Chapter Text
Seven Years Ago
Izuku hops out of bed, beaming cheek to cheek as he hurries to get himself ready for the day. He pulls on his shorts, a shirt that reads ‘Traveling Shirt,’ and steps into his socks before rushing to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He bounces on his feet, impatient, before he hears his mother calling up from downstairs.
“Izuku, deary!” she calls as he spits the remnants of the toothpaste down the drain. “I have breakfast waiting for you, so hurry up!”
“Coming, mom!” he shouts back as he looks at himself in the mirror, taking it all in.
Today is the day! Today is his tenth birthday, which can only mean one thing…
He is now old enough to travel and become a Pokémon Master!
He rushes downstairs to greet his mother before devouring his plate of breakfast. His mother chastises him for eating too fast, but understands his excitement as he finishes his meal. While he cleans up, she opens his backpack - and the quiet sniffles from behind him distract him from his dish-drying.
Izuku turns to see his mother in tears as she double-checks his bag of supplies he would need for the road. He runs over to her and gives her a hug, just like every time she’d hold him through his own tears.
“Oh, Izuku, I knew this day would come, and I tried my darndest to not get too emotional.” His mother croaks through her tears as she holds onto her only son. “I know you’re going to be okay and will do great things! I just can’t believe that today is the day you leave the nest!”
Izuku chuckles at his mother, holding onto her tightly. “I know, mom, but don’t worry, I’ll be okay! I’ll call you whenever I get to a Pokémon Center and give you updates on my travels!”
His mother pulls away from the embrace and smiles down at her son, pulling a green curl out of his face. “I know you will, sweetie, and when I see your name blasted on my TV screen that says ‘Pokémon Champion,’ I will be an even bigger mess!”
The two laugh at the thought as Inko’s Wobbuffet joins in on the hug. She tackles Izuku to the ground and pins him down with her weight.
“WOBBUFFET!” The Pokémon shouts sadly, a small tear coming down her cheek.
Izuku smiles at the Psychic Pokémon as he stands up, dusting his pants in the process. “I know, Wobby, but I gotta go. Mom did the same thing when she was my age, and I gotta follow in her footsteps, you know!”
The Pokémon sniffs and wipes the tear away from her eye. She gives Izuku one last look of sadness before it immediately changes to pride. “Wobbuffet!” she shouts at Izuku, who chuckles in reply.
The remaining morning consists of Inko going back and forth between letting her son go or keeping him at home forever. She eventually caves and, after giving him one last hug and kiss on the cheek, she waves goodbye to him, Wobbuffet waving next to her, as he starts to head to his destination; The Pokémon Ranch owned by Professor Yagi Toshinori.
He beams as he approaches the ranch not even an hour into his traveling time, his pace slowing down as he gets closer. He reads the nameplate and presses the button on the intercom. A buzz can be heard and the gate that was closed before him suddenly opens. He adjusts his backpack and heads toward the small house on the hill. It’s tiny and old, but it does its job in keeping the bad weather away and is still durable against any and all Pokémon attacks.
He takes a shaky breath before he knocks on the door three times. Only a few seconds pass before the lead Pokemon Researcher comes and opens the door, smiling happily as his bright blue eyes peer down at the young boy.
“Ah, Young Midoriya, come in!” Professor Yagi happily steps away to let the boy inside, which Izuku does. “Welcome to my research center! I have heard nothing but good things from your mother and how you’re excited to start your journey to become a Pokémon Master.”
Izuku beams at the professor as they turn into a hallway. “I know! I can’t wait to get started! I’ve been looking forward to this for so long!”
Professor Yagi chuckles as he opens the door to the room where he stores his starter Pokémon once they are ready for young trainers. “I’m glad you’re excited. I have the Pokémon ready to go; all you have to do is choose.”
Izuku looks at the three PokéBalls, all red and white with a button in the middle, sitting on the table in front of him. Professor Yagi points to each one as he explains. “This one is Bulbasaur,” he points to the one on the left, “this one is Squirtle,” he points to the middle PokéBall, “and this one is Charmander,” he points to the one on the right.
Izuku sweats a bit as he examines each of the PokéBalls in front of him. He has done research on all three types before he started, so now that he has to choose makes him a bit nervous. He remembers his notebook, currently residing in his backpack, full of pros and cons of each starter, his hands aching with each new entry as he spends hours contemplating his choices. He thinks long and hard about this, mumbling to himself that the professor stands there patiently, and, extending his arm, he grabs the middle PokéBall, his choice made.
Professor Yagi smiles at the green haired boy as he takes the other PokéBalls and puts them in his pocket. “An excellent choice! Squirtle is all yours, Young Midoriya!”
Izuku, beaming cheek to cheek, tosses the PokéBall in the air as it opens up, revealing the Water Pokémon that he chose. Squirtle opens his eyes and looks up to Izuku, his new companion, and smiles.
“Squirtle!” He croaks out, making Izuku tear up a bit with excitement. He kneels down to face him at eye level.
“Hi, I’m Izuku! Would you like to be my friend?” he asks, causing the Water Pokémon to jump for joy and shoot out bubbles, making them land on his face. Izuku wipes his face and chuckles at the Pokémon.
“You’re really funny!” he says. “Hey, how do you like the name Bubbles?” Squirtle jumps and climbs on top of Izuku’s shoulder, signaling a new, budding friendship. Izuku laughs and picks the Pokémon up from his shoulders and into his grasp. “Bubbles it is!”
Professor Yagi laughs at the interaction as Bubbles flaps his arms around with excitement. “How wonderful! I’m so glad to see you two getting along just fine!”
After playing with Bubbles some more, Professor Yagi gives him more information as to where to travel and the different gyms he can battle at, along with different Pokémon Championships he can compete in. Izuku looks down at Bubbles, who smiles up at him, before he turns back to the professor.
“Thank you so much, Professor,” he says as he bows to him with respect. When he makes it to the doorway and waves goodbye, he can’t help but shout: “Just wait, I’m going to be the number one Pokémon Champion, you’ll see!”
With Bubbles right next to him, Izuku travels along the path, eager to start his journey to become the greatest Pokémon Champion!
Present Day
Izuku slowly opens his eyes and looks around to see the sun shining in his tent through the entrance way. He sits up and stretches his arms before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, begrudgingly getting out of his sleeping bag to pack up for yet another day of traveling.
He rolls up the last bit of the tent and ties it down before putting it on top of his backpack along with his sleeping bag. His things have started to become heavier with time, but getting older and all of the exercise he gets from daily traveling and battling has helped quite a bit on that front.
Izuku sits down with his breakfast, which contains some berries and oatmeal he made the night before, and shoves it down his throat to speed up his traveling time back home.
It’s been seven years since he started his journey to become a Pokémon Master and things… haven’t really gone the way he expected them to go.
For starters, any Pokémon he would catch never seemed to warm up to him, giving him the cold shoulder and never listening to any of his commands. He has tried every tactic and strategy he could think of, but nothing seemed to work as they would continue to lash out at him and not listen at all.
And if that wasn’t frustrating enough, people have always viewed him as a useless idiot who dreamed too big, and was always met with skepticism and doubt regarding his abilities. He competed in so many Pokémon tournaments and never made it past the Top 32 due to his inability to train his Pokémon.
It’s gotten to a point where his confidence has dwindled to nothing but embers on a campfire, sizzling away until they disappear completely. His stubbornness has kept the fire going, but he only has so much energy left to continue keeping up with it.
With everything now packed up, he hoists the backpack over his shoulder and starts to head toward the direction of home, a sad look on his face.
The single PokéBall on his belt jiggles and out pops Bubbles, the only Pokémon that stuck around all these years, as he looks up to Izuku and tries to cheer him up. At some point, Bubbles evolved from a Squirtle to a Wartortle, so he grew with Izuku over the years.
“Wartortle!” He shouts with a grin on his face. Izuku smiles back down, giving Bubbles a small pat on his head.
“Hey, Bubbles, would you like some berries to snack on while we head home?” Izuku asks, knowing full well the Water Pokémon loves nothing more than fresh food. As predicted, Bubbles jumps up and down with glee as Izuku reaches into a small pouch he has on his belt and gives Bubbles a handful of berries. Bubbles smiles and happily munches on them as they continue down the path.
Izuku’s smile softens at the sight of his companion. He is grateful that throughout the journey, Bubbles stuck around and made his travels a lot easier to tolerate as the years went by. Even when he evolved, he was still the bubbly and happy Pokémon he chose at Professor Yagi’s ranch all those years ago.
His smile then falters, remembering where their current destination is, and Izuku drags his feet a bit in the dirt. Time and time again, many people have told him to give up on his dream of becoming a champion, and he would always say that he will prevail. Now, he wonders if they were right, hence why he is on his way back home to rethink his future. At the very least, he could work with Professor Yagi and help him with his research—
“Let’s fucking GO, MACHOKE!” A loud voice shouts in the distance, making Izuku stop in his tracks and look around. Bubbles stops as well, searching for where the shouting came from.
“Wart?” Bubbles asks, to which Izuku replies with a shrug of his shoulders. A loud boom erupts behind them and Izuku turns to see a pillar of smoke rising from the canopy of the trees. He gasps, wondering if the person who shouted earlier is in trouble. He starts to run toward the direction of the smoke with Bubbles behind him, as he pushes past bushes and tree branches to get to the person in trouble.
Izuku can hear the booming noises grow louder, which tells him that he is getting closer. It isn’t until he hears some more shouting that he slows down and pushes a branch out of the way. What he sees makes him gasp and slip behind a tree.
There stands a man, probably his age by the looks of it, with spiky blond hair and a broad build to him. He is standing right behind a Machoke as it delivers blow after blow on a wild Teddiursa. The wild Pokémon dodges every attack with all his might, though he has taken some hits from the Fighting Pokémon. Teddiursa lands on a tree just above them as it attacks, claws at the ready. Machoke blocks the attack and punches Teddiursa right in the face once he sees an opening to strike. Teddiursa lands on his back and tries to get up, but the blow must have really hit him badly as he struggles on the ground.
The man reaches for his belt and pulls out a PokéBall, pressing the button in the middle to enlarge it before tossing it toward the struggling Teddiursa. It hits him right on the side and light shines on him, consuming the Pokémon into the ball. The PokéBall lands on the ground and shakes as the Pokémon struggles to get out. Izuku watches with bated breath before the familiar popping noise echoes through the small clearing. The man walks over to pick up the PokéBall and turns.
Izuku watches as the man smirks down at the PokéBall in hand, and finds himself breathless. Not only does this trainer have the ability to command his Pokémon, but the Machoke walks over to him and gives him a thumbs up and a grin, earning his approval. This relationship between trainer and Pokemon is… everything Izuku has ever wanted.
“Machoke!” The Fighting Pokémon shouts as the trainer gives him a high five. Izuku now notices how his red irises sparkle with victory and his well-defined facial features look pleased at this particular battle. Izuku is almost jealous, not having the ability to have his own Pokémon, with the exception of Bubbles, listen to him. He glances down toward Bubbles, who watched the battle as well, as he looks up to Izuku and gives him a smile.
Izuku, with the feeling of either bravery or stupidity, steps out of the bushes and walks over to the blond, who hasn’t noticed him yet.
“Wow, that was amazing!” he shouts, causing the man to jerk his head up and stare with confusion. “You were able to capture a wild Teddiursa! I know they can be tricky, but your Machoke was able to take him down with no problems!”
“Who the hell are you?” The blond snarls, causing Izuku to let out a surprised ‘eep!’ from being cut off. “What kind of creep hides and watches someone battling Pokémon? Don’t you have any fucking shame?”
“Oh! No no! You got it all wrong!” Izuku stammers, trying to compose himself. “I-I just happened to pass by. I was walking home when I heard you shouting and thought you were in trouble, so I ran over with Bubbles to come help—”
“Bubbles?” The man looks over to see Bubbles, the Wartortle, standing next to Izuku. “Wonderful, you’re one of those trainers that give their Pokémon cutesy nicknames. BARF!” He exaggerates by sticking out his tongue.
Izuku pouts from the comment, as does Bubbles, mirroring his movement. The man rolls his eyes from the gesture as Izuku continues to explain himself. “Anyway, when we saw that it was only a battle, we just kind of watched from afar. I really admire your skills in battle, it looks like you have a good grasp on training your Pokémon.”
The man smirks, clearly letting the praise sink in and wash his annoyance away, as he crosses his arms. “Of course, I’m one of the best fucking trainers out there! I have three championships under my belt if that says anything to you!”
Hold the phone.
“Th-Th-Th-Three?” Izuku stammers, eyes wide. The feeling of jealousy creeps back in, but for the most part, he is just enamored by the man’s achievements. His eyes sparkle while his grin grows from cheek to cheek. “Wow, that must definitely mean you’re amazing!”
“Damn straight,” the man huffs a reply, clearly enjoying the boost to his ego. “I gotta be amazing to be the best of the best.”
Izuku’s smile then falters, looking down at Bubbles with sadness in his eyes. “Wow, I wish I was just like you, being the best of the best. I-I’ve tried for seven years and I haven’t won a single championship. Sometimes I just feel like giving up… I was… I was on my way back home to rethink my future, actually.” Izuku sniffs as he wipes a tear that is threatening to come down his freckled cheek. “Ah, I’m sorry, I just… That’s a lot from a complete stranger…”
“Wartortle…” Bubbles soothes as he wraps his arms around Izuku’s legs, reassuring his sobbing trainer that he is there for him.
The blond stands there quietly for a solid minute, watching the interaction between Izuku and Bubbles. Izuku hears the man curse under his breath, but what he says next takes his breath away.
“Don’t be sorry. I get it,” the man says, straight to the point.
Izuku looks up at him and stares at the ruby-red eyes that are filled with determination, a slight contrast from earlier where they were filled with cockiness and egotism. When Izuku doesn’t comment, the man continues. “This is something you wanted to do for a long time, right?”
Izuku nods his head. The man places his hands on his hips. “So don’t give up on that dream. If this is a passion of yours, you gotta work the everloving fuck for it. I was a shit-ton better than you seven years ago and it even took ME tons of work to do it. You can do it, too, so don’t give up, got it?”
“But that’s the thing,” Izuku replies, noting the eyes widening on the blond, clearly not expecting that answer. “I can’t seem to get any Pokémon I capture to listen to me o-or follow my commands. I… I only have Bubbles now…” He looks down at Bubbles, who squeezes his leg tightly. “Any past Pokémon I had… I traded them to others who can better train them. I… I’ve tried every strategy I can come up with to gain any respect—and trust me, I have multiple notebooks on that—but… it always ends up with them all hating me for some reason… So…”
“So you fucking gave up on them?” The blond glowers, causing Izuku to grimace. “You traded them way too soon, idiot.” He then looks at Bubbles, who still clutches Izuku’s leg like a lifeline. “But I guess I can see where you’re coming from. If they don’t respect you, why should you even bother?”
Izuku looks dejected, holding onto the straps of his backpack as he fidgets with a seam that is loose. The man clears his throat before he asks. “Let me ask you this; how did your Wartortle stick around? Surely you did something right for him to stay.”
Izuku gives him a confused look before looking down to Bubbles. He thinks about that question for a bit before he shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know, honestly. He was my first Pokémon that I chose from Professor Yagi, so we’ve been inseparable ever since.” He smiles down at the Water Pokémon, who smiles back, as he pets his head. “I’m just thankful he stuck around after all these years.”
The man hums a reply, understanding where Izuku is coming from. “So try to remember how you bonded with your Wartortle—”
“Bubbles,” Izuku corrects, earning a middle finger for interrupting.
“Remember how you bonded with Bubbles,” the man grimaces, a shiver running down his spine from the thought alone, “and use that as a guide to interact with any Pokémon you catch from here on out.” He then puts the PokéBall with the captured Teddiursa back onto his belt. “Now then, I gotta take this Teddiursa to the Pokémon Center. Smell ya later, dumbass.”
The man then turns and starts to walk away, leaving a flustered Izuku and a confused Bubbles behind. His brain goes a million miles a minute, processing what the man said to him. He looks down to Bubbles, who gives him a look—a shared look—before he finds himself running after the blond in question.
“Wait!” Izuku shouts, making him stop in his tracks. The red eyes turn to look back, unamused by the request.
Izuku takes a minute to form the words in his head before he spits them out like a hyperactive child. “Train me, please!”
There is a pregnant pause between the two, causing Izuku’s forehead to sweat. The man turns his body fully to look at Izuku, bewildered, as he utters his answer back.
“... No.”
The man turns around and walks away again. Izuku, not wanting to back down, runs over and grabs him by the shoulder, causing the man to glare at him angrily. “Please,” Izuku continues, “I need help! I’ve tried doing this on my own, but clearly it’s not working!”
“And I told you no, now fuck off!” he shouts, shrugging the hand off of his shoulder as he continues to walk away. Izuku, getting desperate, falls to his knees and latches onto the man’s well-toned legs as he gripes about him getting the fuck off me already!
Tears fall down Izuku’s cheeks, snot drools out of his nose as he looks into the pool of menacing red once more, begging the man to help him out. “P-Please! I promise to listen and be a good student! You said that I have it in me, that I shouldn’t give up! S-So I’m asking, no, pleading, for your help!”
The man stares down at Izuku as his face grows wet with tears and snot. He rolls his eyes after a minute and hands him a tissue from his pocket. Izuku takes the tissue and blows his nose into it. He feels more tissues being angrily tossed at him as the man sighs heavily and clears his throat.
“You really want my help?” he starts, causing Izuku to stop crying for a damn second and frantically nods his head as the man continues. “Then how about this? I’ll offer you a proposition: battle me one-on-one with our Pokémon. If you beat me and prove you have what it takes, I’ll train you. If you lose, then I’m gone, okay?”
Izuku’s eyes sparkle with joy, letting the words sink in, before he nods his head vigorously like a little puppy. “Of course! I accept the proposition!”
The man smirks as he extends his hand. “Cool, now get your slobbering ass off of me.” Izuku chuckles and takes the hand to stand up. The man grips it tight and shakes it vigorously.
“Didn’t properly introduce myself,” the man says with a glint of deviousness in his eyes. “Name’s Katsuki Bakugou.”
Izuku decides to ignore it and smiles back. “Izuku Midoriya!”
“Alright, nerd, let’s see what you got!” Katsuki shouts as he tosses a PokéBall in his hand.
Izuku nods and looks down at Bubbles. “You ready?”
“Wart!” Bubbles says with determination as he takes his stand, ready for battle.
Katsuki then throws the PokéBall into the air. “You’re up, Sandslash!” The PokéBall opens up and out comes the Ground Pokémon, poised and ready to battle with his claw-like hands.
“Sandslash!” The Pokémon shouts, growling in the process as if to intimidate Bubbles, who doesn’t flinch at the sight.
Okay, Izuku thinks in his head, Sandslash is a ground type, not a grass or electric type. Bubbles has the advantage of being a water type here. It’s not a guaranteed victory, but I have to come up with a strategy that will ensure this so Katsuki can train us. I hope this works.
“Bubbles, Water Pulse!” Izuku commands, which Bubbles does so by shooting out a large amount of water out of his mouth. Sandslash immediately dodges the attack as Katsuki stands there with a smirk on his face.
Woah! He didn’t even give him a command! Amazing! Izuku thinks while watching in awe, unaware of Katsuki’s next move.
“Rapid Spin!” Katsuki shouts, causing Izuku to break out of his stupor as he watches Bubbles get hit by a spinning Sandslash, knocking him down.
Bubbles groans in pain but gets back up, giving Izuku a thumbs up that he is okay. Izuku nods before he shouts his command. “Go tackle!”
“Wart!” Bubbles shouts as he runs towards the Ground Pokémon. Sandslash immediately dodges before Bubbles can get a hit on him. Bubbles turns and continues to try to tackle him, but Sandslash continues to dodge each attack.
“Tch, typical,” Katsuki says under his breath, grinning ear to ear. “Go Dig, Sandslash!”
“Sandslash!” The Pokémon shouts as he proceeds to claw his way underground, disappearing from sight once the dust clears up.
“Wartortle?” Bubbles looks around frantically, trying to pinpoint the Pokémon in question as he starts to panic a bit, jumping from foot to foot with his arms raised from the excess anxiety.
Izuku doesn’t know what to do at this point, but he sees his Pokémon in turmoil, and tries to reassure him. “Bubbles, you’re gonna be okay! Just pinpoint where he is underground! Concentrate, I know you can do it!”
Bubbles stops panicking and looks over to Izuku, who gives him a reassuring smile. “You got this, Bubbles!”
Bubbles looks at Izuku as he takes deep breaths. He calms himself down as he smiles back at Izuku, nodding his head before he turns back. Bubbles closes his eyes and concentrates. He digs his feet in the dirt as he tries to pinpoint where Sandslash could be. Soon, he feels some rumbling underneath him.
“Wart…” Bubbles whispers to himself, letting the Ground Pokémon zero in on his position on purpose. When he is merely inches from plowing out, Bubbles shoots his eyes open and dodges out of the way. Right where he was standing does Sandslash emerge from underground, eyes widening at the fact that he managed to dodge his sneak attack.
“Yes! Way to go, Bubbles!” Izuku shouts happily. Bubbles turns to him and grins before he suddenly was tackled to the ground with Sandslash pinning him down to the ground with his claws digging into his shell.
Izuku gasps, not seeing that attack at all, before Katsuki interjects his thoughts, grinning in the process. “Word to the wise: don’t distract your Pokémon mid-fight! Sandslash! Use Sand Attack!”
Sandslash then leaps away from Bubbles and spins. Sand billows out of him and creates a miniature sandstorm around Bubbles.
“Wart!” Bubbles panics as sand lands in his eyes, moving frantically to rub it out. “WARTORTLE!”
Izuku stands there, unable to figure out a solution, when he hears Katsuki shout again. “Scratch him!”
“No!” Izuku shouts as he sees Sandslash’s claws pull back and aim toward Bubbles, who is still standing with sand in his eyes.
In an instant, Bubbles stops and immediately ducks without any commands from Izuku, having pinpoint the Ground Pokémon, who was mere inches from him, and he twirls his body and hits him with a Tail Whip, landing square in the face. Sandslash, not expecting the attack, lands on the ground.
The trainers look at the spectacle with eyes widened. Izuku didn’t even have to command Bubbles, which makes him feel giddy and prideful that his only companion is able to do something like this. He grins as he stares at Katsuki, who looks just as impressed and shocked at the turn of events.
Taking this as a distraction, Izuku turns to Bubbles. “Hydro Pump!”
Bubbles, having gotten the sand out of his eyes, complies as a giant wave of water flows out of his mouth, hitting Sandslash and pinning him down to the ground. He struggles under the pressure as Bubbles continues his assault. Bubbles moves closer, so the pressure of the Hydro Pump is even more intense.
“Shit…” Izuku hears Katsuki whisper, which alone sends a chill down his spine. Izuku beams as Bubbles gets closer to Sandslash with the water.
Just as he lets himself bask in the glow of a victory, Katsuki shouts his next move.
“Sandslash, you know what to do!” Katsuki says loudly, crossing his arms and grinning as if he won the match.
Izuku looks at him quizzically, wondering what kind of move this is. He doesn’t get his answer when Sandslash then picks himself up and away from the Hydro Pump and promptly digs into the ground.
“Wart?” Bubbles questions as he looks around. Izuku looks at Katsuki, who still has that shit-eating grin on his face, as Izuku thinks about what is happening.
This has to be a trick, Izuku thinks, either way, I can’t let my guard down.
“Bubbles, do what you did last time—” Izuku starts to command, but is cut off short when suddenly the ground starts to shake under his feet. He tries to keep his balance, but eventually falls on his butt with a thud.
Bubbles is not far behind as he tries to also keep his balance. His attempts are futile as he falls on his face.
“Bubbles!” Izuku shouts with concern before turning his attention to the blond in question. He still has that cheeky smile, arms crossed, and is poised ready to give out the final commands of the match. Izuku’s eyes widen at that fact, knowing that he is definitely going to be defeated.
“RAPID SPIN!” Katsuki shouts throughout the clearing.
The shaking quickly stops and before the two can react, Bubbles is in the air with Sandslash in tow. He spins around to keep Bubbles airborne, making him dizzy in the process.
Katsuki huffs as he shouts once more. “Bring it home! Use Slash!”
Sandslash procures his claws and swipes them to hit Bubbles with the final blow. Bubbles slams to the ground and lands on his back, throwing dust everywhere from the impact. Izuku covers his face with his arm until the dust settles. He slowly opens his eyes and there lies Bubbles, knocked out and immoveable.
“BUBBLES!” Izuku jumps to his feet and runs to his only companion. He picks him up and holds him in his lap, checking for injuries. Bubbles groans in his arms and turns his head, lopsided, toward his trainer. He pries one eye open and gives him a small smile and a tiny thumbs up.
“W-Wart…” Bubbles croaks before his arm falls and he promptly passes out.
Izuku starts tearing up and holds onto Bubbles for dear life. He sniffs and tries to compose himself, but he only gets more emotional as reality sets in. Katsuki was free to leave him and he would have to give up on his journey to become a Pokémon Champion.
What the hell would he tell his mother?
He continues to cry, tears falling down his cheeks and landing on his companion. “I-I’m sorry Bubbles… L-Looks like it’s the end of our j-journey…”
Katsuki, on the other side of the clearing, high fives Sandslash before returning him to his PokéBall. He looks up to see Izuku crying over his damn Pokémon. He’s about to turn before he feels something lurking inside him.
He’s not sure what it is, but just leaving the poor boy with a shattered dream didn’t sit well with him. He curses under his breath for even doing this, despite their deal. He slowly walks over to the sobbing mess of a trainer and stops a few feet in front of him. When he doesn’t look up, Katsuki clears his throat and Izuku looks up, all teary and snotty.
Katsuki rolls his eyes and pulls out a pack of tissues from his pocket and tosses them on the ground. Izuku blinks at him before his eyes cast down to the tissues. He hesitantly picks the pack up and pulls a few out before wiping his face and blowing his nose. He mutters a small ‘thanks’ before Katsuki speaks again.
“Fine, I’ll help you.”
Izuku looks up to the ruby-red eyes with his own widened emeralds. He fights more tears as he tries to process the words that came out of the blond before speaking, clearing his throat in the process.
“Wh-What?”
Katsuki scoffs and crosses his arms. “I said, I’ll help you.”
Izuku’s grip on Bubbles tightens as he continues to stare at Katsuki, unsure if he actually heard him right. When his stance doesn’t change, Izuku sniffs as he asks him. “Wh-Why the sudden change of heart? W-We had a deal…”
Katsuki rolls his narrowed eyes as Izuku gulps the excess saliva that builds in his mouth. “Listen, you should just fucking accept this because it’s a one-time offer. So, you in, or should I give my services to some other chump like you?”
Bubbles groans in Izuku’s hold, causing the green haired boy to look down with worry. Bubbles opens his eyes and gives him a reassuring smile. Izuku smiles back down at him as he thinks about the first time they met all those years ago. He then looks back up to Katsuki with a determined look on his face.
“Thank you,” Izuku smiles. “I won’t let you down!”
“Wartortle!” Bubbles says with a big smile pointed at Katsuki. He looks down at the Water Pokémon, wondering if he got a concussion from earlier and this is a reflex. Shrugging his shoulders, he turns and starts to leave the clearing, leaving Izuku and Bubbles on the ground.
When he doesn’t hear any footsteps, he turns back and gives them a scowl. “Are you fucking coming? We’re going to the Pokémon Center to get our Pokémon healed, moron!”
Izuku yelps as he stands on his feet and runs to Katsuki with Bubbles in his arms. He catches up to the blond and starts to walk next to him, down a path he recognizes as the path toward the nearest Pokémon Center.
The two walk in silence for some time, letting the events of the last few hours settle between them. Izuku looks down to Bubbles in his arms, who simply smiles back, before he turns to the blond next to him.
Izuku smiles. “Hey, Katsuki?”
Katsuki hums a reply before Izuku continues. “Th-Thank you again… I… I appreciate you helping me.”
Katsuki grunts, eyes still forward as they continue to walk toward the center. Izuku hums as he faces forward again and walks slightly closer to the blond. He doesn’t see the ruby eyes looking over to him for a second, taking him in, before they look forward again.
The two walk in silence, unaware of the budding friendship that lies ahead of them.