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As much as he wished he didn't, he recognised the Vaporeon looking oddly at him all too well.
"...What happened to it, if you don't mind me asking?" Volo gently ran his pale hand over one of the Vaporeon's fins, as he had seen Adaman do moments prior, finally bringing up the Copperajah in the room of the tear that stuck out to him like a sore thumb but seemed like an average sight to everyone else in the Diamond Settlement.
The clan leader smiled, mostly at the way the Pokémon had relaxed so easily around the merchant rather than the topic, before speaking- "Ever since he evolved, sometimes he's dragged me into the water with him. I'm a good swimmer, so I don't mind, but…" his expression grew pained, but still with that feeling of warmth behind it, as though the memory was bittersweet to him. "I'm not exactly tiny and Pokémon-like, so other Pokémon in the water notice me pretty quickly. One time, we caught the attention of a… pretty angry Qwilfish, to say the least. And he didn't want me to get hurt." The rest of the story was obvious from there as the conversation faded into a sad, but not uncomfortable, silence.
That tear in its ear- the one on the left that couldn't quite heal. The way it behaved, keeping a safe distance whilst studying curiously as its eyes held back a more playful nature underneath. It was Adaman's, no doubt. Volo had stopped in his tracks, him and the Pokémon staring with each other for what felt like an eternity. It seems neither of them understood what they were seeing. Did Vaporeon know why Volo suddenly stopped visiting one day? The rare visit to the Diamond Settlement on business or "special business" (not working) days that turned into monthly, then weekly, until he was there almost every single day to greet the clan leader- and then one day, he didn't show up. And the next day, he wasn't there, again. And the next. And the next. And the next. Is that something a Pokémon could comprehend? Would it wait just barely outside the settlement, eyes fixated on the distance to see if the tall, blonde visitor would ever come back? Would it be able to see the expression on Adaman's face as he brought it back inside and understand that something went wrong?
He must've become such a normal part of those three's lives. Regularly appearing in the settlement at random times, feeding them with the berries he found on the way there knowing exactly what their favourites were, and every spot they liked to be pet the most- mostly knowledge gained from Adaman gushing over them like they were his baby brothers. And the three returned his praises of them in full, always rushing over to him the moment they heard his voice or picked up on his scent; he'd even been witness to several occasions of the three sleeping either on his bed when he's in it, or directly on top of him, and Adaman didn't seem to particularly mind either. They were protective of him, too- Volo still couldn't forget the way Leafeon and Umbreon, at the time just a tiny Eevee, used to glare and even growl at him if he stepped just the tiniest bit too close to the clan leader. Every time, Adaman would let out a long string of apologies as he picked them up, talking about how they were like that with every merchant that ever came to talk to him.
Those days when they barely knew each other, when Adaman had to regularly ask for his name and apologize for forgetting it. Before that day when they kissed without being able to explain why either of them felt compelled to do so- before all of this. Before he first opened the rift…
Volo snapped awake from his own thoughts as he heard the gentle footsteps of the Pokémon approaching him. "Hi, Vaporeon." Just like he used to, he got down on one knee, bringing his hand out for it to sniff. It had been a while, so who knows, maybe it'd try to maul him now- he wanted to be sure that it was still at least friendly. And yet he was still surprised when it nuzzled into his hand, seeing it almost like some kind of divine forgiveness. If Pokémon truly were the great judge of character some people made them out to be, what did that mean for Volo? Nonetheless, he didn't want to dwell on it for too long- didn't want his mind to keep wandering so far away. With his free hand, he reached into his worn-down bag, finding the exact spot he always stored what used to be excess berries in and pulled out a berry extremely rare to Hisui, but Vaporeon's absolute favourite- a Qualot Berry, a mix of spicy, sweet and sour, and grown often in heavy rain. It swiftly took it in its mouth, eating directly out of his hand and looking happier than ever as it chirped.
Whatever was left of Volo's heart to break, it had been shattering bit by bit ever since seeing the Pokémon. This, he believed, was the absolute worst thing that could happen to him tonight. He never felt lonelier, guiltier , as when he saw a basic display of joy from the Pokémon that accompanied the person he loved and because of him , too. What he hadn't anticipated was the way the Vaporeon began to paw at his hand, then his leg, and gesturing it's head in a specific direction. One that Volo also knew all too well, no matter how much he wanted to forget. "I'm… sorry. I can't ." No, he won't go back, even if he wants to. Volo longed for nothing more than to see Adaman again. To hold him, to see his smiling face, to kiss him again and again until his face is burning red to make up for all the time they've painfully spent apart-
But whoever it was that Adaman fell in love with, they were no more than a violent flame long since burnt out, wandering the world in search for an answer that may not even exist. And doing so with the company of only a team of 6, and the occasional deep black shadow with the piercing red eyes lurking behind him.
Not taking no for an answer, the Vaporeon bit onto one of the golden accessories he had hanging from his waist and tried to pull him along using it. Volo could feel the way his heart ached as he had to gently scoop the Pokémon up and move it away from him. "I can't. There's something very important I need to do. And it's because of that, that I'm…" I'm not welcome anywhere, anymore. His voice trailed off, but the sentence carried in his head, echoing around his thoughts. Not even Adaman would want to see him anymore, surely. His Pokémon were naturally going to be a different story- but Adaman himself… No . He'd hear of the real origin of the space-time rift, Giratina, all of the pain and suffering that Volo caused, and realise that the person he loved was never real in the first place. Maybe he'd move on, or at least try to, saying something about how time will heal all wounds and there is no point in dwelling on your past.
. . .
Oh, Adaman. You used to tell me that I was golden and sparkling like the sun. And now I'm blue, just like-
"Volo?"
-you?