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Chapter Text

He’d faced the Elite Four at age 11. He’d taken over the troubled Gym Leadership in Viridian not long after, putting him in an impressive position of power when he was just a preteen. He’d gone through the wreckage of the devastating Cinnabar eruption before he’d even finished puberty. He’d braved Mt. Silver several times to make sure a certain someone hadn’t died up on that peak. He’d moved to Alola in the midst of what appeared to be an interdimensional crisis.

…so why was Blue Oak feeling like a nervous wreck about his own wedding day?

The once-champion of Kanto was looking over himself in the mirror for probably the tenth time or so. His suit was perfect, his hair fluffed into its usual style, he’d shaved and everything…clearly the thing causing his stomach to twist into knots wasn’t his own appearance.

Couldn’t be his soon-to-be-husband, either. Red may not be the most vocal guy, but his face was practically an open book as far as Blue was concerned, and he knew from just one look as they’d woken up together that morning that Red was still ready to go through with this.

No, if Blue had to be honest with himself, it was probably the kinds of people that were going to be in attendance. When you have a wedding between two famous Champions, particularly when one of them is also a former Gym Leader and the grandson of one of the most esteemed Pokémon professors of all time…well, the guest list was bound to be full of influential trainers, academics, and other assorted famous figures that would be watching this entire ceremony and Arceus knows if any of them were going to be judgemental about any part of it…

Blue was startled out of his mental spiral by a light tap on his back. He looked down to see Alakazam had bopped him with one of his spoons.

Right, right. Hard to hide anxieties around Psychic-types. Perhaps having a couple of his Pokémon out was a good idea after all.

“Sorry, bud,” he sighed, “Probably worried you there, huh? Man, Pokémon are lucky, you guys aren’t always freaking out about what other people think, huh?”

No use in denying that at this point; Blue had spent way too much of his formative building up a cocky attitude as a shield against anything anyone could say, and it had taken a heaping helping of humility at Indigo Plateau for him to finally realize how much of an ass that had turned him into. Now he’d spent the latter half of his life so far figuring out different ways to not let others’ opinions get to him, and while he’d gotten better with maturity…well, still. Big wedding with influential guests. That was bound to stir up the old worries again.

A sudden knock on the bedroom door broke Blue out of his thoughts, and he immediately rushed over to open it.

“How the hell do you run up those stairs every day?!” Leaf, on the other side of the doorway, panted, “I get it, having a suite actually in the Battle Tree is pretty cool, but you two have gotta be getting one hell of a cardio workout from all that!”

“...’kay, one: we got an elevator now,” Blue pointed out, “Two: you can also Fly up here, but something tells me you still don’t have a Flying-type Pokémon on your team.”

“You have two! You’re twice as weak against Electric, Ice, and Rock-types!”

“Three: didn’t we all do a lot more running around than this when we were kids? Hell, I’m pretty sure all those trips to Cerulean Cave you make probably give you a workout.”

“Cerulean Cave isn’t this high up…”

“Four: Red spent years up on Mt. Silver, don’t be surprised. And five: how the hell did you get in here, anyway?! You’re Red’s maid of honor, aren’t you supposed to be helping him out?”

“ Your maid of honor let me in because Red insisted he didn’t need any help and I got bored.”

Yeah, that made sense. Red probably wasn’t keen on having someone else fuss with his clothes and hair, and Leaf just wasn’t the kind of person to sit still and wait. Daisy, meanwhile, had already helped Blue get his act together, and was busy contacting the rest of the wedding party to make sure they were all in place.

“So uh…any guests arrive yet?” Blue asked.

“Not a huge amount,” Leaf shrugged, “I mean, we still got time till the ceremony. Right now, it’s mostly yours and Red’s family…”

So, Blue thought, that’s Gramps, Daisy, Red’s mom, and Cousin Samson…

“...the rest of the groomspeople…”

…Leaf, Daisy again, Lance, Ethan, Lyra, Kris… 

“...the more local guests from the Alolan League…”

…the trial captains and kahunas, the Alolan Elite Four, Kukui and Burnet, Selene…

“...oh! And Cynthia showed up early.”

…aw, crap.

If there was any Champion who had achieved anything close to the fame and renown Red had, it was Cynthia. Red had been the one to invite her, in fact. Not that Blue didn’t like her; actually, he had immense respect for her. She just came across as a little…intimidating. Oh, he’d heard she was nice once you got to know her, but Blue had never given himself that chance. One look at the tall, stony-eyed woman made him worry that he was going to screw up and make her think he was still the brat who’d pouted for almost a year about losing his short-lived Championship. Not that he had any solid reason to think that, it just seemed likely in his head.

“Probably shouldn’t keep ‘em all waiting, huh?” Blue said, “Plus, I can distract ‘em all while Red’s getting himself ready.”

“You really think it’s going to take that long for Red to get dressed and everything?”

“Nah, I mean mentally ready. He can handle at least a dozen battles in a row, but big shindigs like this? Trust me, he’s gonna need some space.”

—

The courtyard of the Battle Tree had been completely redecorated and furnished to accommodate the impending ceremony. In one half of the courtyard, rows of chairs were lined up leading to an arch covered with colorful Alolan blooms (wedding flowers were a lot less expensive when you and several other people involved in the wedding had powerful Grass-types to find and grow just the right kind). In the other half of the courtyard, several tables and benches had been set up for the guests to mingle at, while waitstaff served pre-wedding hors d'oeuvres to satisfy the slowly increasing number of people.

Blue began greeting the guests as he made his way through the courtyard, cracking jokes and just slightly bragging about how he and Red had been doing as the “Battle Legends” of the Tree.

“Yeah, we’ve been getting some pretty tough challengers,” he told Professor Kukui (who amazingly had found an actual shirt to wear under his suit jacket), “But it still takes ‘em a few tries to knock both me and Red out. Still, our first week here, took us a while to get used to the whole Z-Move thing…”

“Ah, no worries, cousin” Kukui chuckled, “Lotta newcomers to Alola have a tough time with that. Speaking of, I’m thinking about looking into that Dynamax phenomenon over in Galar, maybe seeing if those ‘Max Moves’ have anything in common with Z-Moves.”

“Yeah? You should probably talk to Professor Magnolia or Sonia later, you guys could trade notes.”

“I could send you some research material as well,” a new voice spoke up. Blue turned his head to see Cynthia walking up to him and Kukui, a glass of Sitrus wine in one hand.

“Galar’s Dynamax phenomenon has ties to the Legendary Pokémon that reside there,” Cynthia continued, “So I took plenty of notes during my last research trip.”

“Hey, thanks!” Kukui said, “Been wanting to read more about Galarian Legendaries anyway; Burnet thinks I need to do more research that doesn’t leave scars.” As if to demonstrate, Kukui rolled up his sleeve to show a freshly-healed series of scrapes on his upper arm.

“Ice Shard,” he explained, “I’ve had worse, but man, it’s making sure you don’t get frostbit that’s the real hard part.”

“Professor!” another voice called from further into the crowd, “Can you come here for a sec?”

“Be right there, Selene!” Kukui called back, before turning back Blue and Cynthia “Talk to you guys later, gotta help the Champ with a thing.”

As Kukui darted off, Blue looked over at Cynthia. Again, he’d never had any interactions with her that confirmed she was cold and judgemental. Maybe it was her status, maybe it was her quiet, almost serious demeanor. But man, Blue just didn’t know how to be casual around her. Desperate to find something to talk about, he glanced at an unusual brooch that Cynthia had attached to her formal black gown (of course she wore a black dress to a wedding, was anyone going to tell her no?). It looked like it was shaped like a Pokémon, but not one Blue was familiar with.

“So…where’d you get that?” Blue asked, gesturing to the brooch. If he had sounded rude, Cynthia certainly didn’t show it. Instead, she touched the accessory just slightly and smiled.

“It’s something of a family heirloom,” she explained, “Have you heard of the Forces of Nature Pokémon?”

“Yeah, Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, right?”

“Almost. There is a fourth one, Enamorus, but I haven’t found much information about it. At least…not until recently.”

Blue forgot his anxieties and looked at Cynthia intently. If there was a Pokémon he hadn’t heard of, he needed to hear about it now. And then tell Red later, who would no doubt go nuts over this new information.

“You see, I’ve been looking into my own history for a change. Specifically, I’ve been researching a couple of my ancestors who lived in Hisuian-era Sinnoh. One of them I was…disappointed by.” Cynthia paused to grimace. Blue chose not to ask for details.

“But the other one,” she continued, “Truly fascinated me. Her name was Cogita, and while she wasn’t born in the Sinnoh region, she lived there long enough to write up extensive research on the legends and myths of the area. She also bonded with none other than the lost fourth Force of Nature herself, Enamorus.”

“Well, wait…what happened to that Pokémon?” Blue asked, “I mean, I read all the reference books Gramps had on Legendary Pokémon, and I’ve never even heard of Enamorus!”

“Sometimes records slip through the cracks. It’s one of the most frustrating parts of my passion, trying to work from incomplete sources. It hasn’t been until recently that most archaeologists have even rediscovered evidence of Enamorus’ existence. And it wasn’t until recently that I even found Cogita’s journal entries, or even this brooch.” Cynthia pointed to it again.

“So…that’s what it looked like, huh?”

“Mostly. She would have been a pinkish color, and I have no idea what her Therian Forme looked like. But Cogita’s writings told me she had this brooch custom-made for her before she last saw Enamorus, and she even thought a little of the Pokémon’s power remained in it.”

“What kind of power?”

“Enamorus was said to have created life through the power of her own love. So I imagine something connected to love and new life was what Cogita meant. Anyway, I thought that made it a perfect accessory for a ceremony celebrating just that: new life and love.”

Blue chuckled a bit. “Sounds kinda cheesy, but thanks.” Suddenly realizing what he said, Blue groaned, “Agh, sorry, didn’t mean to sound like I was making fun of you.”

“I didn’t think that at all,” Cynthia said, smiling, “Red’s told me a lot about you, and how you don’t sugarcoat things. I’d think you’d be a lot harsher if you actually meant to make fun of me.”

“You two’ve been talking a lot?” Blue didn’t even know why he was surprised, he and Red were frequently in contact with other Champions and League officials from around the world. Again, maybe his own unreasonable preconceptions were kicking in.

“Well…maybe not literally talking. Mostly texting.” Cynthia showed her Rotom phone as if to demonstrate this. Blue couldn’t help but notice a rather large crack and a few dead pixels in the screen.

“Uh, you want me to recommend somewhere good for phone repair?” Blue asked, “I know this kid on Ula’ula who could get it fixed in maybe an hour, tops.”

Cynthia glanced at her phone screen, then laughed, “I almost forgot about the crack! Don’t worry, the Rotom’s fine, it was out of the phone when my Garchomp stepped on it.”

“Wait, what?”

“It’s a little embarrassing, but I lost my phone under a pile of paperwork I hadn’t gone through yet. One day, I was trying to find the damn thing because I had an important call to make, and my Garchomp just wanted to help and…well, she couldn’t have known it was there before she heard the crunch. Though it could have been crushed a lot worse if there weren’t so many stacks of papers to cushion the blow…”

“Geez, how much was it buried?”

“You don’t want to know; my study almost always looks like a disaster area. I’m amazed I get any work done, really.”

Blue felt himself relaxing. It was easy to forget that even a renowned trainer, Champion, and researcher like Cynthia was human, too. And if she was able to laugh off her own quirks and flaws…well, Blue could certainly handle any criticism that could come his way.

Suddenly, Blue felt a tug at his arm. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Daisy gesturing over to another part of the courtyard.

“The ceremony’s gonna start soon,” she whispered, “Better get going.”

“Right, lost track of time,” Blue said, then turned to Cynthia, “See ya at the reception; smell ya later!”

Cynthia smiled and waved as Blue hurried over to join his small group of groomspeople. After that round of mingling, he felt as if he was ready to face the Indigo Elite Four all over again.

Which was to say: he felt pretty damn confident.

—

A beachside reception was probably an obvious choice for an Alolan wedding, but for good reason. The gorgeous setting sun on the ocean horizon, the slowly-cooling island breeze gently flowing through the air, the tropical scenery…it all made for great accompaniment to the joyous (and much more casual) atmosphere of the party. It also helped that guests were encouraged to let their Pokémon roam freely around the beach, ensuring they had just as much of a good time as their humans.

And as for the happy couple themselves (who had changed out of their expensive tuxes into clothes they could stand getting seawater and sand in), Blue was lazily reclining against Arcanine in the sand and stroking its fur, while Red sat right next to him, letting Pikachu sleep in his lap as he happily listened to his now-husband chatter on and on.

“So apparently this Enamorus Pokémon just kinda got forgotten about for years!” Blue said, “What type d’you think it was? I mean, it’s gotta be part Flying, like the other Forces of Nature, but what else do you think?”

Red looked up in thought before signing an answer.

Fairy , he signed, Based on what you’ve said Cynthia told you.

“Yeah, you’re pretty good about guessing stuff like that,” Blue chuckled, “You’re the one who figured out that Alolan Exeggutor was part Dragon before I tried fighting it.”

Red shrugged, then leaned further into Blue.

“Hey, Red?” Blue asked, “You’re not getting too overloaded right now, are ya?”

Red shook his head, then signed again.

No. Getting alone time with you outside helps. Were you anxious before the ceremony?

“What? Nooo…” Blue scoffed, “...ah, dammit, yeah, I was.”

They wouldn’t have all come here if they hated you.

“Yeah, I know. You know how my brain is about trying to impress everyone.”

Are you feeling better now?

“Lot better, yeah.”

Good.

Blue looked over at the crowd of guests laughing, dancing, and chatting away.

“I dunno what I was worried about,” Blue said, “Looks like they’re having a great time to me.”

Chapter Text

“I didn’t even know malasadas could be fancy enough to be hors d'oeuvres” Selene said as she plucked a second helping of the fried treats off a plate.

“Hey, don’t look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth,” Hau responded, grabbing one himself, “Especially when they’re not stopping us from getting thirds!”

“Do you see me complaining?” Selene devoured the malasada in her hand.

“No, but I think you look kinda nervous?”

Selene gulped down her food. “Nervous? I don’t have to be nervous! It’s not my wedding.”

“Yeah, but…” Hau trailed off, before glancing at the time on his phone, “I mean…she’s kinda cutting it close, so I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Lillie’s gonna be here.” Selene insisted, “I’m not worried about that.”

Still, Selene couldn’t help but check the time herself. It was about 20 minutes before the ceremony, and most of the guests had already arrived. The hosts had ensured their guests could move safely through the Poni Gauntlet, but maybe something else had gone wrong?

“Professor!” Selene called in Kukui’s direction, “Can you come here for a sec?”

“Be right there, Selene!” Kukui called back, excusing himself from a conversation with Blue and Cynthia. Sure enough, he’d darted over to the Alolan Champion in seconds.

“Um, you’ve been texting Lillie too, right?” Selene asked, “Did she send you any messages about running late, or…?”

“Nope, not that I’m seeing,” Kukui answered, glancing at his own phone, “But I think she’s gonna get here just fine.” Hau, meanwhile, watched the two talking while he munched on his malasada.

“Right…right…” Selene said, “I probably should’ve asked which hotel she was staying at, though, maybe that’d give me a better idea of when she’s gonna get here…”

“You alright?” Kukui asked, “You’re looking like you got hit by a Worry Seed.”

“What? I’m okay! Really! I mean, yeah, it’s been a while since I saw Lillie in person, but she’s still Lillie, so everything should still be okay…”

“Uh, I’m not following you here.”

“SELENE’S GOT A CRUSH ON LILLIE!” Hau blurted out, then turned to Selene, “Sorry, but I figured we could trust the Professor on this one.”

“I…yeah, Hau’s right,” Selene whimpered, “I mean, I didn’t even realize how I felt until she left for Kanto and even though we’ve been calling and texting each other since then, I realized how much I miss her and how much I really, really like her.”

“So that’s why you asked her to be your plus-one,” Kukui said.

“I guess I’m not surprised she said ‘yes’,” Selene continued, “Especially since she’s been meeting all kinds of trainers and researchers in Kanto while trying to fix…you know.”

The awkward silence between the three was all that was necessary. No one felt like broaching the uncomfortable topic of Lusamine right now.

“And Bill, the guy she met trying to fix…that,” Selene continued, “Well, he introduced her to Professor Oak, so she probably wanted to come to support his family and—”

“You really think she didn’t want to be with you ?” Hau asked, “I mean, that could be just as friends! Or girlfriends! Or…uh, Professor, what do you think?”

Before Kukui could even answer, and before Selene’s face could stop being so Tamato-red, they heard the sound of someone rushing towards the small group. Selene turned her head towards the sound, and oh that blush wasn’t going away anytime soon.

Lillie had finally arrived, decked out in a cute, deep blue party dress with stars, and a moon-shaped pin, and a new realization practically smacked Selene across the face.

Nebby. She might just want to see Nebby again.

Selene could understand, having grown just as close to the Legendary in the time she’d been its current guardian. Still, she couldn’t help but feel that confessing her crush now might make not only the girls’ friendship awkward, but to put Nebby in the middle of all that…

Selene took a deep breath as subtly as she could (though not subtle enough to escape the attention of Gladion, who raised an eyebrow as he followed his little sister closely) and smiled.

“Alola, Lil—” Selene began to greet, only to be cut off by Lillie leaping in for a hug.

“Selene!” Lillie squealed, forgoing the traditional island greeting in her excitement, “I’m so sorry I kept you waiting! Someone …” Lillie glanced back towards her brother “...doesn’t know how to tie a tie.”

“Could’ve figured it out myself…” Gladion grumbled, fidgeting with the necktie on his suit, as if it were a scab he was trying to remove.

“Anyway, it’s been weeks since our last call!” Lillie continued, “Has anything happened since then? Is everyone still doing okay?”

“Everything’s great, Lillie!” Selene chuckled, trying to avoid seeing Kukui and Hau’s reactions, “Hey, why don’t we go pick out our seats? The ceremony’s gonna start any minute…”

—

As the guests made their way to the reception, Selene watched as Lillie opened up a solitary Poké Ball, allowing a Clefairy to pop out.

“How’s being an actual trainer going?” Selene asked, watching as the pink Pokémon bounced around her human.

“Well, I still don’t know if I’d say I’m a full trainer yet,” Lillie said, as the girls continued towards the beach, “I only let Clefairy battle if we really need to. Although I think maybe she wants me to put her in more battles lately. I forget that Mt. Moon Pokémon are a lot tougher than they look…”

“Speaking of ‘moon’,” Selene said, pulling out a Master Ball, “There’s someone else who wants to see you.”

In an instant, Selene had popped open the ball, and above the two girls, the majestic “Beast that Calls the Moon”, the being worshiped by past kings of Alola, Lunala itself materialized several feet above, spreading its ghostly night-sky wings. A few of the other guests looked up in awe, and Lillie…

“Nebby!” Lillie called out, her eyes filling with happy tears. In an instant, the majestic Pokémon swooped down, only to gently tap its forehead against Lillie’s. Lillie held Nebby’s face in her hands, nuzzling the Pokémon as if it were still the small Cosmog she had rescued and scooped up into her bag.

“Nebby’s been excited to see you again,” Selene explained, “I told it you were coming all this way just to see it again.”

Lillie, who was in the midst of giving Nebby scritches on the side of its face, looked towards Selene. The blonde girl’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I didn’t come here only to see Nebby,” Lillie said, “I mean…Selene, you’re probably my best friend, of course I wanted to see you in person again.”

“Right, I know, I’m just kidding!” Selene said, only partly telling the truth, “Hey, why don’t we go see if Nebby and Clefairy want to play with all the other Pokémon at the reception? Incineroar’s probably itching to get out and about, too!” Selene tapped at another Poke Ball in her purse at that last sentence.

“Selene, are you okay?” Lillie asked.

“‘Course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Gladion said he thought you looked nervous to see me when I got here. He also said you’ve sent a lot of messages to him lately, and a most of them were about me? ”

Dangit, Gladion , Selene thought, If I get a chance, I am gonna sew all those “cool” tears in your clothes shut.

“Selene,” Lillie asked, “Do you…not want to be friends with me anymore?”

“Lillie, it’s not what you think! I don’t dislike you or anything, in fact I really, really like you and…oh, crap.”

In an instant, Lillie’s expression had gone from concern to…well, Selene couldn’t quite place what the expression was. Curiosity, maybe? Either way, Lillie walked towards Selene slowly.

“Selene?” Lillie said, “I want to try something really quick, but let me just…psych myself up.” Lillie moved her arms in her familiar personal “Z-move”.

Arceus, she’s still so cute , Selene thought. In seconds, Lillie was leaning towards Selene, an intense look in her eyes, and before Selene could even ask, the blonde had closed the distance with a peck on the cheek.

“Oh…” Selene said, “I…Lillie, I…”

“I think a part of me’s wanted to do that since we met,” Lillie explained, “But it took me a while to get the confidence to go through with it.” Above the two girls, Nebby trilled in delight, its wings glowing a little.

“So…” Selene began, her hand slowly reaching towards Lillie’s, “You wanna get to the party? As…girlfriends?”

Lillie nodded, her smile (in Selene’s view) beaming even brighter than the setting sun in the distance, or the full moon Nebby embodied. Hand in hand, they walked towards the reception.

“Gladion’s probably gonna go even less easy on me next time he gets through the Elite Four,” Selene laughed.

“I don’t think so, he wouldn’t want me to be unhappy,” Lillie said, “Wonder where he ran off to, anyway…?”

Chapter Text

The “New Bark Crew”, as the trio of Ethan, Lyra, and Kris had dubbed themselves, were seated all at the same table at the reception, which naturally resulted in raucous laughter and conversation as the three recounted past and current adventures, chugging down glasses of Berry wine whenever the actual authority figures at the party weren’t looking. True, years had passed and none of them were scrawny little preteens anymore, but they were still just under the legal drinking ages for both Johto and Alola.

“Hey, hey, Lyra!” Ethan blurted out, “‘Member how my grandparents used to tell you that they had no idea where all the eggs at the Day-Care came from? You know they used to tell me that, too?”

“What?!” Lyra laughed, “How long did they keep that up?”

“About until the time I came out to them. I think they thought at first I was just scared of straight relationships after accidentally seeing a tiny Skitty getting really close to a Wailord when I was little…”

“You saw all that and they still tried to pull the ‘we don’t know where it came from’ story?” Kris asked, barely able to hold back laughter.

“I just can’t believe they tried to tell me all that even after I got a Pokedex to help you guys!” Ethan said, “I love my grandparents, but come on, I gotta know some gross details for the sake of Pokémon research.”

“Oh, speaking of research!” Kris gasped, “I gotta make a call. Eusine thinks he might’ve found Entei tracks and that could give me a big lead on figuring out where it’s gonna be next.” At that remark, the elegant, blue-and-purple Pokémon that had been resting near Kris’ seat lifted its head up. “That’s right, Suicune, you might be seeing your friend again soon.” Kris patted Suicune’s flowing mane as she walked off, the Legendary soon following behind her.

There was one person seated at the table who had been quiet this whole time; a brooding redheaded young man who simply watched the conversation around him, occasionally smirking but otherwise not saying much at all.

“Silver?” Lyra asked, “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Silver answered, feeding an ice cube from his glass to his waiting Sneasel “Guess I just don’t have much to say here. I mean, I don’t have the history with you guys that you all have. You and Ethan started your Pokémon journeys together, and Kris is…what, your first or second cousin? I forgot.”

“First,” Lyra corrected, “And I mean…come on, you were there for a lot of that journey when we were kids, too.”

“Did you forget what I did for most of that journey?” Silver scoffed, “Not only did I steal my first Pokémon, but I treated my team and every person around me like garbage. If Lance hadn’t knocked some sense into me…why the hell did you two even invite me?”

“Because you’re our friend now,” Ethan said, “You’re not the same person you were when we all first met.”

“But don’t you ever think I could go back to that, or even end up worse than I used to be?! You…you know where I came from.”

“I don’t think being a crime boss is genetic, Silver.”

Silver could feel himself shaking a bit. He stood up and took a breath.

“I need a minute,” he muttered, “Keep talking without me.”

As Silver silently stormed off, his Sneasel looking concerned and confused near his seat, Ethan and Lyra both sighed.

“Here I was hoping he’d started feeling better about all that,” Lyra said.

“Maybe this wasn’t a great idea,” Ethan added, “I mean, yeah, we both care about him, but…look at the guests here. You’ve got Professor Elm, the guy he stole Totodile from. You’ve got Lance, the guy who Hyper Beamed some sense into him. There’s at least one or two International Police agents who’ve gotta be curious if he knows anything about Giovanni. One of the grooms is the reason his dad’s even missing , for Arceus’ sake!”

“But…he’s not that kid anymore. He’s changed. Lance recognizes that, Elm recognizes that. And if anyone’s still looking for Giovanni, I think they know enough that Silver wouldn’t be a good source for information anymore.”

Lyra glanced downwards before letting Typhlosion out of a Poke Ball. The fiery Pokémon nuzzled his trainer, immediately sensing something was wrong.

“I just wanted him to have fun with all of us,” Lyra said, “I wanted to remind him that we care about him. Especially if we go through with asking…that.”

“Yeah, same. You know, I worry about him. I dunno if he’s made many friends outside of us. And if we ask him and things get weird, where’s he gonna turn to?”

With that question lingering in the air, Ethan and Lyra silently sipped their wine glasses.

—

On one end of the beach, several of the guests’ Pokémon had gathered to socialize and play away from the human festivities. An eclectic mix of species had gathered, with small unevolved Pokémon like an Eevee or a Yamper, to larger, fully evolved beasts like Venusaur or Garchomp.

And of course, there were the occasional Legendary Pokémon. With several Champions (and others) in attendance who had tamed and befriended these creatures of legend, it was no surprise that several of them were mingling and playing with the smaller Pokémon at the party.

In particular, there was a large, dark Dragon-type taking a nap on the sands. Its turbine-like tail gave an occasional hum of energy, as electricity replenished itself in the creature’s body. Its human companion sat nearby, glancing up at the dozing Pokémon.

“Are you resting well, Zekrom?” N asked, “I know it’s been a busy day. You’re a pretty sound sleeper, though, so I’m sure whoever’s approaching us won’t bother you.”

“Gah!” came a startled shout from just out of N’s peripheral vision. N finally turned his head to see Gladion approaching, Silvally by his side.

“You’re the acting Aether Foundation president, right?” N asked, “Gladion?”

“Uh yeah,” Gladion answered, “And you…I don’t remember the details much, I was a stupid kid who didn’t watch the news when it happened, but you’re that guy from Team Plasma, right? N?”

“That’s…complicated. Though you at least got my name right.”

“Hey, look, I’m not gonna judge, I’m kind of an ex-delinquent runaway myself. Spent too much time trying to be a thug when I should’ve been doing more to help the people I care about.”

“I heard about your mother. How is she doing?”

Gladion looked away from N, petting Silvally’s fur as a distraction.

“No offense, but I’m getting tired of people wanting to ask me that,” Gladion finally spoke up, “Kinda the reason I came over here.” Silvally made a few chirps in Gladion’s direction.

“Your friend agrees,” N explained, “I take it she wasn’t very kind to either of you.”

Gladion paused for a moment to process the fact that N had just translated Silvally’s vocalizations, before finally nodding.

“It was pretty tough,” Gladion said, “Hearing people talk about how much good my mother was doing for Pokémon, when I knew she’d gone off the deep end and was making mine and Lillie’s lives a living hell. That’s not even getting into the crap she ordered her scientists to put Silvally through. How could she claim to love Pokémon so much when she was just…just…”

“Selfish?” N offered, “Manipulative?”

Gladion looked over at N, blinking in silence.

“I understand now,” N explained, “I know at least some of what you’re probably feeling. The person who should have loved and protected you the most, the person who was supposed to guide you to do good in the world, the person who claimed to only be doing what was best for the Pokémon of the world…they only cared about their own desires.”

At that moment, Silver, who was in the middle of just trying to get as far away from his friends as possible, had made his way to the Pokémon gathering, and was overhearing everything N and Gladion were saying.

“I know you said you don’t remember much about Team Plasma,” N said, “But you at least heard about Ghestis, right? The true leader, the one who crowned me ‘King’ when he was always the one in control.”

“Yeah, a little.” Gladion answered.

“You know he’s my father, right? Not by blood, but…well, he was the closest thing I remember to having any kind of parent.”

“Damn,” Silver interrupted, “Here I thought I had the worst dad ever. Not that it’s a contest.”

Gladion and N turned their attention over to Silver, startled to see someone had been listening in.

“Hey, feel free to kick me out if you don’t wanna answer this,” Silver said, “But…you ever worry you’re gonna end up just like your crappy parents?”

“Pssh, no,” Gladion scoffed, “If anything, I’m using my mother as an example of what not to do with my life. I saw the way she hurt me, my sister, and Silvally, and I’ve told everyone I know to be honest and tell me if I’m getting that bad.”

“Ghestis may have raised me,” N said, “And I still wish we could have been a proper father and son. But…I can’t even imagine embracing the same ideals he did anymore. I’ve made enough friends over the years, both Pokémon and human, that have taught me a whole new way of looking at the world, one that Ghestis’ beliefs just can’t stand up to.”

Silver let the words sink into his head before breathing a sigh of relief.

“You know, I think I kinda needed to hear that,” Silver said, “Sorry to interrupt, I can get outta your way now.”

“You’re fine,” N assured him, “It sounds like you could stand to talk to us about a few things, anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m not stopping you,” Gladion said, sitting down in the sand. Silvally made a louder series of noises at him.

“Silvally says your sister told you to get changed into beach clothes,” N chuckled, “Sounds like she didn’t want you getting sand in that nice suit.”

“Whatever,” Gladion smirked, “She’ll forgive me.”

—

“He’s coming back!” Lyra whispered to Ethan, as she saw Silver walking back towards their table, “And I think he’s in a better mood?”

“If he is, we ask him first chance we get,” Ethan said, swallowing his latest sip of wine, “We can’t keep putting this off.”

Silver sat back down at his chair, Sneasel chittering in delight.

“Feel better?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah,” Silver replied, “I think I made some new friends, in fact.”

“Hey, that’s fantastic!” Lyra squealed, “But uh, before we get into that, there’s something Ethan and I wanna talk about with you. It’s nothing bad, just…hear us out, okay?”

Silver raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“So,” Lyra continued, “You know Ethan and I care about you a lot. And I mean…a lot. So we were talking and…” Lyra groaned as she tried to think of what to say next, then gestured to Ethan.

“Okay, so,” Ethan began, “You know how Salandits and Salazzles have a weird gender imbalance, right? Well, there’s a lot of research that shows they make up for it by…well, one Salazzle picks multiple male Salandits to be her mates. And I know humans don’t exactly have to worry about the whole gender imbalance thing, but…”

“Polyamory,” Silver said, in quiet surprise, “I think I know what you’re getting at here, it’s polyamory. Are you saying you and Lyra…?”

“We’re not attracted to each other,” Lyra explained, “But we both figured out we liked you as more than just a friend and thought…well, do you wanna give it a try?”

Silver’s face reddened, as if it were attempting to match his hair.

“Are you sure? I mean, of all the people in the world, why me?”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“I mean…you two clearly need better taste in men, but it’s a yes.”

Ethan and Lyra scooted their respective chairs closer to Silver, before leaning close to him. Silver contentedly sighed; maybe he didn’t understand what good his friends— no, partners saw in him, but maybe someday he would.

Chapter Text

“Wait, I thought you guys were taking Lee here?!” Hop said.

Nessa, Sonia, and Raihan had literally just arrived at the Battle Tree grounds when Hop had approached the three, a panicked look growing in his face. The two Leaders and the Professor felt a sudden wave of dread loom over them as they realized the former Galarian Champion, Leon, was in fact not here yet.

“I thought he was leaving with you?” Sonia responded.

“No, I left the hotel with Gloria. Is…is Lee coming here by himself?”

“...oh, Arceus, he better not be.” Nessa groaned. It was bad enough that Leon was terrible with directions in his home turf of Galar, but in a completely foreign region…

Raihan quickly pulled out his Rotom Phone as Hop and the ladies quickly chattered about where they had last seen Leon. Quickly flicking through his Pokégram feed, it didn’t take long for him to find exactly what he needed: Leon’s most recent post. The image was a shaky selfie, obviously taken on the back of Leon’s beloved Charizard…

Alola, everyone! Beautiful day to go to a champion wedding!

But that wasn’t what interested Raihan the most (even if that dorky smile was always nice to see…), as his eyes scrolled down to the tagged location. Just outside of the Hano Grand Resort.

Right, so that’s his starting point , Raihan thought, Taking into account the weather conditions and his Charizard’s top speeds…

“Think I know where to look,” Raihan told the group, “How much time till the ceremony?”

“Uh, ‘bout an hour, maybe?” Hop responded.

“Perfect, we’ll be back in half that time!” Raihan said, as he let Flygon out of his Poké Ball.

—

It wasn’t that Raihan or Leon didn’t trust the Poké Ride system in Alola; everything they’d both heard about it was fantastic. It was just that, much like with the Corviknight Taxis back home, both trainers simply preferred the comfort and familiarity of flying on their own Pokémon. Yes, it had been a bit of a pain filling out the paperwork to make Raihan’s Flygon and Leon’s Charizard privately-designated Ride Pokémon, but right now it was certainly paying off.

Raihan looked down at the small, uninhabited island below, squinting through the pouring rain localized to the area. Admittedly, he’d wanted to visit Exeggutor Island already, but maybe not in such a time-sensitive circumstance…

“There he is!” he whispered to Flygon, “Right in that cave!” As the Pokémon swooped down towards one of the small cliff faces of the island, Raihan could see his target more and more clearly; it certainly didn’t help that Leon, hunched in the small cliffside cavern, was wearing a bright red (slightly damp) suit, which served as an effective beacon.

“Afraid of gettin’ that expensive suit wet?” Raihan joked as Flygon landed, “Told ya, should’ve gone with more weather-proof fabric, like mine.”

“Yeah, real funny, Rai,” Leon answered through a smirk, then held up one of his Poké Balls “Actually, just was restin’ a bit; Charizard and I got ambushed by a swarm of Gastrodon once we landed, and even with Solar Beam, that’s a tough matchup in the rain.”

“Hop’s worried sick about you. Were you that impatient to get goin’ already?”

Leon sighed, leaning on the wall of the cave.

“Look, I know I’m ‘pants with directions’,” he said, “But I don’t like people thinking I need my hand held all the bloody time. Can’t exactly improve my sense of direction if I don’t try at it. Didn’t even let Charizard correct me.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Raihan added, entering the cave as well, “You’re not that far off. We’re just off the coast of Poni Island. Anyway, no one thinks you need your hand held like that. Couldn’t be the Champion for about a decade if you did.”

(Raihan wasn’t going to let his mind wander too far about how he’d like to hold Leon’s hand in a more literal sense)

“Got that close, eh?” Leon said, “Probably explains why it didn’t take that long for you to find me.”

“Actually, I found you because I know exactly how far you and Charizard could’ve gotten from the resort. Guess that’s a benefit of knowin’ how my rival and his best partner work, after all.”

“Ooh, careful there, Rai; slippery slope from bein’ too close as rivals, you know. Just look at whose wedding we’re going to.”

Leon chuckled, and Raihan tried to force a laugh himself. Desperate to change the subject, Raihan glanced out towards the island scenery, making sure to snap a quick photo.

“Been wanting to go here, anyway,” Raihan stated, “Now that Customs says Alolan Exeggutor don’t need to be quarantined and all. Would be pretty ace seeing it use Dragon Hammer up close. Guess I’ll catch one just before we get back to Poni.”

“You’re taking a pic now?” Leon asked, “It’s pissing down out there! Not exactly picturesque, if you ask me.”

“Lee, you know how many sandstorm pics I post on my ‘Gram?”

“Right, right, almost forgot who I was talkin’ to. Just see those sandstorm pics pop up so much that it’s not something I think about.”

“Oh you do keep up with my feed, eh?”

“You’re not the only one keeping track of his rival.”

“So tell me how my swimsuit selfies from yesterday help you with your battle strategy.”

“They’re just an extra bonus.”

Raihan paused and turned to Leon, who suddenly turned his face away.

“...now wait a tick,” Raihan asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what, forget I said anything,” Leon said, “I just…misspoke was all!”

“Leon, you okay?”

“Hey, I think Charizard might be ready to fly again, so—”

Just as Leon was reaching for his Poké Ball, Raihan set a hand on his shoulder.

“Leon, if you’re saying what I think you’re saying, you just made things a hell of a lot easier for me.”

Leon looked up at Raihan and blinked.

“...do you think I’m saying I fancy you?” Leon asked, “Because Arceus, I’m hoping you’re about to say the same.”

“Yeah,” Raihan admitted, “Dunno when the whole ‘friendly rivalry’ thing turned into this, honestly, I only just figured it out recently.”

“Think I probably figured it out after we even got invited to this whole wedding. Thinking too hard about how the hell two rivals could end up getting married, thinking about how I felt about my own rival, thinking about how much I actually got excited battling you and seeing your passion in action…yeah, kinda made a lot of stuff make sense.”

By now, both men had inched very close to each other. Raihan’s breath quickened as he realized what could be about to happen, and he slightly leaned his face towards Leon as a hint. Leon immediately caught on, gently placing a hand on the back of Raihan’s head and closing the distance for a kiss.

(Raihan really hoped Leon was feeling just as good kissing him as he was; the fangs were an iconic part of his aesthetic, but boy had they made his love life very hit-or-miss)

The two broke apart from the kiss for a moment, before Raihan dove in for another. And another. And…

…well, maybe catching an Exeggutor could wait.

—

Hop looked up as he finally saw both Flygon and a very familiar Charizard swoop down in front of the Battle Tree. It was just a few minutes before the ceremony was set to start, and Raihan and Leon had arrived well past the half-hour the former had promised to be back in.

“Lee!” Hop called, as the two men recalled their Pokémon, “You okay?!”

“Yeah, never better!” Leon said, smoothing out his suit. Hadn’t he just ironed it…?

“C’mon,” Raihan said to Leon, taking his hand, “Gotta make sure we still get a good seat.”

As the two rivals(?) walked towards the rows of chairs, Hop quickly put the pieces together in his brain.

“...I owe Gloria a Tapu Cocoa.” he muttered.