone ever told you you look a LOT like Mr. Ro-”
“Yes, all the time,” Peony cut her off quickly.
She simply shrugged.
The styling went by quicker than Peony expected. Sure, he had taken his darling Nia to plenty of salons, but he usually just stuck to a barber to do a quick and dirty cut. Meanwhile, a day at the salon felt more like… a big Event. He could see why Nia liked going so much.
“And there you go! How does that look?” The stylist moved away, letting Peony look at himself in the mirror-
He definitely wasn’t ready to see the results. Sure, the stylist had done her job perfectly, his wig looked exactly like Chairman Rose, more or less, but… that was the problem.
He touched his face idly, registering his own sad eyes as he stared into his reflection.
Arceus… had it really been years since they had last spoken?
Was it even right? To leave his brother hanging like that?
...Would Rose even want to see him again?
“Woah! Lookin’ good, dad!” Nia shouted, dragging Peony out of his own thoughts.
“...I mean, the original look’s more iconic, but this one’s just fine too!”
Peony smiled, trying to hide his uncertainty that naturally came with preparing to wear his brother’s face. “So how much do I owe ya?”
As the stylist and Peony talked prices, he slipped his daughter his wallet, giving her a nod. She knew he needed a suit, and she dashed off back into town to find the perfect match.
Once Peony had finished paying, a bunch of grey fabric was unloaded onto him, along with a fancy clipon tie and some hexagonal earrings.
“Oof! That’ll do us nicely, Nia… Thanks.” Peony waved to the stylist for the last time, exiting the salon.
“...Wonder what those two are up to?” She asked her coworker, who shrugged.
---------------------------------
Despite Peony’s reputation for being big, boisterous and ferocious on the battlefield, he actually had quite the delicate hand- which was perfect for sewing, of course. Luckily, he always had a few hands on deck, whether that was his loyal Steel-types or his wonderful daughter! Though, the former was far more common than the latter, disappointingly.
Still, Nia sitting out on most of the sewing sessions made this one particularly special! ...Even if it was to sew a replica of his brother’s shirt.
“Scizor, cut right here!” Peony shouted, beaming proudly at his Pokemon.
“Wow, dad… You’ve really got an eye for this stuff,” Nia said.
“I sure hope I do! All your clothes woulda turned out terrible otherwise,” Peony replied with a chuckle.
Him and Scizor continued to work, Scizor taking charge of cutting out the shapes as Peony dutifully connected them with a needle. Nia supplied an… interesting perspective, which was looking up Rose’s measurements. Peony told her he had a feeling MyPokeCelebrities.com was not the most reliable source and that his measurements would be different from Rose’s anyways, but she insisted it was ‘just in case’.
Eventually, it was finished, and as Peony wiped sweat off his brow, Nia looked up from her phone.
“Kay, next step is trying it on, dad.”
Peony puffed out his cheeks, looking at the completed suit. It would fit, certainly, he didn’t do all this work for it not to-
Well, might as well get it over with.
He rushed into another room.
Nia giggled, tap-tap-tapping away at her phone as Scizor tried its best to look at the screen.
“Oh man, I can’t wait to see this…”
Peony stuck his head through the door, blush dusting his cheeks. He sidestepped into the room, holding his arms in an awkwardly stiff position.
“Well? Give the audience a turnaround!” Nia giggled. Peony did so, laughing awkwardly.
“It’s the perfect disguise. That fossil is as good as OURS!” Nia cheered.
“Yes… but all good little espions n’ espionettes need a good night’s rest for the big day tomorrow,” Peony cut her off, patting her shoulder. “It’s bedtime for you, darlin’.”
“Aw… alright.”
Nia yawned, dragging herself out of her father’s chair and trudging out of the room, offering a half-intelligible ‘night’ to her dad.
Peony wished her the same, seeing her off to the hallway. He swiftly took a turn into the bathroom, stopping short in front of the mirror.
When he looked at his reflection…
He didn’t see himself.
The hair, the suit, the perfectly-knotted tie, the sleek earring… It was all his brother, alright.
Everything except that quivering lip and those uncertain eyes.
Arceus, why had he agreed to do this? The entire idea was… insanity! Beyond insanity, even! Damn him and his impulsivity and his big heart and-
He looked back up in the mirror, frown spreading.
Rose wouldn’t have done anything like this, would he? No, he’d have given little Nia a pat or two on the head, consoling her about her precious fossil, saying he’d buy her something even more beautiful in return, then sending her off to bed with a lolly and a kiss.
Rose never would have said yes.
...He NEVER would have said yes.
Peony straightened his posture, hardening his brow and trying to morph his face into that steadfast determination that the great Steel Peony was once known for.
He was different from Rose. And that was a good thing. He wasn’t going to let it weigh him down. Not tonight, anyways.
Sure, Rose would have done something of the status quo, but this was PEONY! He would go to the ends of the Earth to make his daughter happy! And he hadn’t seen her this excited in ages! Yeah, the plan was crazy, but aren’t all plans, even a little?
“I’M ULTRA-MEGA-PUMPED UP!” Peony shouted, bouncing up and down excitedly and pumping his fists in the air.
“DAD!”
“...Oops! Sorry, darlin’!”
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Peonia’s eyes fluttered open. Her vision, still groggy and shaking off the darkness of sleep, wavered in between blurriness and clarity, but she could see splotches of brown and grey that were way too close for comfort.
“Niaaaaa… Time to get up…”
“Urgh… What time is it…?” Nia groaned, flipping onto her other side to get away from the noise.
“It’s 5AM, Nia… If you wanna seize the day like a real chairman, you wake up at the crack of dawn, y’know?”
“WHICH MEANS WE’RE UP!” Peony shouted, yanking Nia’s blanket right off of her like a Tauros-fighter.
Nia shot up in surprise. “WAUGH! Don’t gotta shout, dad… You wanna wake the whole neighborhood or what?”
“SORRY, NIA! Just excited, is all,” Peony whispered apologetically. “But the 5AM part is real- We’re gonna have to get a head start if we wanna get to Wyndon as Rose Tower opens.”
Nia’s eyes lit up, as she rushed to the bathroom to get ready.
“I can’t-” Nia paused, spitting out her toothpaste in the sink. “I can’t believe yer seriously goin’ through with this!”
“‘Course! I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Peony lied. “Anythin’ for my daughter!”
Nia rushed out of the bathroom, nearly tripping as she frantically got her shoes on. “I slept in my clothes and everythin’! I’m serious about this stuff, dad!”
“Hold on, hold on! We gotta check the checklist first,” Peony said, stopping Nia before she could bolt out the door. “Gotta make sure I’m not forgettin’ anything, y’know?”
“Right!”
Peony and Nia both ran down the checklist as fast as they could, Peony tapping his foot excitedly the whole time.
“We’re good to go, darlin’! To the taxi stop!” Peony shouted, throwing open the door as he gestured for Nia to go ahead.
The two of them jogged through town, the orange light of dawn only just barely peeking near the bushes. The early hour meant not many people were out to see them, which was pretty good, considering the plan. Either they’d wonder why the chairman came out of Peony’s house, or they’d wonder why Peony was dressed as the chairman.
...Hopefully the former, if that were to hypothetically happen. He really needed this to work.
The two of them came to a stop near a large Corviknight. The cabbie looked up, and immediately his face went pale.
“Ch-Chairman! What are you doing out in Circhester at this time of day?!”
Ah.
Roadblock number one.
Nia expectantly gave Peony a look, as he floundered in his head, thinking of what to say.
He cleared his throat, trying to match his brother’s higher, less growly cadence. He had heard the chairman on TV plenty of times, so… should be easy enough.
“Ah! Well, my secretary informed me that there was some interesting new phenomena related to Dynamaxing going on here. And, heh, you know, whenever I make a surprise visit, I tend to draw quite the crowd…”
Yes, yes, good… Now make it even more pretentious.
“...Maybe as big as the champion!”
Peony gave a warm Rose-smile as the cabbie’s face lit up.
“Really! Well, doesn’t that sound exciting! I guess it makes sense, too… Not that an old bloke like me would know anything about being chairman.”
The cabbie checked his watch. “Oh! Rose Tower’s due to open soon… I guess you’ll want a ride back to Wyndon?”
“You’d guess right, sir!” Peony laughed, raising his hand- Nia knew he was about to pat the man’s back, but Peony retracted it closer to his mouth, doing a bit of a dignity laugh.
Nice save.
Nia got in the taxi, as did Peony, and they exchanged a grin as soon as they were sure the cabbie couldn’t see or hear them.
“WOW, dad! I didn’t take you for the actin’ type, but… man! It was like uncle Rose was right beside me!” Nia laughed, shoving her dad playfully.
“HA! I guess I do a pretty spot-on impression of the old bloke, don’t I? Here here here, I got another one.” Peony cleared his throat, purposely fluttering his eyelashes to make himself look as uppity as possible. “ Hmmmmm, Peony, did you swap our Cufants again? Mine pushed me off my bike again.”
They both erupted into cackles, only to stop short when the taxi let out a mighty creak.
“Oh man… we’re here. Game face on, dad.”
Peony nodded, shaking his hands in anticipation.
The cabbie opened the door, ushering the pair out with a smile. Peony thanked him, dropping some money in the cabbie’s hand as thanks.
“...We have that much spendin’ money?” Nia whispered, tugging on her dad’s arm.
“I dunno! I thought maybe he’d be the tippin’ type!” Peony whispered back.
Wyndon was a large city, certainly larger than Circhester, that was for sure. It made Peony’s skin crawl, knowing that his brother’s tower- his brother’s watchful eye- overlooked the entire city.
Or maybe he was looking too much into it.
Either way.
The two of them made their way across the winding streets. It looked like there were a lot more early birds than back home, so a few of them offered some pleasant hellos to who they thought was the chairman. Peony waved back, both him and Nia remarking that they felt like they were in a parade.
Finally, they came up to the grand doors of Rose Tower- shining, steel, looked like a single fingerprint would ruin it immediately…
Yep, that was Rose architecture, alright.
The doors slid open, and Peony relaxed a little. He thought for sure that would need a key.
“Good morning, chairman!” A secretary greeted, and Peony sucked in his breath, eyeing the key reader near her desk.
Spoke too soon.
He flashed the secretary a winning smile.
Alright, Peony… Think. What’s the most Rose excuse he used to get away with stuff?
‘Oh, me and Peony were playing a game, and we lost our homework! Sorry, dad…’
That’ll do.
“Ah, you know… I love my little employee keepaway games with the keys and whatnot, security training…” He scratched his head bashfully. “It seems in all the fun, I’ve misplaced MY key! I suppose one of our employees should be promoted to security chief if they managed to swipe my key…”
The secretary paused for a second, but erupted into laughter soon after.
“Oh, chairman! So charming… You can borrow the backup key today. I just hope Ms. Oleana won’t talk your ear off about it!”
“Thank you very much! I hope it won’t be a bother.”
“Not at all, chairman!”
The two of them laughed, Peony scanning his keycard and walking into the elevator.
As the doors closed, Nia let out an excited shriek, as she bounced around the elevator. “Oh my ARCEUS, this is SO easy! DAD!! I can’t believe they- DAD! DID YOU SEE??”
“‘Course I saw, darlin’, I was half of the conversation,” Peony assured her.
“This is gettin’ me in the mood! Oh, now I GOTTA get a disguise! Please please pleeeeease?” Nia shot her dad that same look she had used before, and Peony clutched his heart.
“...Oh, alright. To make your special day even more special.”
“YES!”
Peony pressed the closest stop button, to a floor labelled ‘Gym Challenge’. The doors opened, and it revealed a large warehouse full of empty Dynamax bands, challenger uniforms, league cards, and an embarrassingly large amount of Leon merch.
“Ah! There you are, chairman,” A warehouse worker piped up, handing him a large magenta coat. “Here’s the coat you had us place aside for you. Just in time for that one challenger’s birthday, yeah?”
Peony and Nia gave eachother a look.
“...Yes, of course! I’ll be taking that now,” Peony said with a sensible chuckle. “You have a good rest of your day, now.”
“I definitely will, chairman! Take care!”
The elevator closed, and Peony and Nia’s slow descent continued. Nia slid the jacket over herself, wiggling around as she stumbled to and fro.
“Pft- y’know what you look like? A Cottonee stuck in a Ballonlea mushroom!” Peony snorted.
“Daaaad! I could use some help here!” Nia’s muffled complaining came from inside the jacket.
“Oop- My bad, here, lemme help you out there, darlin’...” Peony pulled at the top hole in the jacket, Nia’s head popping out of it like a carrot popping out of the ground.
“There we go! The perfect disguise,” Nia said, spinning around in the coat.
“Yeah, I just hope Rose has more of those jackets lyin’ around…” Peony muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
“Oh, re-LAX, dad, we’ll return it. Somehow.”
The elevator came to a smooth stop, and the doors slid open to reveal a hallway shrouded in darkness.
“Uncle Rose’s office! This is DEFINITELY where he kept the fossils. C’mon, dad! Let’s go!” Nia scampered out of the chamber.
“Nia, wait! We shouldn’t run-” Peony sighed, striding after her.
The hallway was long, but straight- a few side offices darted to the left and right every now and again, but generally, he got the vibe that this floor was reserved for Macro Cosmos’ elites.
...That or the massive skyroof floor, though he guessed that one was either for parties or showing off.
Peony reached Nia, who was waiting for him near the expensive-looking glass doors.
Arceus. Having glass doors to an office.
That was SO Rose.
He scanned his keycard, and opened the door, feeling all the undisturbed air wash over him. Dawn was only just beginning to emerge, so there was a sense of awe and mystery lingering in the air… being in a place he certainly wasn’t supposed to be.
“Here it is, dad! The Jaw Fossil!” She pointed to it, and Peony came over to look.
The rocks were nearly identical, but one could spot the differences with a keen eye. And honestly? He had expected his darling daughter to pick the prettier fossil with the sails.
“...And it’s this jaw fossil you want, right? Not this lovely sail fossil?”
“I’m SURE, dad! This is the one!” She nodded, scooping it up and holding it with reverence, almost like it was her own child.
Peony smiled.
Despite… literally EVERYTHING they had done to get here, it was… a touching scene.
“Alright, let’s replace this bad boy. Luckily, I got some old fossils from the Wild Area a while back… Dr. Liss said to call ‘er but I’m glad I held out,” Peony said, placing what looked like two smaller fossils on the desk near the Sail fossil.
“Now stash that in your bag and let’s get outta here.”
Nia nodded, handling the fossil as gently as she possibly could. She followed close behind Peony, stuffing her face into her coat.
Peony couldn’t believe it. They had gotten what they had come for! This was fantastic! And no incidents were-
“Ah! Hey, chairman!”
Peony stopped dead in his tracks.
Oh, Arceus.
It was the champion.
Leon stepped back a little when he saw the chairman’s eyes go as wide as pool cues. “Oh, I hope I’m not disturbing you or anything… I was just gonna grab my PokeWalker for my morning jog, but while you’re here, I can ask you something I’ve been curious about!”
“I-”
Peony was cut off by Leon. “It’s a quick question, I promise. So, as champion, exactly how many endorsements can I give out? I know so many good trainers in Galar, and I want to encourage them all to be the very best they can be!”
Peony was sweating under his collar. He cleared his throat.
Ah! I just had a great idea, as I tend to do!
“...Ah! I just had a great idea, as I tend to do!” He patted Leon’s shoulder. “If you put it that way, why limit the number of endorsements, hm? You can endorse as many people as you’d like, Leon! Yes, we’re going to need ultra-mega-powerful trainers if we want to see Galar prosper!”
Nia glanced at her father like he had just summoned Giratina.
Oh no, that was-
That was DEFINITELY an ultra-mega in there.
“Awesome!” Leon said, beaming.
“Excellent! I’ll be on my way, then,” Peony said hurriedly. However, he was stopped again by Leon putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Hold on, chairman… Something seems… different about you today.”
Leon squinted.
Peony smiled nervously.
“...Oh! That’s it. You don’t have Oleana with you! Where is she, anyways?”
“I gave her the day off,” Peony blurted, maintaining a smile.
“Huh! That was nice of you. I always thought she’d be the type to refuse breaks.”
“Aha… It took a while of convincing.”
“Yeah, I bet it did! Anyways, I’ll see you around, sir! ...Oh, and you too, Bede! The chairman told me all about you!”
Leon waved to the pair as the door closed, and as soon as it did, Peony and Nia exhaled loudly.
“DAD. THAT WAS THE CHAMPION LEON,” Nia shouted.
“I KNOW! I ALMOST MESSED UP BAD, TOO!” Peony shouted back.
They stood in silence, huffing and catching their breath… before Nia wrapped herself around Peony’s waist.
“T’be honest, dad… I didn’t think you’d actually do this. But you totally did, and I just… Thank you.”
“You’re a pretty cool dad.”
Peony’s eyes watered, and he immediately lifted Nia off the ground, pulling her into a spinning hug.
“OH, NIAAAAAA! MY DARLIN’ NIAAA! YOUR PAPA LOVES YOU SO MUUUUUCH!”
“Gaaah, DAD! I’m gonna be sick! Put me doooown!”
-------------------------------
After a quick trip to Dr. Liss’ headquarters (and after some very quick flubbing on why the chairman would even BREATHE in her direction on Peony’s part), the father-daughter duo was home. Nia was in the living room, cooing and playing with her brand new Tyrunt, and Peony was in the bathroom once more, trying to figure out where to start.
He figured working around his wig would be downright ridiculous, so he carefully removed the wig. He looked up in the mirror once more- now there was an odd mixture.
Peony’s face, the chairman’s fashion… Maybe it was an indicator of a future that never was.
Certainly not a future where he had stayed in the League. Even then, he wouldn’t be caught dead matching with his brother!
...Well, he shouldn’t dawdle on it. He did his whole questionable act thing, and pretty much nobody was harmed by it. He could finally take the blazer off and get back into a more comfortable turtleneck.
And besides, now that that whole ordeal was taken care of, he could properly get back to planning!
Peony walked into his office, sitting on his favourite rolly chair and pulling back into his desk. He picked up a pen and began to write.
‘CROWN TUNDRA ADVEN-TOUR Itinerary’
‘1. THE SACRED BONDS OF SOVEREIGN AND STEED!!’
---------------------------------
Meanwhile, back at Rose Tower, a very confused chairman was getting a few strange phone calls.
“Ah, no, miss, I haven’t misplaced my key card, why do you keep asking…?”
“Yes, Oleana, I don’t know why the champion keeps showing you his massive list of endorsees…”
“...”
“...”
“I’m sorry, your fossil turned into a dragon with a WHAT on its tail??”