Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Help my Galvantula doesn’t like her nesting box what do??

Hello, Pokémon Breeders Global!!

I am verrrry new to Pokémon breeding and I want to breed Joltiks! 💛 I have successfully paired my Galvantula with another and I am waiting for babbies. But there is a problem 😞😞…she does not like her nesting box I set up for her!!😭😭

[image of nesting box attached]

She has been instead setting up her webs in the bathroom which makes me worried that I’ll come home to cold bathtub eggs…would reallllyyy like help please. What am I doing wrong???

-iliketrains

Emmet sits back at his desk and rereads the post he’s about to make to the forum. Honestly, it’s nerve wracking. People on the internet, especially breeders, can be very harsh when it comes to proper environments for one's Pokémon, but he really needed help with this. There was only so much he could find on the internet about Galvantula breeding since they were a Pokémon only native to Unova and Galar.

His mouse hovers over the button to submit for a brief second before clicking on it. No time to think. He needed to head to work soon, anyway. 

Yanking his tie off the bed, he hastily puts it on. (Years of formal wear experience has made it so he can tie a tie in ten second flat.) He grabs his coat and speed walks out the hall. He stops only to peek into the bathroom.

He sighs at the messy electric webbing surrounding the tub.

“Galvantula.” Emmet pouts. His Galvantula gives a soft chirp and pokes her head out at her name. “Your nesting box is verrrry nice! I promise!”

She clicks her mandibles and lowers her head back down.

Well, that was his hundredth attempt and it went just like the last…

The fear of coming home to cold, dud eggs is on the forefront of Emmet’s mind. Galvantula was obviously gravid, her abdomen heavy and droopy which was the tell tale egg drop was imminent, but if her eggs weren’t properly incubated as soon as they were laid then they had a very low chance of hatching. The nesting box he had sent up had a nice heating pad in it that would make sure the eggs were a proper temp, but Galvantula decide it preferred the hard, cold bathtub. 

Ingo notices his twin brother’s sour mood when he enters the kitchen and attempts to cheer him up with breakfast, but Emmet hardly eats. He instead picks at his food glumly.

“Emmet…” Ingo says worriedly. “You can call out today if you’d like…”

“No…it’s fine.” Emmet straightens and puts his hat on. He and Ingo were both workaholics at heart. “It would be unfair for the trainers that are coming today. It’s my first try at this. Failure is…alright.”

That is a false statement and they both know it. Emmet is never alright with failure, but they head out the door and go to the Gear Station, perform the usual safety checks, salute each other-

“Are you sure you're alright, Emmet?” Ingo asks one last time.

“ Yes. ” Comes the terse reply.

-And then they head onto their respective trains. Emmet on the doubles, Ingo on the singles. 

For once, Emmet wasn’t really into it. He gave it his all, of course, but his mind kept drifting back to his Galvantula at home. It didn't help when one trainer came at him with a double pair of Joltiks. 

In between battles he couldn’t help but check the forum post he made, despite knowing that checking his phone at work was highly unprofessional. Most of the replies weren’t super helpful.

Igglypumpkin: Eww, really? Joltiks?

Well, that was rude. They didn’t even have to reply.

BunBun720: Oof. They always decide to lay wherever they want it seems. My Lopunny never wants her nesting box and prefers digging her own burrow outside.  

Even though it was nice to know that he wasn’t alone in the whole “Pokemon has turned up their nose at the nesting box” situation, this still didn’t help him much.

He’s about to give up later in the afternoon after no one else has replied when another message finally pops on his forum.

Bumblycombee: Hi! I saw this post last night but had to ask my dad a few questions before responding to it so hopefully I’m not late!! He used to breed Spinarak babies and he said that the momma Ariados used to head to the bathtub when the humidity in the nesting box wasn’t right. Galvantula is a fellow spider Pokémon so hopefully this helps? Wishing you the best!!

Finally, FINALLY some hope! Emmet wastes no time. He texts Ingo that he’s getting off a bit early. It was only an hour so his older brother didn’t mind. He ran nearly all the way home.

“Galvantula!” He tries not to startle her when he enters the bathroom but he’s still worried that she laid her eggs in the tub already. 

“ Gal ?” She says, peeking up again at him. Good. She’s still preggo and eggless at the moment. 

“Sorry. Just checking. I know what to do now!!” Emmet runs to his room and checks the temperature for the humidifier. He had thought he checked and rechecked it plenty of times, but just to make sure…

He googles the Galvantula preferred nesting humidity again and it seems alright until…

Emmet wants to smack himself in the head. The website that he took instructions from was Galarian! Their temperatures were in Celsius and like a dumb Unovan he had put that exact number into a Fahrenheit reading humidifier, thus making the humid air in the box frigid. The bathroom humidity definitely was warmer than this. 

He sets the humidifier to the proper temp and waits a bit before reintroducing Galvantula. When he finally does, she clicks her mandibles happily at the warmth and begins setting up webbing in the box. 

Emmet can’t help but jump with joy.

He fishes his phone out again. He must thank the person who saved his baby Joltiks’ lives. 

iliketrains: Thank uuuuu. I am dumb and put the Celsius number as the Fahrenheit numberrr. 😭😭 But she loves the box now!! Thank uuu so muccch 🥺😭❤️

He’s pleasantly surprised when the response comes quickly. 

Bumblycombee: Yay!!! I’m so glad to be of help! If you don’t mind, can you send me a picture of her?? I would like to see the momma all snuggly and happy. 

Emmet feels a full body wiggle and wrings his hands. They want a picture of his beautiful Galvantula? Of course he would! Finally, a fellow bug breeder enthusiast that he can nerd out with. 

He takes a quick picture of Galvantula who is currently laying in the nesting box, her eyes happily closed. Then he clicks on Bumblycombee’s  name to begin a private message line. 

iliketrains:

The momma as requested 😀😀

Bumblycombee liked an image

 

Bumblycombee:

 

OMA she’s so cute! Please give me updates on her and the babies!

Emmet gives another full body wiggle. They’re so cute! He flops himself belly down on the carpeted ground and props his phone up to continue messaging. Galvantula tilts her head and clicks a bit at his excitable mannerisms. 

iliketrains:

 

Ofc!!

I don’t have many people to talk

 about her and the babies with 👉🏻👈🏻🥺

Bumblycombee:

 

Oh no! I’m sorry…Not a lot

of people appreciate the buggies,

sadly. 😞

iliketrains:

 

You breed bug Pkmn? What kind??

 

👀👀

Bumblycombee:

Combee!!

 

[image sent)

Emmet’s eyes brighten at a picture of the tiniest Combee he’s ever seen. It obviously had just hatched. It currently was sleeping in what he assumed was Bumblycombee’s hand. 

iliketrains liked an image

 

Iliketrains:

 

❤️❤️😭

The babby 

Bumblycombee:

 

He sleeby 😪

This one just hatched three

days ago. 

iliketrains:

 

Happy 3 days, babby! 🥳🎉🎊

Bumblycombee: 

 

Shh u will wake him up

Iliketrains:

 

oh Noooo 

🤫 happy 3 days, babby 

You smile happily at your phone while sitting at the kitchen table. The little combee that was in your non-dominant hand was still snoozing away peacefully. It was a pleasant warm day in Flaoroma Town, which was a nice break from the usually frigid region of Sinnoh. Whoever this iliketrains guy was, he was adorable. You already found him endearing and couldn’t help but message him back immediately.

Bumblycombee:

 

Thank u for not waking my babby

iliketrains:

 

I would never want 2 wake babby

Your back door creaks open and your dad’s heavy footsteps can be heard walking in. There's a couple heavy stomps at the doormat (likely kicking off the mud from the Miltank barn off his boots). He stops short of the table and places his large water jug on it with a decent thunk . His eyebrow raises at your silly grin.

“What made you so happy?” He questions, lips upturning at how goofy you look. 

“Oh, nothing.” You lift your phone and wave it at him. “Just messaging that Galvantula guy I told you about.”

“Ah! The one with the nesting box problem. How’d it go?” Your father ambles away to start making breakfast for you and him. 

“The humidifier was the problem! Apparently he didn’t convert Celsius to Fahrenheit.”

“Ah. Unovan.” He grunts and you know immediately that he isn't over the moon at that information. Your father was similar to other conservative Sinnoh natives and mostly kept to himself. The only foreigners he liked were usually Pokémon. 

You nod at his statement. Unova was the only region that used Fahrenheit so it was very easy to guess where iliketrains was from. 

“Why is he breeding Joltiks anyway?” Your dad asks and you roll your eyes. He always inserted himself into the conversation. You quickly type it out anyway.

Bumblycombee:

 

If you dont mind me asking, 

why are you breeding Joltiks?

I told my dad the humidifier thing 

worked and now he’s asking 

sorry 😅

iliketrains:

 

I dont mind!

They are cute

But I want to get good Battle stats with these😁

And also!! 👀👀

For shiny ✨✨

Bumblycombee:

 

Ohhh so you’re in for the 

long haul! 

Good luck!

“Battle stats and shiny hunting, he says.” You tell your dad. 

He responds with a grunt. Maybe your dad just wasn't a people-person...

iliketrains:

 

What about u?

Why combees? 🤔

Bumblycombee:

 

Well, one

They are cute

iliketrains:

 

🥺 they r verrrry cute

Bumblycombee:

 

But mostly I breed them because

I live in Sinnoh

Lots of farming and agriculture

So combees are v important

iliketrains:

 

Sinnoh? 

What time is it there??

Bumblycombee:

 

Early morning 

7:09 am at the mo

What time is it in Unova?

iliketrains:

 

How’d u know I live in Unova??

😮😮

Bumblycombee:

 

Cuz you guys are the only

Ones that use Fahrenheit

Lol

iliketrains:

 

Oh yeah

Lol

It’s 7 pm here 

Oh wow. So he was exactly 12 hours ahead of you. A part of you feels a bit disappointed at that. There weren’t many bug breeders in Sinnoh other than you and your father, so it was nice talking to this guy. It would be hard to maintain a friendship with such a stark difference in time zones, though.

Still, you find yourself texting him well into the late morning. It’s silly to say when you’ve only chatted with him through the internet, but you feel your heart’s a Combee trapped in his Galvantula web.

He’s silly in a dorky, charming way. The way he texts never fails to make a smile appear on your face while you attend to your duties around your dad’s little farm. Combee happily buzz around you in the field and your Vespiquen flies beside you as you walk here and there. 

You’re still texting him when you realize that it’s 12 pm, which means it’s midnight for him. Guilt eats at your stomach for keeping him up so late.  

Bumblycombee:

 

Isn’t it late in Unova?

Do you have work?

iliketrains:

 

Oof yes

I do

At 5 am…

Bleh

🥺😭 

But I like talking to you…

Bumblycombee: 

 

Sleeeep

iliketrains:

 

Okkkkkk

Ttyl??

Bumblycombee:

 

Ttyl!

You give a soft sigh and turn off your cellphone with a click and slip it into your pocket. You turn to look at your Vespiquen. Reaching a hand out, you pat her head. She buzzes happily and closes her red eyes at your affection.

“I wonder if Vespiquen can breed with Galvantula?” You wonder out loud. 

Chapter Text

The advice about the humidifier had come just in time. When Emmet woke up to his alarm that morning and checked on Galvantula, she was sitting amidst a clutch of about 15 eggs. Seeing her trainer peek his head in, she waves her front arms at him. 

“You’re a mom!” Emmet throws his arms out in joy. 

Galvantula clicks her mandibles in response.

Emmet is quick to pull out his phone, joltik charm swinging from the hook he has on the back of it, and snaps a picture of how proud Galvantula looks amongst her clutch. He’s quick to send the picture to his new friend.

iliketrains:

 

[image sent]

Galvantula is a momma!!

He’s happily surprised at the response he quickly recieves. It is 5 am in Unova at the moment, so he realizes that 5 pm wasn’t a very difficult time for you to be up. 

Bumblycombee liked an image

 

Bumblycombee:

 

Yay!!

Congratulations, Momma!!

🥳

Emmet runs into Ingo’s room, who’s alarm hasn’t gone off yet. 

“Galvantula is a momma!”

Ingo wakes up with a snort and sits straight up in bed. Chandelure, who had been peacefully snoozing on her trainer’s bed post, snaps awake as well. Her lights flare brightly causing Ingo to squint. 

“Wha-?” He manages to stammer.

But Emmet has already begun happily walking down the hall, passing the still webbed bathroom that he makes a mental note to clean up later, and re-enters his room to start getting ready for the work day. At the sound of him re-entering, Galvantula crawls out of her nesting box and scuttles towards her trainer. She grabs his pants by her mandibles and tugs him towards the box again. 

“Galvantula?” Emmet is confused by the behavior. The spider Pokémon stops before the box and waves her front arms again. “Yes, I saw your eggs. I am verrrry proud of you!”

He goes to grab his tie from the closet but Galvantula lets out a loud whine and follows him. She catches up to him and grabs his pant legs again. 

“Galvantula, I have to get ready for work!” Emmet tries to reason with her. She continues tugging at his pant leg, which causes him to trip and fall hard onto the ground. Galvantula takes this opportunity to start dragging the man towards her nesting box. “Galvantulaaaa!”

Ingo and Chandelure, hearing the commotion, enter the younger twin’s room while still buttoning up his shirt. His eyebrow lifted at the sight before him. 

“What’s happening here?” 

“I don’t know.” Emmet’s voice is muffled since he’s still face down. Galvantula has managed to drag him to the opening of the nesting box but is becoming frustrated when Emmet sticks his foot out so he isn’t pulled into the narrow opening. “She wants me in the nesting box, apparently.” 

Ingo starts to walk towards them and attempts to shoo Galvantula off of his brother, only for the spider to hiss at him. Chandelure gives an eerie growl at her for threatening Ingo and receives hiss as well. The older twin sighs and puts a hand to his chin. 

“Well, this is certainly a road block, isn’t it?” 

“You think?” Emmet says tersely. He’s propped his chin up on his hand now, smiling a thin line as Galvantula keeps desperately trying to tug him into the nesting box. The tearing of his white pant leg can be heard. 

Your day has been winding down to an end. When your conversation earlier with iliketrains had ended, the day had progressed rather slowly. Even though you had baby Combee to check on, there really wasn’t much on the schedule to do other than wait for the last egg to hatch. You had been grateful for the small break of iliketrains sending you the picture of Galvantula’s clutch. 

The golden hues of the setting sun shade everything a gorgeous orange and red as you peek into the hive your Vespiquen attends to. You watch the nanny combee buzz around the newborn Combee, all of which were males. Only one egg was in the midst of them. 

Vespiquen hums at the sight of your face and wanders out. You give her a smile and pat her head. 

“Do you think the last one will be a girl?” You ask her. Vespiquen responds with a tilt of her head and a buzz. You sigh. “Sometimes I wish the combee gender ratio wasn’t predominantly male…No females for the season means I can’t sell any to be queens…” 

Your phone dings. Oh? Another message from iliketrains? You had assumed he had gone off to work by now. You pull out your phone, a combee charm dangling from the charm hook on it.

iliketrains

 

help 😐

You frown at the message, suddenly worried.

Bumblycombee:

 

Are you okay? What’s up?

iliketrains

 

[sent an image]

 

Galvantula is trying to 

kidnap me 😰😰

You cover your mouth with a hand and snort. The image he has sent you was obviously taken from someone on the floor wearing white dress pants, the hem of which was stuffed in Galvantula’s mouth, partially ripped, and she was mid-tug of attempting to bring him in the nesting box. His other foot was stuck out on the rim of the entrance, preventing him from being dragged in. You wonder for a brief moment what he does for a job that requires him to wear white formal wear. 

Iliketrains:

 

She has been doing this

for an HOUR 😭😭

Can’t even go to work. My 

brother left without meee 🥲

Bumblycombee liked an image

 

Bumblecombee: 

 

Oh no! 😮

What a weird behavior…

Some kind of mothering

response maybe?

iliketrains:

 

I have no idea 😞

Bumblycombee:

 

Hang on

Lemme ask my dad

iliketrains:

 

Hurry pls

B4 im spider food 

🕷🕸🕷

You laugh a bit at his dramatics before pocketing your phone again and turning your heels towards the mareep barn where your dad said he would be spending the day helping his workers with the lambing process. Vespiquen, ever your loyal companion, dutifully follows by your side. 

“Hey, Dad!” You call as you enter, hoping to not be interrupting a Mareep birthing. You’re glad to see that your dad seems to be wrapping up for the day. 

“Mm-hm?” Your dad answers lazily. He stands up from stamping a Mareep foal’s flank with a painted number. He puts his hands on his hips and bends backwards. A pop resonates from his back. 

“I have another spider pokemon breeding question.”

“Galvantula guy having problems again?” He huffs. He motions for you to walk with him out of the barn and you follow. 

“Yep.” You stifle a laugh as you show him the photo on your phone. 

Your dad squints at it and then, like every far-sighted grandpa, grabs your phone and whips out his reading glasses. He still has to hold your phone away and at an angle to see it clearly but when he does he gives a snort of his own. 

He then begins scrolling through your conversation. 

“H-hey! Privacy!” You yelp and yank your phone away. 

Your dad ignores your protest and takes off his glasses, pocketing them. 

“I’m guessing Galvantula usually mate in pairs like Ariados do, because that’s an insecure momma there.” Your dad pulls off his gloves as the two of you approach the entrance of the barn and sling them over his shoulder. “Majority of Ariados mothers feel safe on their own without a mate. Others get paranoid and want their trainer to be a pseudo-mate which can cause attachment problems.”

You nod, immediately understanding. Vespiqueen without her nanny combee became insecure, too. She became more hostile and aggressive, though, not clingy. 

“So…she needs a mate?” You ask. 

“It can be tricky when she’s already laid.” Your father muses. “But I’ve introduced mates before when a female is insecure. It usually works if the male is experienced, even better if he’s missing his family. Like a widower. Then instinct and hormones take over and he dotes on the momma and babies.”

You perk up at this. 

“Wait! I have…” You trail off, thinking hard. You knew spider pokemon were very similar. The one you were thinking of also mated in pairs and had lost his mate last year. He was perfect. 

Your father raises an eyebrow.

“You really want to give this stranger on the internet a Pokémon of yours?” 

“Well, I just want what’s best for my Pokémon…” You mutter, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Did you really feel so enamored with a man you had just met online? Gifting a Pokémon was serious business in the breeding community, especially one meant to be a mate. Iliketrains was new to breeding, though, so maybe he wouldn’t take it as what other breeders symbolized it as. “He seems to love his Pokémon so much. I think he’d take good care of the one I’d give him.”

Your dad shrugs and heads out of the barn. 

“Your choice. You’re a grown up and have experience.” He turns to give you one last glance before sighing and giving you one of his rare lopsided smiles. “You’re so much like your mother. I’m sure whatever your heart is telling you, it’ll steer you right.”

A warm smile finds its way to your face at your dad’s words. He had always been so overprotective when you were young, but ever since your eighteenth birthday rolled around he had suddenly been lax. It was enough to whiplash you, honestly. 

You pull up your phone and begin typing out a response for your new friend. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Okay! 

First question:

Do Galvantula mate in

pairs in the wild?

iliketrains:

 

😮

Yes!

Is she lonely?? 😞 

Am I bad spider dad?? 😭😭

Bumblycombee:

 

Awww it’s okay

You’re a good spider dad!

Second question:

What’s your trainer number?

I have a gift for you!!

Chapter Text

Emmet has to sacrifice his pants in order to escape Galvantula.

It’s easy enough. He slowly maneuvered his belt to unclip and then with a swift motion, pulled his pants down while Galvantula was mid-tug. Galvantula made a surprised noise as she was flung back by her own strength. Emmet ran through his doorway and slammed it shut behind him. He hears scuttling behind it and the faint sound of scratching. 

“ Tula …” Galvantula lets out a pitiful whine at the door that makes Emmet’s eyes tear up a bit. He kneels down and pats the door where Galvantula is. 

“Dada will be back.” He promises the spider. “My friend from the internet sent me something they said would help you!”

“ Tula.” Galvantula says again. After a bit, Emmet can hear it shuffling away to check on her eggs. 

Emmet stands up and looks down at his train boxers, musing. 

“Ingo wouldn’t mind me borrowing his clothes, would he?” Ingo definitely would mind and Emmet knows it. “Nah. He wouldn’t.”

He walks to Ingo’s room and secures a pair of black dress pants from his older brother’s drawer and puts them on. Emmet’s shoes were also left in his room with the clingy bug Pokémon, so he borrowed a pair of brown Dr. Martens that served as Ingo’s “casual” footwear. He also steals a golf cap for good measure since Emmet felt naked without a hat on. It sure pays off to have an identical twin sometimes. 

The only thing Emmet couldn’t remedy was the fact that his pokeballs were left on his bed in his room. It just felt wrong leaving his team home but he shuddered at the thought of braving another cuddle attack from Galvantula so he decided to brave it. 

Emmet grabs his keys and heads towards the nearest Pokémon Center to access a PC. 

iliketrains:

 

Gasp 😮 

A gift??

 

Bumblycombee:

 

Yep!

Hopefully it’ll help Galvantula

with her need for feeling

protected. 

iliketrains:

 

What is itttt

Bumblycombee:

 

A surprise!

You need to get it from

a PC 

Sorry if asking for your trainer id

is personal…

Since I’ll probably see your real

name and all

iliketrains: 

 

Nah.

As long as you don’t mind

me seeing yours when i go to

pick up the gift 😊

Bumblycombee:

 

Meh. I don’t mind!

You seem trustworthy

iliketrains:

 

I am verrry trustworthy!

🤞🏼😇

ID: ########

Bumblycombee:

 

You saying that makes you

sounds suspicious 🤨 

iliketrains:

 

Noooo 🥺

I promise i am a 

good boy i swear 😞

Bumblycombee: 

 

Okie okie

I trust you lol

 

Iliketrains:

 

😁

Bumblycombee:

 

Emmet Trevithick? 

iliketrains: 

 

Yup!

I am Emmet! 

😊

Emmet was buzzing with excitement as he waited in line at the Pokemon center to use the PC, tapping his foot nervously on the ground. You knew his name now. You could probably look him up on the internet and quickly find him. Would you be impressed? He hoped you would. 

He nearly ran to the PC when it was finally his turn, booting it up and scanning his trainer card so it would enter his profile. His inbox flashed with an incoming Pokémon symbol. 

A Pokémon? His heart flips in his chest. You were entrusting him with one of your Pokémon? 

His brain stops working for a solid minute. 

This is possibly the kindest gesture anyone has ever given him. You had barely met the other day! ( Did meeting online even count as meeting , Emmet wonders.)

He shakes his head to snap out of it. He moves his hand and presses the button to accept the Pokémon. An image of a Pokeball being sent flashes on the screen as the PC transfers this Pokémon across the world and with a ding the PC materializes a net pokeball in a slot on the bottom right of the machine. 

Emmet kneels down and picks it up, fingers tracing over the webbing detail on the pokeball. He wondered if you had bred this Pokémon , or maybe your father had? Was it beloved by you and your family? Was it hard for you to part with?

He’s quick to log off the PC and head outside. He had thought of releasing the Pokémon within the center but he realized he had no idea what it was or how big it was. 

As soon as he comes outside, he presses the middle button of the ball to trigger a release. 

A flash of white in the symbol of a net appears in front of Emmet before taking the form of a being with a bubbly looking head and long spindly legs. It stretches, shaking off the white light of being released, and falls to the ground. 

“ Ara .” The creature says. 

Emmet takes a step back in surprise. It’s rather large and almost intimidating looking. It’s definitely a bug type, but a bubble of water surrounds its head with a couple other water balls covering the knees of its long skinny legs. Emmet fumbles to bring out his Pokédex to attempt to ID it. 

“Araquanid.” He reads. A water-bug type. Gentle nature. Emmet’s eyes quickly darted over the stats and over to the original trainer’s name. 

Bumblycombee’s real name.

He says it out-loud to himself, as if testing the way it feels against his lips. Araquanid gives a muffled chirp at the sound of his original trainer’s name. Emmet finds his grin growing wider at it. It fits them. 

“ Nid !” Araquanid waves something around in his mouth that Emmet hadn’t noticed before. With a gentle hand, he reaches out and takes it. 

It’s a letter that had been carefully sealed away in a plastic bag so it wouldn’t be damaged by the water bubble around the bug’s head. Emmet’s jaw hurts with how much he’s smiling. It was kind of cliché to have a Pokémon sent over with a letter but he found it damn adorable. 

He unzips the baggie and carefully opens the egg-patterned envelope.

Hello, Emmet!

It’s weird knowing your real name now, but it’s also nice because I don’t have to refer you as the iliketrains guy anymore. 

Anyway, this cute guy I sent you is Araquanid! Back when my dad was in a bug type mania, we had a few pairs of Araquanid. My dad taught me how to breed Pokémon with this guy. (He’s not my starter though, so don’t worry thinking you’ve taken away my first Pokémon or anything.) He’s very dear to me but I think he’ll be happy with your Galvantula!

You see, he lost his mate last year and has been very sad. Since he’s experienced, though, I’m sure he’ll dote on Galvantula and make her very happy! 

I’ve attached some instructions on what to do in order to make sure they don’t like eat each other or something. These rules come straight from my dad so you know they’ll definitely work!

From,

Y/n

Emmet carefully refolds the letters and puts them in his pocket. He kneels in front of the new Pokémon he’s received. 

“Hello. I am Emmet.” He greets, offering a hand. Araquanid considers it for a moment before stepping forward and accepting his new trainer’s pets. “I promise to take good care of you.”

Chapter Text

“Emmet.” You smile as you taste how it sounds. You’ve heard the name before. It’s not common but not outlandish either. It’s cute, simple and fits him. 

Emmet Trevithick. 

The thought flashes in your mind of looking him up but you don’t want to be rude. Wasn’t it kinda creepy to look someone up? At the same time, it could be good to make sure your Araquanid wasn’t going to some evil organization.

But he said he trusted you.

You send your Araquanid ,with the letter you had hastily written, over without another thought on the matter. You held your breath to stick your head into his bubble to kiss his forehead as a last goodbye and place his netball into the PC. Your sopping wet hair drips water onto the screen as you see the pokeball being sent animation play. 

Your dad said to trust your heart, so you will, and your heart told you that Emmet was a kind person who would baby Araquanid like he deserved. All you had to do now was wait. 

iliketrains: 

Hi (Y/n) 😉

I have received the boy!

🥺❤️❤️❤️

[sent an image]

Your heart gushes at the picture of Emmet’s hand gently patting Araquanid’s head. Your Pokémon looked so happy, closing his eyes in content at the gentle touch. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Hi Emmet 😊

I’m glad he made it

safely!!

Give him lots of forehead

kisses for me, okie? 😭🥺❤️

iliketrains:

 

Wut

I will drown 😰

Bumblycombee:

 

Only if ur weak

Emmet grins at the cheeky response they quipped at him. He had just gotten home from the Pokémon center, deciding to let Araquanid walk beside him on the way so they could get better acquainted. The water-bug was a gentle giant despite his appearances. 

“This is my apartment!” Emmet opens the door wide for Araquanid to scamper inside. It does so with a few bubbly clicks of his mandibles. He wanders the living space with curious eyes. Emmet closes and locks the door behind them. “I live here with my Pokémon and twin brother, Ingo, and all of his Pokémon! He’s at work right now.” 

“Nid.” Araquanid replies as it attempts to peer under the couch, spreading its very long front legs to the side like a Girafarig attempting to drink water. 

“Ah! I should send some more pictures of you to (Y/N)!” Emmet grabs his camera out and snaps a couple of scenes. “Hopefully it helps ease their nerves…”

iliketrains:

 

[sent 3 images]

He is exploring! 😮😮

Bumblycombee:

 

Awww!

Did you read the 

instructions I sent? 

 

iliketrains:

 

Yup, yup!

Letting him explore alone 

Then he’ll meet my team!😁

If i can get past Galvantula

that is… 😰

Bumblycombee:

 

Oof…

Good luck!!

Keep me updated!!

Emmet checks the time. 10 a.m. Okay, so it wasn’t terribly late for you but still…

“Tulaaa!”

Araquanid perks up at Galvantula’s cry and desperate scratches at the door of Emmet’s room and scuttles over. Emmet follows at a distance, having read the instructions that it was alright for the two to meet between doors. Araquanid attempts the same awkward maneuver to try to peer under the door. 

“ Quanid ?” He asks softly, as if knowing he was supposed to be gentle. The scratching stops and little yellow front legs feel under the door frame. 

“ Gal?” Galvantula replies through the door. Araquanid slowly moves one of his legs closer to Galvantula and stops when she touches him a bit. Emmet knows what’s happening. They’re communicating with bug pheromones. 

Araquanid is patient. An small age gap is apparent between the two spider Pokémon, but in this case it worked. Araquanid was secure and wouldn't feel threatened by the prospect of another Pokemon’s young. 

Galvantula seemed to have enough with this interaction and scuttled away to check on her eggs again. Araquanid lingers for a couple seconds before leaving as well to give her space. He walks up to Emmet and receives some head pats.

“You are a good boy.” Emmet praises and Araquanid bubbles happily in response. The subway boss is quick to send all the pictures he took during their initial “meeting’.

iliketrains:

 

[sent 4 images]

He’s so gentle with her 🥺😭❤️

Bumblycombee liked 4 images

 

Bumblycombee:

 

Ye he’s a big softie ❤️❤️❤️

They're so cute already ahh

😭

 

iliketrains:

 

Tysm 🥺

For the gift 

You didnt have to do 

something so kind👉🏻👈🏻

BumblyCombee:

 

Awww 

It was nothin!

iliketrains:

 

Nope!

😊

Bumblecombee:

 

Nope…?

iliketrains:

 

You’re wrong

It was not nothing

It was veryyyy kind and

thoughtful and nice

You’re verrry kind and

Thoughtful 😊 

You were about to go to sleep but the last thing Emmet sent you was making your heart flutter against your chest.

 A part of your lonely, romantic mind was screaming at you that he was flirting. Afterall, the pattern in his text speech suddenly changed to be on the edge of seriousness for a second before he added the last emoji. The other half of you logically reasoned that he was just being genuinely thankful for the gift. It was a rather generous gift on your part.

You try to steadily reply in a calm, not flustered way at all. It should be easy. This was a text conversation. 

Your hand slips.

Bumblycombee: 

 

Axm

Oops my hand slipped srry

Buh hey you’re welcome!

*but

You feel like you’re dying and becoming a ghost Pokémon. Yep. Real smooth. He could probably, definitely, 100% tell that you weren’t a blushing mess at the moment. You smack your head repeatedly on your pillow. You jump out of your skin when you hear the message alert saying he replied. 

iliketrains:

 

😉

 

UM. Before you can even process that he was, probably both being genuine AND flirting, another message pings. 

iliketrains:

 

Galvantula fell asleep!!!

I got the rest of my teaaam 😭😭

Look my archeops 😊

[sent an image]

You feel your brain go through three levels of whiplash. What kind of man is this who goes from sending you a flirty wink emoji to suddenly sending you a heavily filtered picture of a feathered, almost dopey looking Pokémon with hearts around it and the words “My Beloved” in a cursive font written on the top. You laugh out of surprise.

Bumblycombee liked an image

Bumblycombee: 

 

Pfft!

TBH tho he is really cute!

I’ve never seen that Pokémon 

before either! 

iliketrains:

 

He’s a fossil Pokemon 😃

Your mouth drops.

 

Again…who IS this man? Fossil Pokémon weren’t only rare, but they were super expensive to purchase from the very few breeders there were. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Whoa whoa

Are you rich??

iliketrains:

 

Not really…? 

Bumblycombee:

 

But

But fossil breeders

Theyre super expensive!

iliketrains: 

 

Oh

Lol

I didnt get Arceops from

a breeder 😁

Bumblycombee:

 

Wait

Are you a scientist then??

iliketrains:

 

😂😂

Nope!

You didn’t look me up?

Bumblycombee:

 

No…

I kinda wanted to respect your

privacy…

iliketrains: 

 

Aww 😊

I don’t mind 😁

Look me upppp 👀👀

You click on your internet app but hover your thumb over the search bar. Did you really want to look him up? 

Maybe it would be fun to keep this little guessing game going. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Nope! Not gonna!

iliketrains:

 

😮

 

Bumblycombee:

 

I dont want to look up 

anything at all

I'm gonna keep guessing

till I get it right! 

iliketrains:

 

Ohhhh 😀

Thisll be fun! 😁

I don’t think you could

guess but I welcome the

challenge 😉

Bumblycombee:

 

Its on!

Just give me a week!

If I win, you owe me

one of your Joltiks?

You bite your lip, anticipating his response. Did you go too far there? He had a right to refuse afterall.

iliketrains:

 

I am Emmet

I like winning more

than anything

I accept your challenge

If you don’t guess in 7 

days from now, I get something

of yours! 

No googling anything! Not even

jobs in Unova! 🤞🏼

It was both cute and scary how he accepted this like it was a Pokemon battle. You realize you had just seen what he was like when he was truly serious. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Wait

Something of mine?

iliketrains:

 

A secret 🤫 😉

For when I win!

Bumblycombee:

 

IF you win, you mean

iliketrains:

 

When I win 😊

Bumblycombee:

 

…

A professor?

iliketrains:

 

Lol not even close 😂

You grumble. You end up guessing a construction worker (maybe he had found the fossil while doing some digging?), a miner, a farmer…all of your guesses were wrong and seemed to thoroughly amuse Emmet. 

You message him late into the night, your eyes becoming heavy and droopy, until they finally close. Your phone has entered into “do not disturb” mode automatically as it soundlessly lit up with messages.

iliketrains:

 

Did you give up yet? 😃

Orrr you are sleeby? 🥺

It is verrry late for you afterall

Goodnight, Y/N! 😊😴

Chapter Text

 

Bumblycombee:

 

Oh!

A lab assistant??

I forgot about that one.

 

 

iliketrains

 

Nope 😊

Bumblycombee:

Dang it.

I thought I had it that time!

It had been three days since you had started this guessing game with Emmet and you were practically glued to your phone anytime your schedules lined up to talk. You couldn’t help being competitive, but you also felt a bit discouraged since you were almost halfway through the week and hadn’t guessed anything close to what his job was. 

That didn’t mean your conversations with Emmet weren’t eventful. He sent you lots of progress pictures of Araquankd slowly meeting other members of his team and his twin brother’s (Emmet apparently had an identical twin and shared an apartment with him) Pokémon . The water spider was almost ready to meet Galvantula without the door between them. 

Emmet, for the time being, said he slept on the couch. 

Other than his Archeops, Emmet also owned four other Pokémon who you had never seen before. One was Eelektross, an electric eel Pokémon with a wide, gaping open mouth and sharp teeth. The second one, to your bug-loving delight, was a bug-steel Pokémon called Durant. You had let your bug nerd unleash itself during that conversation, asking Emmet all sorts of questions about Durant that you could think of. He also had a very tall, intimidating looking dragon type with tusks that resembled the blades of an axe on the sides of it’s head called a Haxorus. Last but not least, was Klinklang. It resembled gears turning but had a face on it. Looking at it confused you greatly. 

It was very fun getting to know each other. Emmet also wanted to ask you questions about your life. You told him how you lived with your dad because he overworked if you weren’t there to keep him in line. Dad’s main breeding game these days were Miltanks, Mareep, and occasionally some of the three sinnoh starters that new trainers picked from. You mostly tended to your combee hive along with your partner, Vespiquen, and a couple other Pokemon of yours.  Your life seemed boring compared to whatever he did for a living, but you were happy that he seemed enraptured all the same. 

iliketrains:

 

I am almost at work 😭

I wish the internet was better

so we could talk more during

my day 🥺😭

Bumblycombee:

 

Noooo

Me too 😢

Have a good day! 

iliketrains: 

 

U 2! Ttyl!! 😀

You sigh softly and pocket your phone. Due to your non-stop texting for three days attempting to guess what Emmet’s profession may be, you have begun to understand his schedule more. He’d wake up pretty early to start his morning, starting at 5 a.m. (5 p.m. of course for you) and then arriving at work at 6:30 a.m. He’d break around 12:30ish, Then he’d work all the way until 7:30 p.m. It sounded like a grueling schedule. 

Yet Emmet seemed to love his job and hate it if he missed a day of work. He complained bitterly about missing the day Galavntula had decided to try to kidnap him. Whatever his job was, he certainly was passionate about it. 

You were out by Vespiquen’s hive again, checking on the young combee and the egg that still refused to hatch. Honestly, you were beginning to worry about it.

Carefully maneuvering around the nanny combee, you gently pick up the small yellow egg with one hand and rest it in your palm. No sign of mold, no weakening of the shell…it was perfect other than the fact that it was well past its due date. Perhaps it needed a more even temperature? 

“Quen?” Vespiquen follows you as you take the egg inside the mareep barn nearby the hive. Her voice sounds questioning, as if asking you what you were doing. 

“I’m going to see if I can help this baby hatch.” You tell her. You carefully rustle through one of the closets and precure a small egg incubator out.

Your father was a natural kind of breeder. Although he used incubators now and again, he much preferred having the Pokémon hold onto their own eggs. You followed suit with your combee hive, but sometimes eggs were stingy. 

You flip a couple of switches and mess with the settings until it’s perfect for a combee egg and nestle the tiny thing gently inside on the cushion. The incubator itself is as big as your hand, so the sling it has to carry it around reminds you of carrying around a little coin bag. You tenderly wrap it over your shoulder and adjust the strap so it’s secure. 

“There you go.” You say finally. Vespiquen presses one of her hands to the glass of the incubator before happily buzzing with approval. “Oh! I can send a picture of this to Emmet!”

You take over your phone and angle down, taking a faceless selfie to send to Emmet of the incubator you wore. Even if he couldn’t respond to it now, you still wanted to share with him how your breeding was going. 

Bumblycombee:

 

[sent an image]

It wont hatch so in

the incubator they go! 

You get startled by a ping coming from your phone a half-a-second later. 

iliketrains:

 

Into egg jail 🚨🥚🚨

You can’t help but make a little smirk. Emmet’s mischievous behavior had honestly started to grow on you. He was so lively and fun, but also down to earth. A brief thought passes your mind, wondering what his voice actually sounds like, before you shake it off and reply. 

Bumblycombee:

 

I thought you were at work?

iliketrains:

 

I am 🥺

Luckily! We are in

A good internet spot forrrr

twenty minutes! 😃 

There are hardly any 

challengers this morning and I

am verrry boredddd 😑😴

Bumblycombee:

 

Challengers?

Are you a gym leader??

iliketrains:

 

Oops! 😮

Didn’t mean to give you

A hint. 😰

But also no. ☺️

“Seriously??” You yell out loud, startling your vespiquen. You had traveled from the barn to your back porch. The sun had dipped over the horizon, causing the stars to start peeking out in the blanket of darkness above you. 

“What’s wrong?” You heard your dad ask from inside as you pulled the back door open. He was sitting with his legs propped up in his recliner watching one of the latest contest battles from Hearthome city. A brief glance at the TV tells you it’s a toughness competition, as the competitors were Machamp, Banette, Heracross, and Gyarados. The Banette and it’s trainer were in the middle of their dance routine. 

You wander over to sit on the couch next to your dad’s recliner, sighing a bit. Vespiquen circles around a throw pillow before neatly sitting on it like the royalty she is. Now that you’re inside, you see that your father’s Purugly is snoozing away beside his chair. 

“I’ve made a bet with Emmet-“ You begin before your father interrupts.

“Who?”

“Galvantula Guy.” 

“So you’re on a first name basis?” Your dad gives a weary look. “Be careful. He could be fifty years old! Gross old perverts hang out on those internet forums all the time.”

“With the way he texts, I don’t think he’s older than thirty.” You mumble before waving your hand to dismiss the topic your dad brought up. “Anyway, what I was saying is that I made a bet with Emmet that I could guess what profession he has in seven days. It’s now day three and I still don’t have a clue.”

“Hm.” Your old man grunts. The Banette on the TV uses shadow sneak to appear larger and more intimidating during the dance and your face raises an eyebrow. “Interesting, using a smart move to appear tougher.”

“Reminiscing the old days with Purugly?” You ask. People would hardly guess that your father used to be a coordinator before your mother had shown him the world of breeding Pokemon. 

“Yep. Contests are so different now, though. I could never get back into them with all the pop references they make.” He shuffles in his chair before perking up in thought. “Ask your internet man if he’s a coordinator.”

“Ehhh. I don’t think he’s-“

“No harm in asking.”

“Ugh.” You grumble and pull up your phone. 

Bumblycombee:

 

My dad wants to know if

you’re a coordinator

iliketrains:

 

🤨

Whats a coordinator? 

You gasp out loud, your startle waking up Purugly and causing Vespiquen.

“What?” Asks your dad.

“He doesn’t know what a coordinator is!” You show your dad the message Emmet had sent you. Since you had been practically raised watching Pokémon contests with your dad, you were dismayed at this information. 

“Unovans.” He grumbles. “I forgot they and their Galarian friends don’t do contests. No class.”

Bumblycombee:

 

My dad says you have

no class 

iliketrains:

 

What 😰

What did I doooo 😭

Bumblycombee:

 

Does Unova really not

hold contests?

iliketrains:

 

The thing with pokemon dress

up and dancing? 💃 💄 ??

Like they do in Hoenn? 

Bumblycombee: 

 

Gasp!! 🥺

It’s MORE than just

dress up and dancing!

It’s art!! 😤 

Thou barbarian

iliketrains:

 

I’m sorry your majesty 😭🥺

Bumblycombee:

 

Hm

I gotta show you some

good contest footage

at some point

iliketrains:

 

Oh! 😯

Interest piqued

Ah a Challenger

Gotta go ttyl 

Bumblycombee:

 

Oh okie.

Kick their butt lol

“He has a challenger now.”  You told your dad as you returned your phone to your pocket.  

“Ah. So he’s a gym leader.”

“Nah, I already guessed that.”

“Hm.” He closed his eyes for a second, head resting on the recliner before opening them. “Maybe a Gym Trainer. Or an Elite Four. Might as well guess a Champion just to be sure…”

He then starts to ramble off guesses. You’re gonna need to write this down…

Chapter Text

Emmet was in love. Ingo was fairly certain about it. 

The younger Subway twin had always been more text savvy than his older brother, but he was practically glued to his phone during the morning and afternoon hours. Ingo also had Emmet’s phone shoved in his face during these hours as his younger twin was very adamant about showing him anything he deemed noteworthy. Whether it be countless photos of combees or just a random message, Ingo had to witness it. 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy that Emmet was infatuated. In fact, Ingo was overjoyed that his brother found someone he could relate to. Emmet had always found it hard to communicate with others. Ingo will admit that he was a bit cautious when Emmet said he met them online, but when they had sent an Araquanid to help with the Galvantula problem it drastically changed his mind. Araquanid was such a well-behaved and cuddly Pokémon as well. He must have had a wonderful trainer previously. 

He just wished that Emmet didn't bring him along in this journey as an awkward third wheel, but he couldn’t bear to say that to his face. 

Not when his little brother’s face held a smile Ingo hadn’t seen in such a long time. No, he’ll simply grin (or in his case, frown) and bear with it. 

“Ingoooo. Are you still up for helping me?” Speaking of the devil, Emmet’s face pops into Ingo’s room. 

It’s one of the rare days that they’re off. A sunday. And it was a quiet, lazy, perfect afternoon to finally introduce Araquanid and Galvantula. It, of course, also helped to have two people with this to insure that no Pokémon would harm the other.

“Of course!” Ingo stands up from his desk where he had been working on a painting of Chandelure. She had been modeling so well for him and deserved a break anyway. Emmet had his hobbies (Breeding, running, hiking, etc.) and Ingo of course had his own. (Painting, Cooking, Gardening, etc.) 

The twins approach the door to the room that Emmet had seldomly entered the past few days. The younger twin wrings and shakes his hands a bit in the air anxiously. 

“Okay!” Emmet stops stimming, placing one hand on his hips and the other he uses to count over the steps again. “We got one person per Pokémon.”

“Check!” Ingo nods.

“Leashes!” Emmet holds Galvantula’s pink leash that he would put on her when he opened the door. 

“Check.” Ingo tugs on Araquanid harness leash gently. The water-bug bubbles happily.

“Pokeballs.” The younger twin pats his pocket. Galvantula’s dusk ball is within it.

“Check.” Ingo holds Araquanid’s netball.

“Aaaaand treats!” Emmet crouches to pick up a tupperware box that was sent to him through same-day delivery. Inside were a dozen or so red and green pastries. “Y/n made me these! They are called poffins”

“Ah! Bravo!” Ingo’s eyes light up. What a sweet person they were. “Their aid has been very helpful in reaching your destination!”

“Yup! They are verrry nice!” Emmet nods his head, a dreamy grin creeping over his face before shaking it off to get back into game mode. “Okay! I’ll open the door in three…two…one!” 

Galvantula is already at the door when Emmet opens it, jaws ready to try to grab at him again, but this time the younger subway boss has a plan. 

In one practiced motion, he stuffs Galvantula’s mouth full with a red poffin. Her eyes widen and she munches furiously while Emmet quickly scoops her up and takes her to the opposite side of his room where the nesting box is. He sits, places her in his lap, and  her pink harness and leash are attached quickly. 

“Amazing work, Emmet!” Ingo praises. He gently prods Araquanid to enter and he slowly does. 

“Galvantula.” Emmet pets his electric-bug. She gives a couple clicks in response, having calmed slightly down due to his presence. “This is Araquanid. You’ve been meeting him through the door.”

Her blue eyes wander over to Araquanid’s matching ones. She clicks. He bubbles. She then hops down from Emmet’s lap and scuttles slowly over to the larger bug with both of them being held cautiously on their leashes. 

Feelers met in the middle of them. This is the first time Galvantula has seen Araquanid, but she seems to have recognized him from their “between door” meetings. She clicks her mandibles happily and he lowers himself down to his belly as if trying not to scare her with his height. 

It went swimmingly. Galvantula seemed to have forgotten that Emmet was even in the room. Under the watchful eye of both of the twins and through lots of poffins, Araquanid finds himself attached to the hip with the female bug. He doesn't seem to mind, though. 

She gently takes one of his legs in her mandibles and leads him towards the nesting box. Clicks and hums leave her mouth as he peeks inside as if explaining to him that the eggs were hers. Araquanid makes a cooing noise in response. 

Galvantula leads Araquanid into the nesting box and they lay side-by-side together. 

It’s love at first sight. 

The twins detach the leashes, deeming the two safe from eating each other for now. Emmet whips out his phone, demanding to take a selfie with Ingo while the two bugs snuggle in the background. 

“That went verrry well!” Emmet flaps his hands a bit, releasing all the pent up energy from the stressful situation and also celebrating.

Ingo folds his arms and nods. A small, cat-like grin appeared on his face. 

“Yes, indeed! You should update your friend.”

Emmet freezes, his eyes widening and smile faltering for a second. 

“What?” Ingo asks. 

“I forgot to record itttt!” Emmet mourns. He slaps a hand to his forehead. “I was going to record their meeting and send it to Y/N!” 

“Oh, dear…” Ingo can’t help but chuckle. His little brother really is head over heels for this internet person. “Perhaps one of your celebratory selfies would suffice?”

“Ah!” Emmet brightens and begins sending the photo immediately. “You are a genius, Ingo!”

“Naturally!” Ingo proudly says as he walks back to his room. 

iliketrains:

 

[sent an image]

Success!! 🎉🎊🍾🥳

They are in love 🥺❤️❤️

It doesn’t take long for you to respond, much to Emmet’s surprise. Only 20 minutes pass before a message pings his phone despite it being early morning for you. 

Bumblycombee liked an image

 

Bumblycombee:

 

[sent an image]

Yay!!! 🥳

Im so glad!! 😭❤️

Emmet’s jaw drops.

In reply to his selfie, you had sent your own. You smiled widely in the picture with your Vespiquen over your shoulder looking very happy as well. You had added little stickers of a Galvantula and Araquanid together with hearts around them. 

Emmet isn’t quite sure how long he’s stared at the picture you sent him with a big dumb grin. His heart pounds and his mind races at what to say but one thing was clear for sure in his mind: You were, in terms of personality and now appearance, utterly and completely his type. 

“Ingoooo!”

Ingo startles in his room, his hand bumps the water cup his uses to clean his brushes and spills on the canvas. His painting was ruined in three seconds. He stares at it, longing and wishing that his own life could similarly fade away as his eyes glaze over. Chandelure whines a song in grief as well. 

“Ingo!” Emmet stumbles into his twin’s room. His phone is shoved again in Ingo’s face. The older twin was a millisecond away from strangling him. “Looklooklook! They sent me a selfie? Aren’t they cute???”

“Yes.” Ingo sighs and begins to clean up the spilled water. 

“Oh.” The younger twin stops suddenly, noticing the water logged canvas. “Messy.”

“Emmet?”

“Mm-hm?”

“Get out of my room.”

Chapter Text

Emmet was hot.

You had been staring at your phone for fifteen minutes now, dazed from the selfie Emmet had sent and the fact that you had woken up early to help your father with some last minute lambing. There was one Mareep in particular who was going to need help with the birthing process and you were on the shift to watch her. It was a boring task so you were naturally scrolling through your phone when Emmet had sent you a progress note on Galvantula and Araquanid.

He had sent a selfie. He had platinum white hair and steely grey eyes that twinkled and creased by how wide his dazzling grin was. 

You were practically swooning. It was embarrassing. Here you were, in a Mareep enclosure, wellies and clothes covered in hay and mud, pining over a man across the world. The guy behind the iliketrains username, the one who had sent you the Archeops photo with hearts all over it, was one of the most gorgeous men that had ever graced your eyeballs.

“Emmet is hot.” You state outloud, as if it would allow the fact to seep further into your brain. 

“Quen~” Vespiquen makes a buzzing laugh at your expression, twirling around in the air and covering her mouth with a clawed hand. You tsk and swipe at her a bit.

“Stop teasing me!” You laugh. “Maybe…if he sent a selfie, why don’t we?” 

Vespiquen nods adamantly, swooping down to hover just over your shoulder. You take a deep breath and snap a picture. You add a few stickers to it and send it quickly before you can change your mind. 

You place your phone over your chest, feeling your heart thrumming with adrenaline. Maybe this was too much? Would he be turned off by all the gross hay in your hair? Maybe you should have waited until you had a chance to clean yourself up…

“What has the train man done that’s gotten you all embarrassed?”

It’s your dad, accompanied by one of his employees, entering the Mareep enclosure to check on things. The employee’s name was Pecha, an Unovan who had moved to Sinnoh just barely a year ago. She has tanned skin, short brown pixie cut hair, and pink-hued pupils that you assumed were the inspiration behind her name. Her body type could be described as a mom bod, which made sense since she was one. Despite your dad’s complaining about Unovans, he said he didn’t mind her because she was a quiet diligent worker. 

“Oh…um…” You nervously wipe your pants before standing up. “He sent me a picture. Of himself…” 

“Oh?” Your father raises an eyebrow. Pecha’s eyes light up in anticipation as well and you just knew your dad had been talking about you to her behind your back. “Show us the guy.”

You bring up Emmet’s picture and then slowly turn the phone so both your father and Pecha could see.

“Hm.” Goes to your father in his typical nuetral approval.

Your attention is more on Pecha’s reaction, as her eyes are now lit up in recognition as she brings a hand to her agape mouth. 

“Holy dragons, that’s the subway bosses!” She exclaims.

You blink.

“The Subway bosses…?” You repeat. What in the name of Arceus was a Subway Boss?

“Yeah! They run this amazing battle facility called the Battle Trains in Nimbasa! Pretty much everyone in Unova knows them!” Both of Pecha’s fists are balled up in excitement. You’ve never seen her so enthralled. She even pulls up a picture on her phone of the two in their uniforms and you feel like your going to faint. “I tried to challenge the single lines before. I didn’t make it very far though. I’ve heard they’re both tough trainers to fight.” 

You feel like your brain has fizzled out a bit. Emmet was famous. Emmet was an experienced and strong trainer. Things suddenly were clicking into place. His motivation to breed for battle stats, his username and train lingo, the way he sometimes had internet at work and then sometimes didn’t. Of course the internet was difficult to use at times! His whole work was constantly moving! 

Not to mention that everything was beginning to hit you that you technically have lost the bet now as you found out from an outside source what his job was. 

You slump to your knees.

“I’ve lost.” You say hollowly.

“Huh…?” Pecha’s face blanks before realization strikes her. “Oh no! Your dad said you had a bet! Did I accidentally make you cheat? I’m so sorry!”

Your dad snorts. He had been watching and letting Pecha run her mouth while he brushed Mareep's fur. It gave a happy “meep” at this. 

“It’s okay.” You sigh as you stand again. “You were just excited.”

“Agh, but still…” Pecha runs a hand through her hair and looks down. You give her a pat on the shoulder. 

“It’s fine.” You smile reassuringly. “I just have to explain this to Emmet now…”

Your dad and Pecha take over lambing duty and you decide to take a quick coffee break, messaging Emmet as you sit in the kitchen. You get a sense of deja vu from the morning you had first messaged him. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Emmet

You win 😖

 

iliketrains:

 

Wait what? 😮😮

You give up? 

 

Bumblycombee:

 

No my dad wanted to see

the picture you sent

And his employee was there 😰

She’s Unovan

So she knew who you 

were and well…👉🏻👈🏻

iliketrains:

 

Awwww 🥺😭

You were getting verrry close!

I am Emmet

And I like winning more than

anything

But I hate winning if you 

lost because of that!! 🥺

Bumblycombee: 

 

I knowww

But it feels like cheating

So i’ll take the loss

iliketrains:

 

Nope

I refuse

Bumblycombee:

 

Well

I refuse you refusing

iliketrains:

 

Okie okie

What if

We both win 👀👀👀

Bumblycombee:

 

So like…

I get a joltik still

And you get…

Whatever it was you wanted??

iliketrains:

 

Yep! 😁

Bumblycombee:

 

Hmmm

Okay

Deal

Wait but what did you want?

You said it was something

of mine?

iliketrains:

 

Yep, yep!!

Your phone number! 😁

Gimme! 🫴🏻🫴🏻🫴🏻

Your brain short circuits for the second time that day and you feel your cheeks flush. He wanted your phone number? Has that been his game this whole time? Participate in your (admittedly a bit flirty) silly game, win, and then pull a smooth move like that? It was charming. 

Bumblycombee:

 

Oma

You little sneasel 😤😁

iliketrains:

 

Yes

I am guilty

Phone numberrrrr

Pls 

Bumblycombee:

 

Okay okay

xxx-xxx-xxxx

There you go ☺️

It wasn’t long until your text tone sounded and your phone vibrated with an incoming text from an unknown number. Your hands tingle with nerves and excitement as you open the new message. 

xxx-xxxx: Hihi

xxx-xxxx:This is Emmet!! 

>Hi!!

>This is Y/n but you

Already know ☺️

You tap the number and add Emmet’s name to it. You’ll miss his username, but texting felt more…personal for some reason? Like a milestone in your friendship that was maybe pushing slowly to something more. Or maybe that was just your wishful thinking because your romantic ass liked the idea of a foreign man across the seas pining after you like you did him. 

Emmet 🕷🚃: Yay!! 😁😁😁

Emmet 🕷🚃: Now we can talk even without

internet!!

Emmet 🕷🚃: Also! ☝🏻

Emmet 🕷🚃: I wanted to tell you 👀👀

Emmet 🕷🚃: You look verrrry cute

Oh dear. That would be the third brain crash for the day. 

>Aakskajsj

>tysm??

>im kinda a mess rn

cause I’m helping dad with

the lambing season…

Emmet 🕷🚃: You are a verrry

cute mess then 😉 

 

>asjakdja

>stooop

>youre cute as well!

>or handsome!

>or whatever adjective

you prefer?

You bang your head on the table a couple times. You were useless at this flirting thing. Emmet probably thought you were an idiot.

Emmet 🕷🚃:  tyyy 🥺❤️

 

>anywayy

>a battle subway??

>that sounds super cool!

Emmet 🕷🚃: it is!!

Emmet 🕷🚃: Me and Ingo run the Gear Station!

Emmet 🕷🚃: I run the double trains! 

Emmet 🕷🚃: Which are the double battle

trains, that is. 

Emmet 🕷🚃: I love double battles!

>You must be insane at battling

if you actually like not to mention

love double battles!

Emmet 🕷🚃:  I am a subway boss!

Emmet 🕷🚃: I am verrry good at battling!

Emmet 🕷🚃: I would show you if you would

like 😉

 

>Maybe someday I need to

pay Unova a visit then! 

Emmet🕷🚃: Yes yes!

Emmet 🕷🚃: I would be

your personal guide 😁

>ohhh!

>Subway Boss Emmet 

guiding my way?

Emmet🕷🚃: Only for you ☺️

You smile as the conversation between you and Emmet goes back and forth. It won’t be long until you have to tell him you need to get to work.

The time you spent talking to him will still be the highlight of your day, though. 

Chapter Text

>wait

>so you are telling me

>ur vespiquen basically

runs a harem?? 👀😯

Y/n 🐝❤️: lol!

Y/n 🐝❤️: I guess??

Y/n 🐝❤️: There’s like 5 or 6

“Kings” depending on the hive

size that she regularly breeds with

Y/n 🐝❤️: So I guess it is kind

of a harem in a way lol 😂 

Emmet is once again wrapped up in his phone. It is a lot easier to text you in the morning when he doesn’t have to rely on the internet. It’s another slow day on the double trains, a typical Monday. If any challengers had the time they would usually take Ingo’s single battle train instead of Emmet’s due to convenience. Double battles weren’t really favored amongst trainers.

So he waited in the train car, pacing around with his phone in his hands. He was particularly enraptured in this conversation about Combee breeding. 

>if there are nanny combee

>then what does Vespiquen do

other than make the eggs? 🤔

Y/n 🐝❤️: She provides protection

from predators!

>ohhhh!! 😮😮

>because she is 

the biggest and strongest!

Y/n 🐝❤️: mmhm!

Y/n 🐝❤️: She protects

Y/n 🐝❤️: and they take care of her

Y/n 🐝❤️: a happy family!

Emmet comes to the end of the train car, spins, and continues his pacing. He taps the top end of his phone to his chin in thought. His insides feel like a bundle of joltiks, zapping his stomach and making it hurt with anxiety. The subway boss really wanted to ask you an important question but he had no idea how to pose it.

He desperately wanted to ask you on a date but how? You were a whole half of the planet away, it wasn’t like he could just take you to a café. If you were here in front of him, he’d have no qualms. He could see your face, judge your reactions appropriately, and be able to conduct his train to its appropriate destination. 

But you weren’t here and that was causing his train to instead be run on an endless loop. He told Ingo he was just going to tell you that he likes you but Ingo said that seemed a bit fast. 

He hears the train car door sliding open behind him and, with a quick practiced motion, Emmet stuffs his phone in his coat pocket and turns around on a dime. He strikes his familiar pose and speaks the words he’s rehearsed a thousand times. 

"I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I like Double Battles. I like combinations of two Pokémon. And I like winning more than anything else. So let's start a great battle in which every Pokémon uses various moves."

It’s a fairly quick battle. The trainer, a young and jittery little boy who reminds Emmet a lot of a Joltik, is obviously not quite ready to battle the boss yet. He panics and loses due to a few reckless moves. It’s over in ten minutes but Emmet is still proud of him for putting up a decent fight. They both recall their Pokemon and Emmet offers a hand to shake. The boy accepts it with a sad smile.

Emmet once again runs through his usual lines. 

"I am Emmet. I won against you. But I think I just got lucky. In a Double Battle, if you misread one thing, the rest will be totally different. You know. Please win 20 battles in a row, and fight with me!" 

“I will! Next time, I’ll beat you!” The boy says determined. 

It makes Emmet genuinely smile.

“Yup! Come back soon!”

The boy leaves. Emmet waits again. He waits for ten minutes. Still no challengers. He pulls out his phone again. There are a couple new messages from you.

Y/n 🐝❤️: Got a challenger?

Y/n 🐝❤️: Talking to you makes

me think about battling again.

Y/n 🐝❤️: Its been a bit since

ive trained my team

>yes! I had a challenger srry

>and ohhh 😮😮

>you didnt tell me u had

more pokemon!!

>show me show meee

It’s a perfect distraction from Emmet’s burning question. You send pictures of what you had on your phone of your different team members. You go down the list in no particular order: Vespiquen, of course, Drapion, Heracross, Scizor, and Yanmega. Araquanid used to also be a part of this team, but now he was Emmet’s. Emmet would repay you with a Joltik later, of course. 

 >all bugs? 🐛 

Y/n 🐝❤️: Theyre my favorite!

Y/n 🐝❤️: and they remind me of

my mom. Bug pokemon

were her favorite to breed.

Y/n 🐝❤️: she’s uh

Y/n 🐝❤️: not around anymore…

>oh

>i am sorry

 

Y/n 🐝❤️: nah its okie

Y/n 🐝❤️: she actually gave me

Vespiquen! She bred her and gave

me the egg to hatch.

Y/n 🐝❤️: My first pokemon actually

>i see!!

>that is why you are

close to Vespiquen

Y/n 🐝❤️: yep!

Y/n 🐝❤️: she’s my partner!

Emmet peers at the time on the top of the screen. It’s nearly 12 pm. His gut sinks. 

>are you tired

>am i keeping you up

>it is late for you

Y/n 🐝❤️: oh haha it is…

Y/n 🐝❤️: I’m just a little

nervous about tomorrow

Y/n 🐝❤️: Besides, I like talking

to you 😊

Emmet’s heart flutters in his chest like a Butterfree. He wrings out his right hand and flaps it, needing to release the small rush your words gave him. He then brings his hand to his chin, closes his fist and pops his knuckles against his jaw. That felt better. He goes back to texting. 

>what’s tomorrow 😮

Y/n 🐝❤️: oh! Right. I haven’t told you.

Y/n 🐝❤️: Every year this town called

Solaceon holds a big fall festival 

Y/n 🐝❤️: Its the perfect place to

show off pokemon breeding

Y/n 🐝❤️: my dad does it every

year and I help him

Y/n 🐝❤️: But he wants me to go a

week early and make sure everything

is set up for our stall before he brings 

the bulk of everything up

>ohhh 😮

>that sounds verrrry exciting!!

>how far is it?

Y/n 🐝❤️: hang on lemme

grab a map

Y/n 🐝❤️: 

I live in Flaoroma

 

>oh wow

>that is verrry far

Y/n 🐝❤️: yep

Y/n 🐝❤️: the other problem

is that there’s no direct route

because of Mt. Coronet 

Y/n 🐝❤️: 

So I have to drive this route…

 

>😮😮

>wait sinnoh doesn’t have

trains??

 

Y/n 🐝❤️: lol nah

If you were with Emmet in person, you would have probably laughed at his expression at the moment. His eyebrow raised up and he gasped audibly, his thumbs flew across the text board as he passionately showed his disdain for the lack of public transport. 

 

>😡😡

>Here in Unova the subway

extends to all major towns

and cities

>you would not have to drive

a day in your life

Y/n 🐝❤️: I’ll keep that in

mind then haha

His double train line is coming close to the end of the track, signaling Emmet’s time for a break. He shoots you a quick text that he’ll be busy with a few maintenance checks as the train slowly comes to a nice stop. Shaking his legs out a bit, he loves riding the trains but sometimes he swears he can still feel the annoying vibrations even after it stops, before walking down through all the cars. He makes sure that no one is loitering and that there’s no litter before walking off to his shared office with Ingo.

“Good afternoon, Emmet.” Ingo greets him. He holds out an extra coffee chp and a take out bag which the younger twin graciously accepts. “How was the double train?”

Emmet takes a long sip from his coffee. Pure black. Just how he liked it.

“Boring.” He replies to Ingo tersely. “Only five challengers. I hate Mondays.”

“Hm. The single train didn’t fare much better.” Ingo messes with his take out box, prodding his fork at some noodles as he thought. “Perhaps making Mondays our day off would be beneficial.”

“That would be preferable.” 

Ingo nodded and picked up a pen to jot down notes. Emmet shoveled food into his mouth. Yum. Teriyaki Combusken. He texts you between bites. 

Y/n 🐝❤️: I probably should be heading to sleep now.

Y/n 🐝❤️: but thank you for helping me talk through my

anxiety

>ofc!!!

>You've helped me verrrrry much

>I want to help you 😊

Y/n 🐝❤️: awwwwww 🥺

Y/n 🐝❤️: you're worth helping!

Y/n 🐝❤️: goodnight ❤️

 

Emmet stops mid bite at the sight of the heart you have sent him. He can read between the lines. You're hinting at something. His smile widens and he ignores Ingo's questioning at his grin as his thumbs quickly go to respond before you fall asleep. 

>Sleep well! 😘