Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“W-water…” 

Shiver dragged themself out of the parked van, flopping face-first onto the concrete, wheezing and coughing all the way down. Like a Goomy, they unstuck their legs from the backseat, trying to lift themself up albeit only with the strength of their awfully skinny arms. “N-need… water…” they pleaded again like they were on the verge of disintegrating (which maybe they were.)

Frye came out from the other side, looking down at her dried and shriveled up friend who was supposedly her trusty “partner in crime.” She shook her head but nonetheless, feeling awfully pitiful, went to lift them up by the armpits, leaving them looking like a lifeless mannequin in her arms. “Aw, c’mon, Shiv. It’s not that hot out here, is it?”

Big Man climbed out from the driver’s seat next. He stared at the commotion in front of him then wordlessly picked up Quaxly’s Pokeball. It came out with a salute paired with an affirmative squawk, as if already knowing what to do.

“Quaxly, please use Water Gun,” Big Man said.

Shiver’s horrified shriek was soon muffled by the stream of water that smacked their poor face. Quaxly finished after a whole fifteen seconds and struck a pose to emphasize it, likely hydrating them extra for the fun of it. As always, it acted ignorant to

Shiver’s scowling. Frye made sure to help them recover from their mini drowning experience as Big Man quickly returned his partner.

Frye pushed them upright, chuckling at them as they unhappily twisted their hair like a towel. “Well? How much did that Hydro Pump refresh you from a scale of one to ten? Y’know, just gauging feedback for Quaxly’s water services.”

“I hope a Charmander pops out of the grass and torches your stupid face,” they growled through their grit teeth, purposefully slapping her face as they flipped their hair.

Meanwhile, Big Man adjusted his travel backpack and checked his watch. “I’m surprised we’ve made it on time, considering the amount of pitstops we’ve had to take.” He shuddered at the mere memory of each of Frye’s insane snack runs and Shiver’s excessive bathroom breaks, not to mention the flat tire that took hours to fix in the middle of that desert. “Anyway, I’m gonna head to the Pokemart to get some stuff for tonight’s dinner. You two can go and check in with our hotel. Absolutely no funny business, got it?”

Frye smiled and gave him an obedient salute despite not knowing exactly what he meant with the last sentence. “You got it, boss!”

The group quickly split up with their individual tasks. Frye opted to carry the luggage while Shiver squinted at their Rotom phone, attempting to follow the directions on screen. Though she didn’t fully trust Shiver’s direction skills even after all of their convincing, Frye decided to let them take the lead; after all, she admitted that she wouldn’t be any better. It wasn’t until a whole thirty minutes of endless walking had passed that Frye realized her mistake. She caught Shiver’s faux focus, just now realizing how stressed they seemed to be.

“Uh, Shiv?”

They whipped around with their eyes narrowed, already irritated. “What? Can’t you see I’m concentrated here?”

She frowned at that sassy reply. “I know you don’t actually know where we’re going.”

Shiver immediately scoffed at the idea, their overflowing pride practically forcing Frye to roll her eyes. “Of course I do! Just… give me a second.”

“Look, as someone who’s travelled way longer than you have, I’ve got some advice for you.” She had Shiver stop walking (a clever way of getting their full attention as well as getting the chance to rest her aching feet) as she proudly pointed to herself with her thumb. “What I like to do is go my own way to, y’know, take it slow and enjoy the scenery.”

Shiver shot her an all too familiar look of I want to punch you in the face with how stupid you sound right now. “Frye, Big Man could get done with shopping any minute now and see that we’re not even at the hotel yet,” they retorted. “We don’t have time to stop and appreciate everything as much as we would like to. Plus, we need to sleep early so we can have some early morning training tomorrow.”

“Well, if we can’t read the map, we can just ask someone here who I might know where it is.” With no nearby folks around to ask, Frye turned to the conveniently placed door right next to them. Shiver blinked at her, then the strangely robotic high tech building they conveniently stopped at. Frye, being Frye, either didn’t care about the bizarre design choice or didn’t notice it at  all. “For instance, maybe the friendly guy that lives here knows the way.”

Shiver looked up at the looming tower that was the “house,” just now realizing how displaced it looked compared to everything else. “Uh, I think it’s obvious that this place is… not normal.”

Of course, that was something Frye would never bother to consider. “Ah, well, that’s just the city for you!”

Shiver reached out to her in a panic as her finger approached the doorbell. “Wh- Frye, wait! What are you doing this is so embarrassing someone could be in the-”

Frye froze and reeled back as a scanner suddenly sprang to life, slowly tracing the outline of her figure with some kind of horizontal laser. Eventually, the door whirred as it automatically slid open, wordlessly inviting them in as if it was the owner of the house itself. Both trainers shot nervous glances at each other as they uneasily peaked inside. 

The interior was surprisingly homey, like a living room designed like a bedroom if you ignored the messy lab set at the corner of the room; the complete opposite to what they expected. On another side of the room, there they saw a Toxtricity in its amped form with wires harmlessly stuck onto different parts of its body with tiny, round stickers. The wires could be traced back to some kind of DJ table in which it coolly leaned on, and behind the table was a curly-haired woman who seemed to be in the zone. She had her headphones in, clicking buttons and adjusting knobs, her brows furrowed in full concentration.

Frye cleared her throat, channeling all the extroverted fibers in her body to fight the awkwardness of the whole situation. “Uh, ‘scuse us, we-”

“Marina!?”

The professor snatched off her headphones, seemingly getting ready to throw hands with the “intruding.” Her face went completely pale in fear, but then completely lit up as she spotted who exactly was breaking into her space. She squealed and immediately went in for a hug, squeezing both of them long and tight enough to kill them.

“Oh, Shiver, Frye! So good to see you!” Marina beamed, swinging them around with her (surprisingly) strong arms. Shiver plopped onto the ground with a thump, raising their arm to support themself against the doorway as they stumbled, struggling to take air into their crushed lungs. Frye, on the other hand, seemed to not mind the near death experience as much.

“P-professor!” She eyed her up and down, shocked to see Marina’s completely different appearance without her nerdy glasses and labcoat more than anything else. It didn’t feel natural to see her in such a casual outfit at first glance. “What are you doing here?  I swear we just saw you in town the other day.”

Marina waved her hand bashfully as if trying to stay humble. “This is actually my second lab. Or home I should say. My wife owns thirteen other places across the regions, so we like to travel around from time to time as I do research,” she said, acting as if being insanely wealthy wasn’t that big of a deal. 

The yellow Toxitricity appeared behind Marina with a curious warble, the wires peeling off its skin as it craned its neck over her shoulder. The professor smiled as she lifted her hand to gently stroke its chin. Shiver watched Toxtricity’s electricity flare up as the petting intensified with another hand added, its trainer making incoherent baby noises all the while.

“I didn’t know you had a Toxtricity, professor,” Shiver pointed out.

“That’s because this guy here is actually my wife’s Toxtricity,” she explained as she lowered her hand. The mon perked up upon losing its pets, but promptly went back inside to reattach the wires onto its body without any protests. Shiver silently noted to themself that Master Mega needed a serious talk about developing that kind of obedience sooner or later. “Also, no need for formalities. I have my lab coat off, see?”

“Ahh, so like different modes, huh?” Frye leaned to the side, balancing on one foot to get a better look at that expensive looking DJ set. Her eyes sparkled in awe, likely fighting the urge to mess with it, Shiver would guess. “Like, how you have this secret DJ career as a mode!?”

“Oh, this?” Marina stepped back, letting her hand glide up and down across the record to make a satisfied electronic scratch. “Would you like to see it up close?”

Shiver jumped in, pulling Frye into a more balanced position. “Actually, we should probably get going. We-”

“Oh, yes please!”

“Frye.” 

After an insistent push or two, Shiver found themself inside of Marina’s secret music lab anyway. Obviously, they had tried their best to express the irrationality of the decision, but the curious light in Frye’s big ol’ eyes shut them up in an instant. Marina went behind the set after the door automatically shut and put her headphones back on. She tested the sound only to furrow her eyebrows in distaste, the green light in front of the table bouncing upwards like a heartbeat.

“What frustrates me is this synth. No matter how much I adjust, I just can’t get the right sound,” Marina muttered in frustration to no one in particular. Marina lifted her gaze to Shiver first, then raised her eyebrow as she shifted her attention to Frye, humming, like something hit her all of a sudden. “Say, Frye. Do you happen to have any electric types? Any at all?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, I do.”

Frye didn’t hesitate to release her Elektross. It appeared with an excited buzz noise, not noticing the immediate glare it got from the Toxitricity across from it. Shiver had to cover up their snicker over the silent interaction; they couldn’t help but empathize with it.

“Aww, what a darling!” Marina crouched down to briefly examine it. With permission from the Pokemon and Frye, she scanned it head to tail, lightly touching it on occasion. She nodded with a hum, noting its unique features and quirks, then looked back up at its trainer. “You don’t mind if I… borrow your little guy for a few minutes, do you?”

Elektross ended up dead asleep beside the DJ table, paying no mind to the uncomfortable wires stuck to it or even the rave music blasting right beside it. An hour had passed, and so did the banging electronic music Marina was producing, and frankly, Shiver got tired of it rather quickly. They sighed, realizing that an unanswered call from Big Man was bound to be a problem. Even then it would be no use, considering all the ruckus. It didn’t help that Frye had forgotten about their original task at hand. By the time the Toxtricity started to headbang, she was already brainwashed by the songs.

After what seemed like forever for Shiver, Marina turned off the music and took off her headphones, her hair whipping around as she let out an ecstatic laugh. “That’s the sound I was looking for! Your Elektross gives off a similar vibe as you do, Frye. It’s just as I thought it would be,” she beamed. “You, um… do you mind if I borrow it just for tomorrow?”

Shiver replied before Frye could even open her mouth. “What? Are you crazy, professor? Absolutely not!” Shiver crossed their arms. “First of all, how does this thing even work? How do we know if it’s even safe? What if it steals energy?” they grumbled, motioning towards her DJ table and the sleeping Pokemon.

“Ah, well, I actually modeled it myself,” Marina explained as she carefully plucked off the wires off of the dozing Elektross. The Toxtricity helped out as well, knowing it wasn't waking up anytime soon. “These wires transmit electricity from Pokemon to my table, letting it make different sounds. So Pearlie’s- ah, I meant… my wife’s Toxtricity will produce a more heavy sound compared to your Elektross. That’s what makes my style so unique!”

Frye, as always, continued to dismiss the bigger issue Shiver was trying hard to express specifically for her sake. Her eyes sparkled like a little kid’s. “That’s… so cool!”

Honestly, all the gushing going towards Marina was ticking them off the most.

“Right!? Isn’t it crazy how-”

“Okay! Okay, I think it’s really time for us to go.” Shiver grabbed Frye’s arm, dragging her towards the door with grit teeth disguised as a polite smile. They snuck a hand to take Frye’s Pokeball, unknowingly making her jolt from the brief brush against her waist, then returned Elektross themself. Frye easily planted her feet in place in the midst of their tugging, raising a brow at them.

“H-hey! Why’re we leaving so soon?” Frye complained, secretly trying to resist a laugh at the sight of Shiver struggling to get her to budge. “Don’t you think it’s cool, too, Sharky? I really wouldn’t mind if she kept Pinap for a bit if it's for something as epic as this, y’know.”

Shiver caught themself heating up, partially because of the nickname they had told Frye countless times not to use in front of people. For the sake of wanting to have their trusted partner alive for any battles in the future, they let it slide for that one time. “I do think it's cool, but we have more important matters right now. We need to register for our hotel and we need Pinap for battles tomorrow even more. Also I just… don’t trust this DJ table.”

Marina perked up, and not because of the trust part at the end. “If you came for a good battle, then I can invite you to our show.”

Shiver paused, catching Frye off guard as the tugging movement came to a sudden stop, the loss of force causing her to stagger for a short while. “We’re listening,” they said, sounding way less suspicious now that the DJ mentioned the magic word.

“So, I was thinking, since I’m already borrowing your Elektross, I can give you free tickets to our show tomorrow as a thank you.” Marina dug in her pocket then pulled out three pink and green tickets for them to keep. On the cardstock was a colorful outline of two women, presumably Marina and Pearl, in their respective colors. The sharp-styled text read “Off the Hook: We’re So Back.” “We usually offer battles by picking random people from the crowd, but we can just pick you guys as special guests if you two are up for it.”

“A rematch? Hell yeah we are!” Frye snatched up the tickets without waiting for a response from Shiver. Even still, she didn’t need to; the answer was obvious by the look they were giving Marina. “We’re gonna beat you two to a pulp!”

Marina simply laughed, much harder than expected from such a polite person. Her eyes widened, revealing a glimpse of the competitive flame usually hidden away for the sake of professionality. “I’ll make sure to tell Pearlie to not hold back tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

It had been a long time since Shiver had seen Marina’s wife in person. They vividly remembered seeing Pearl stomping around their town from time to time, always feeling the need to be as loud as possible no matter where she was or what she was doing. Although they had never talked with her face-to-face, Shiver was confident that anyone could hear her voice from a mile away. In fact, they’ve literally heard her screaming a couple times at a distance whenever they stayed at their beach for training.

Shiver thought about it more and quickly realized that it was utterly impossible to recall a time where she wasn’t glued to Marina’s side. Even without that detail, they could already tell that they were madly in love with each other based on Marina's desktop picture and the comments she made about her and the sugary sweet conversations they had on the phone and… the other stuff Shiver had the misfortune of overhearing.

Shiver lazily climbed into the backseat of the van, hoping their last minute makeup layer was thick enough to at least conceal their eyebags. Unfortunately, they were completely unprepared for the struggle of being roommates with Frye and her truck horn-like snores. Not to mention that she was an abnormally deep sleeper, a fact that led to a big tug of war fight between Shiver and the bed with Frye as the rope.

Frye climbed in next with a little hop, clearly ecstatic for their first ever battle as a duo, not acknowledging the fact that she literally slept in on the day of the event. Big Man adjusted his rearview mirror and started the van.

It wasn’t long before the gang arrived at the venue, albeit very, very late. As expected, they were immediately slapped in the face by a blast of electronic dance music as soon as they opened the two way door. There was a surprising amount of fans there, all of them jumping and dancing and screaming and singing to the point where it was hard to see or even hear the performers on stage. The trio opted to make a snake formation with Shiver leading in the front and Big Man in the back. Shiver especially wanted to keep a close eye on Frye in case she ever felt the need to escape and start shaking ass in the middle of the dance floor. 

Step by step, all three of them managed to hold each other together and make it closer to the stage. Shiver and Frye could see the duo clearly now as well as Pearl’s Toxtricity and Frye’s Elektross, again attached to Marina’s DJ table. It was the first time Frye had ever seen her own Pinap hyping up a huge crowd and busting it down at the same time. She wiped a little tear from her eye, wondering if she could ever feel more proud in her life.

Pearl was just as Shiver remembered her: obnoxiously loud and a short stack, but nonetheless insanely talented as a vocalist. She rhythmically stepped across the stage with her microphone to her mouth, pouring all her heart and soul into spitting bars like it was as easy as breathing. Marina backed her up from behind as she leaned towards the singing bits. Frye’s skin prickled with goosebumps as she hit such an ethereal high note.

The song ended relatively quickly and, more importantly, dramatically. The crowd erupted into cheers as Pearl, Marina and Toxtricity struck their signature pose (Elektross tried to as well, but it wasn’t quite on time.) Pearl held the mic to her mouth once again, close enough to look like she was about to eat it.

“Yo, how’re we feelin’ out there!?”

Everyone collectively screamed at the top of their lungs.

“That’s what I thought!” She paced around the stage, purposefully making nearby fans go insane as she passed by. “Now, we still got plenty of more songs for you, but my voice is gettin’ pretty worn out. How ‘bout we… switch it up a bit?”

Frye clenched her fist in anticipation.

“For all the Pokemon battle lovers out there,” Pearl continued, initiating immediate cheers from the fans who already knew what was about to go down. “This real special treat is for you!”

A spotlight flashed upon Shiver and Frye like thunder, giving them both a mini heart attack. Shiver felt Big Man’s presence shuffle away from the attention and perfectly mold into the crowd, but not before whispering a quick “good luck” into their ear and raising a double thumbs up.

They pushed through the crowd then climbed up the stage with a helping hand from Pearl. Both of them felt a sudden rush of adrenaline as they stared down at the sheer amount of people that were about to watch them battle. Shiver swallowed the lump in their throat and took in a deep breath.

“Give it up for trainers Shiver and Frye!”

The duo soaked in the cheers as they greeted the crowd with their respective double wave and overly confident bow.

“And give it up for yours truly: Off the Hook!” Pearl listened to the even louder cheers with a smirk, reminding them who was the fan favorite among them. Shiver replied with a scowl so deep it could’ve burned holes into her head.

Pearl and Marina stood across from them, taking a moment to wordlessly greet some fans that were gawking at them from their side. They revealed their Pokemon first, with Pearl calling upon her already sent out Toxtricity and Marina pulling out a Great Ball, something Frye hadn’t remembered seeing last time she battled. Wasn’t Octillery captured in a Poke Ball? Her hunch proved to be right as the DJ sent out a completely different companion: a particularly battle-hardened Bronzong.

Shiver bit their lip in thought. They were starting to regret not discussing their gameplan with Frye, but they guessed it didn’t matter since a Bronzong wasn’t accounted for anyway. They had to think fast if they were going to win this thing.

“Frye, I-”

“Let’s go, Incineroar!”

Incineroar appeared with its signature battle cry. It didn’t hesitate to showboat for the crowd upon entering the ring, earning a couple of shouts from the audience.

Shiver face-palmed. “You didn’t let me… ugh. Never mind.”

They decided to complete the pair with their Meowscarada upon recognizing their lack of options. The mon had less stage presence compared to its battle partner, but it was somehow garnering equal attention. Shiver wondered if it actually minded the audience at all.

Shiver turned to Frye, who was, as always, doing warmups along with Incineroar. “Look, I know it might look like we have the advantage, but we can’t just rush in. We have to consider the-”

“Aw, lighten up, Shiv! My buddy is, like, four times effective against this Bronzong,” She said, patting their back as if that was going to make them stop glaring at them. “Incineroar, use Flare Blitz!”

It dashed forward as a ball of fire before Shiver could even blink. Despite its tremendous speed, the opposing Toxtricity managed to barely hop out its path. Incineroar skidded to a halt and quickly redirected itself fast enough to land a clean hit on Bronzong from behind.

“Aw, yeah! Super effective hit!” She immediately turned to her partner in crime for approval. “Did’ja see that double hit… Shiv?”

Her expression instantly melted seeing as she was met with the I’m going to kill you side-eye and nose pinch combo. Frye snapped right back to the battlefield and was stunned to see the supposedly weakened Bronzong appear perfectly fine. Incineroar was the one to stumble back, hindered from the recoil.

Frye staggered similarly as if she got hit herself. “Wh- but how!?”

Pearl simply cackled at the rookie mistake. “Toxtricity, take your revenge by usin’ Sludge Bomb!”

Incineroar steeled itself. At that moment an Energy Ball swooped its way into the poisonous projectiles, protecting it from further harm. The two attacks collided midair in a mini explosion; the crowd seemed to like that. 

Frye shielded her face from the blast of wind, looking a little breathtaken. “Woah, thanks for saving our asses there.”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously,” Shiver deadpanned. “Now, Meowscarada, use Double Team then Dark Pulse!” 

Their mon sprang into the air, splitting into copies of itself, each one of them preparing a devastating attack to both foes. It was a highly effective move with limited drawbacks or counters. In this case, it also performed as a tactic to further wow the audience.

Toxtricity and Bronzong took out most of Meowscarada’s clones with their respective Sludge Bombs and Flash Cannons, but it ultimately ended in them taking a barrage of Dark Pulses anyway. A dust cloud formed from the wicked blasts, obscuring the sudden follow up Cross Chop from Incineroar. With no time to react, Toxtricity ended up taking the hit, forcing it down onto one knee. Keeping up the momentum, Incineroar used its Flare Blitz at Bronzong once more, but ended up meeting the same consequence as last time.

“Careful with the Flare Blitz,” Shiver said. “Marina’s Bronzong has the ability Heatproof.”

As if that simple fact couldn’t get any worse, Bronzong proceeded to use Rain Dance, the summoned clouds blocking the view of the ceiling. From the corner of their eye, Shiver could see the crowd looking above themselves in awe, some of them holding their hands out to catch the incoming droplets. At that moment, Toxtricity had managed to recover and unleash a powerful Overdrive. Thanks to the rain, the wave of electrified noise caused an incredible shock to the soaked Incineroar and Meowscarada. They fell back with pained grunts, both hanging on by a thread.

Shiver flinched. They rubbed their temples as they wracked into the depths of their brain for another plan. There was no way for them to change the weather, they knew that, and Meowscarada couldn’t Double Team to dodge the inevitable spread of Overdrive. No matter how hard they thought, they couldn’t see a clear way to turn the tables. 

Was this battle… unwinnable? 

“So what if we’re weak to the rain?” Frye slammed her fist into her open palm, not a single doubt in her tone. “They are too, y’know!”

Shiver was ripped out of their thinking, purely from the out of place optimism in Frye’s voice. They saw her familiar battle grin plastered on her face. “What could you possibly be talking about?”

“Why don’t I show you?” She pumped her fist with newfound hope. “Incineroar, show off your Thunder Punch!”

It charged in with an electrified fist, targeting the rain weakened Bronzong.

Marina seemed unprepared for the call as everyone else, even Shiver, who had their jaw dropped to the floor from the unexpected turnaround. “Bronzong, quick, use Power Gem!”

Magical rocks hurdled towards the fast approaching brute. Shiver’s stomach lurched; surely this super effective move would take out Incineroar in one shot, right? Frye kept her cocky grin, her confident stance unwavering as her Pokemon punched through the rocky blast and successfully connected its Thunder Punch. Bronzong flew backwards from the blow, a metallic clunk echoing through the stage as its body hit the ground.

Marina sighed, looking mildly disappointed by the loss as she returned her Bronzong back to its ball. Pearl playfully nudged her wife and said something into her ear, probably an encouraging flirt by the way her hand went up to her flushed face.

They weren’t out of the woods yet. It would take a while for the rain clouds to dissipate, and even then it would be difficult to stall for time. The plausible option would be to take out the Toxtricity, and fast.

“Frye, I’m going to need you to fake them out.”

“What? But my Incineroar doesn’t know Fake Out!”

“No! Not the move. Just… follow my lead.”

For the umpteenth time, Incineroar had found itself charging in, this time with another Thunder Punch. It was predictable, but the duo could tell that Pearl was really feeling the heat. On its trainer’s command, Toxtricity proceeded to counter with its own Thunder Punch, both Pokemons’ fists creating a near eye-blinding thunderclap as they clashed together in an epic showdown. Toxtricity put on a toothy grin then unleashed another direct Overdrive. Instead of running away, however, Incineroar somehow endured it, all the while flashing a smug look of its own. As focused as Toxtricity was on one upping its stubborness, it failed to put Meowscarada into account. 

“Flower Trick, go!”

A floating bouquet hurdled towards the Pokemon with only Incineroar acknowledging the surprise attack. Incineroar sprang back at the last possible minute, the “present” exploding in Tonxtricity’s face, cutting off its distressed cry. It swayed from side to side for a moment before falling onto its belly, its tongue comically sticking out of its mouth.

The crowd went absolutely feral. Some were understandably distraught by their idol’s loss, but most of them were rooting for the victorious newcomers. Shiver braced themself for Frye’s tight embrace, but when they looked over, she didn’t seem to be preparing to do any of that. Though, she was doing a giddy little victory dance as usual; Shiver found themself physically refraining themself from joining her.

Marina and Pearl approached them with the beaten up Toxtricity coming along with its arm wrapped around its trainer’s shoulder. It only had a hint of disdain in its expression. Shiver stepped back as Pearl extended her one free hand, gladly allowing Frye to do the honors. She hesitated, which was certainly unusual for such an impulsive woman like her, as she turned to Shiver with those big ol’ eyes again, like a Rockruff asking permission for a treat. They nodded, mouthing a go for it as they proudly watched her hand enthusiastically lock with Pearl’s.

Shiver, Frye and Big Man later met up with the duo backstage after the show ended. Big Man, who had been raving about their battle all afternoon, didn’t expect to be actually included in such an exclusive visit. It was safe to say that he was absolutely geeking over having the Off the Hook right in front of him. He asked for an autograph as well as a chance to play around with Marina’s DJ table, indirectly revealing to his friends that he was learning how to mix music himself. Meanwhile, Shiver and Frye chatted with Pearl in the little lounge area with the big beanbags.

“By the way, thanks for comin’ all this way to battle us and hype up the fans… and for unintentionally testin’ out ‘Rina’s newly installed face detection door,” Pearl chuckled, her voice incredibly raspy. The improvisational rapping on top of the occasional fry scream had surely taken its toll on her.

“It’s a pleasure!” Frye beamed, absent-mindedly drumming on her thighs. “Rain Dance and Overdrive combo was pure genius. It’s like you and the profes-” She paused. “Ah, ‘scuse me, I meant you and Marina were made to battle together.”

Shiver nodded. “I agree. Frye and I really need to…” Frye sank under Shiver’s glare. “Communicate and get more intentional with our strategies like you two did,” they continued through grit teeth.

“Hah, well, teamwork builds itself when you marry a smokin’ hot goddess. Ya start conforming to her and doin’ whatever she wants.” Shiver and Frye shared an uncomfortable glance at each other, chuckling uneasily at the unnecessary comment. Pearl scooched up a little bit in her seat. “But hey, you should take the credit when it's due. Sure, you got a long way to go, but, for beginner double battlers, you got some serious synergy. How long have you two been together for?”

“Oh, uh, maybe three days… and a half?” Shiver replied, unsure if their math was correct. 

Pearl perked up, looking momentarily stunned by that answer. “Wow, so your relationship is fresh fresh outta the oven, huh? I didn’t really expect it to be that new.”

“Uh, yeah…” Shiver raised a brow. “And what’s that supposed to mean, exactly?”

“Well, y’know, from the way you two looked at each other back there…” Pearl trailed off, looking up and down at the pair, then shrugged dismissively. “Gah, I shouldn’t judge. I guess everyone’s journey is a little different. I mean, when me and ‘Rina started datin’, we-”

“Holdonholdonholdon did you say ‘dating!?’” Shiver gripped their seat, feeling their whole body go frozen like their nervous system was trying its hardest not to go absolutely feral. Frye’s reaction was more or less the same, the difference being the audible squeak that managed to escape. Both of them began melting together into one big pile of blushing messes.

Frye jumped in, frantically gesturing to herself then her “romantic” partner. “I-I’m sure it’s pretty obvious that Shiver and I aren’t even-”

“Exactly, we’re not dating, we-”

“We barely know each other!”

“I actually don’t like her at all-”

“I dunno how you even came up with that kind of thing-”

“That assumption is completely false.”

“They’re not even my type, really-”

“She’s just a good fr- hey, I’m actually quite offended by that!”

“What? I’m just… telling the truth!”

Pearl’s gaze shifted back and forth, a knowing smirk tugging at her face as ten more seconds of their banter passed on. 

“Yeah, that’s what they all say...”

Chapter Text

Traveling into the unknown wasn’t anything new to Frye. She welcomed the forest’s wild scent, sighing as she felt the gentle breeze sweeping around her. She felt flooded by waves of nostalgia, the crunch of twigs under her shoes and the same old birdsong bringing back memories of her days with Litten. Though the forest had an usual lack of Pokemon, which was quite discouraging, Frye was satisfied with simply trekking down nature’s path once again.

Things did feel a little different nowadays, she supposed. With her siblings instantly becoming busy once she became old enough to receive her partner, Frye found herself to be the lone wolf during exploration. But now…

Frye decided to check on Shiver, glancing behind her back just in time to see them double over from a particularly large tree root that protruded from the dirt. Frye rushed to their side, catching them in her arms before rolling her eyes in fake condescension.

“Get a grip, Shiv. Not even a couple steps and you’re already trying to slam your face into the mud?” Frye teased. 

Shiver shot her a dirty look, her unnecessary remark killing the word of thanks off their tongue. They swatted her hand away and adjusted their backpack, indirectly reminding Frye to do the same with hers. “How nice that we’ve won our first battle together, and this is the kind of reward you think we deserve…”

Frye winked at them. “Yup! Glad you think so.”

She continued down the path, walking backwards for a moment to shoot finger guns at them before playfully spinning back around. Shiver found themself growing tired of her already, but they decided to catch up with her anyway.

It was Big Man who suggested a celebration for their win in the first place. That night, he made them dinner that tasted like, as Frye would describe it, a free five star restaurant meal. Meanwhile, Shiver became unsure of what to do the next morning. After all, one achievement has to lead to another goal, right? So what was it? When prompting Frye, she immediately dragged them out of the hotel and into the nearest wild area without a moment to think. Until now, Shiver never got their explanation on why she thought of the wilderness out of everything else.

Shiver never took their eyes off the ground after that. Each of their steps were far more calculated than necessary, something Frye had immediately noticed. It was amusing, but she didn’t have it in her to point it out.

“You still haven’t told me why you dragged me here,” Shiver said.

Frye raised a brow. “I already told you. To-”

“Yes! Yes, I know, to ‘reward ourselves,’ but what are we supposed to be doing here?” They avoided a particularly large rock in their path and grumbled as they shook off a piece of moss clinging to their shoe. “It seems like you just want to take a nice stroll and nothing else.”

“And so what if I do, huh?” Frye retorted, a tiny hint of genuine offense sharpening her tone. “Anyway, it’s not like that’s the only reason we’re here. There’s plenty of stuff to do in the forest.”

Shiver scoffed. “Yeah, like what? There’s nothing here. Not even Pokemon.”

“Geez, have you ever had the joy of touching grass before? It seems like nothing because the something is just hiding in plain sight. You gotta look for it first. Here, lemme give you an example.” Frye stopped, scanned the area with her hand to her chin and the other to her hip. Before Shiver could guess what she was about to do, she beamed at a random direction and ran off, leaping into a patch of overgrown bushes without warning. It almost looked like she vanished, consumed by nature.

“Fr-Frye! Oh my Arceus, why’d you…” Shiver rushed to the bush and began digging in it like it was dirt. After a moment of no response, they were conflicted with the idea of going after her or safely waiting it out. In the meantime they half-heartedly pondered whether switching to a different battle partner was a good idea or not.

It wasn’t long before they heard rustling, a trail of moving leaves approaching them like a slithering Ekans. Frye popped her head out of the greenery unscathed, albeit with a couple of twigs and leaves stuck in her hair. Shiver couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or furious for being scared nearly half to death by her recklessness.

“Shiv, you’ve gotta come see this. It’s so cute, I’m telling you!” Frye had the biggest smile on her face as she outstretched her hand. 

Shiver eyed the invitation. “Promise me you won’t ever do that again.” Then after a moment of hesitation, they took it with a shaky palm. 

They muffled their shriek as Frye yanked them down into the leaves, like an ocean wave forcefully shoving them down into the water. Shiver crouched down into the cramped space, not knowing where the hell they were or where they were going. They could outline Frye’s figure who led the way, but with the leaves obscuring their vision, the only defining feature they could see was the bright color of her hair. They squeezed Frye’s hand without realizing, blindly following her through the branches. 

Eventually, she stopped, and so did Shiver. Frye cleared the barrier of leaves between the two of them, her face approaching their’s, close enough to where their noses were just an inch apart. Frye pressed a silent finger across her lips with a big grin, failing to register the reddish color of Shiver’s face.

The two of them peered out of their hiding place while still staying hidden. There lay a small, sunlit clearing, unaffected by the shade from the blanket of leaves above. Golden flowers and green grass grew flawlessly in this particular spot, much better than any other area in the forest. In the middle of the clearing was a lone tree stump, and on top was an unusually colored Eevee, lying comfortably on the wood for a relaxing sunbath, its white fur shining against the light. It yawned and stretched its back, rolling over so it no longer faced the duo. Its fluffy tail twitched as it fell back asleep.

Shiver craned their head, wide-eyed, making sure their eyes weren’t deceiving them. “A shiny eevee?” they whispered in shock. “A regular eevee’s rare enough…”

They almost felt a tinge of jealousy as Frye plucked an empty Poke Ball from her belt. Since their childhood, they were secretly a huge eevee fan, but family traditions had restrained them from actually catching one. Hiding Sprigatito was difficult enough at that time; they could never dream of risking a second Pokemon. 

Shiver reminded themself that this was Frye’s catch, not theirs.

“Don’t worry, Shiv. I got this.” Frye quietly chuckled to herself, throwing the ball in the air then catching it again. “I used to throw rocks at my siblings whenever they annoyed me, so this should be a piece of cake.”

Frye took a deep breath before swinging her arm and shooting the ball forward. Without lifting a paw, the Eevee swung its tail like a bat, sending the Poke Ball flying into a nearby tree. Its body shook as it stifled a laugh, still pretending to nap.

Shiver found it entertaining to see Frye get a little fired up from just a tiny Eevee. She whipped out another Poke Ball, a flame igniting in her eye. “Hmph. Alright, so that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? Then how about…”

Her next throw zipped through the air like a rocket, travelling in an admittedly impressive curve. Her fancy tricks didn’t matter in the end, anyway; the Eevee leapt to its feet and struck it again, letting the ball ricochet onto the bark of the same tree and hit Frye square in the chest, knocking her onto her back. 

Groaning, she crumpled to the ground in pain as the snow-furred creature doubled over in laughter. Shiver couldn’t hold in the fit of giggles bubbling in their chest either, something that would earn them a scowl from Frye.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be helping me!” She complained.

“Who said-” Shiver let out the last of their laughter and composed themself before speaking up, ignoring Frye’s clear indignation. “Who said I had to help? Besides, it’s not my fault you have such lousy aim.”

Meanwhile, the Eevee dipped into its fur, trying and failing to hide its snickering. Frye practically had steam shooting out of her ears as she jumped to her feet and pulled out a third Poke Ball, her expression as determined as ever.

“There’s more where that came from! C’mere!”

Frye climbed out of her hiding place with her ball prepared in her grip. The creature squeaked and swiftly retreated into the brush, the sound of rustling leaves fading away rather quickly. Of course, Frye didn’t hesitate to dive right after it, screaming at it to come back. The chase was on, and Shiver had no choice but to follow.

They pushed through the overgrown trees and grass, following the bright splotch of fur that stuck out like a sore thumb. Shiver knew their athleticism was definitely not one of their greatest strengths, and so their vision began to mix and blur after a short while. They sucked in a breath and held on tight to Frye’s backpack, determined not to fall behind. Their legs did the work as the rushing leaves whipped around them.

That’s when they felt Frye slow down. Puzzled, Shiver met her troubled gaze.

“What?” Shiver stood beside her breathlessly as they heard the audible traces of the Eevee die down. “Why’re we stopping? It’s getting away!”

Frye looked unconvinced, her concern more aimed at their gasps for air. “You just… looked pretty exhausted. We’ll rest for a bit.”

Shiver just stared at her, wide-eyed and in pure disbelief. They snatched her arm and pulled her forward, grunting with effort, wordlessly urging her to run with them. Soon, they were racing through the trees side by side with a lack of protests from Frye; her heart thumped in her chest as she subtly kept glimpsing at Shiver’s dedicated expression in awe.

Somehow, they were fast enough to reach the white thunderbolt of a creature. Unafraid, it risked a mischievous glance at its pursuers before vanishing into a thick wall of leaves. Sunlight beamed against it from the other side, filtering brightness like light at the end of a tunnel, welcoming the duo to the edge of the forest. Frye clenched her teeth and charged for it, summoning all her strength just to catch up.

Shiver shrieked, and in a panic, they let go of her at the last minute, just when she shouldered through the wall. Their eyes widened, instantly realizing their mistake and tried to reach out for her. But it was too late. She jumped into the wall of leaves like it was a portal, her battle cry growing softer as she disappeared. Shiver cautiously pushed through just in time to see Frye tumbling down a slope from which they were standing on top of. Her body rolled down like a ragdoll, thumping against the grass as the Eevee awaited her at the bottom, laughing its tail off.

Shiver shaded their eyes with their hand, scanning the landscape while they had a good view. Below them stretched out a huge patch of flat land that was surrounded by the rest of the forest’s trees. The plain was adorned with soft grass and blooming flowers, almost identical to the Eevee’s sunbathing spot, except this time the area wasn’t so cramped and isolated. 

Skwovet and other rodents nibbled on the grass on one side while a flock of Rookidee and their lead Corvisquire rested their wings at the next. In the middle of the clearing were Pikachu playfully chasing each other among the space. Meanwhile, a calm Khangaskan watched over them in contentment with its sleeping baby in its pouch, far away from a dangerous spar between a Scyther and a Herocross.

Is this where all the Pokemon hung out?

Shiver carefully worked their way down the slope, crouching down next to a horizontal Frye. Her half-lidded eyes dragged to their face without a word. She probably just hit her head and bruised herself, but they felt the need to check her pulse just in case she was… dying somehow.

“Frye,” they asked, keeping their volume as low as possible. “Are you okay?”

“H…huh?” she rasped, not attempting to move. “Yeah, just… diz… zy…”

The Eevee slowly approached the dazed woman, now realizing the potential severity of her state. With a mix of curiosity and concern, it poked at Frye’s cheek with its paw, making her face look squished. It yipped, as if asking her the same thing.

A glint suddenly flashed in her eye.

“Gotcha!”

Frye’s arm swung around, her fast approaching Poke Ball gleaming under the sunlight. The Eevee froze in its spot with no time to react. It squeezed its tiny eyes shut, bracing itself, but nothing came. Frye’s face turned hot with embarrassment as the ball rolled away from her hand, missing the catch by less than a centimeter between its nose. She watched the Poke Ball get smaller and smaller in her vision before planting her face into the grass with a disappointed groan. Shiver would never let this down, would they?

To her surprise, the Eevee, who had been teasing her from the moment they met, softly muttered something and sympathetically patted the top of her head. Frye curiously lifted her gaze, and seeing it trotting towards her Poke Ball made her raise an eyebrow. Surely it was teasing a bit more before it could escape into the plains.

Her eyes widened as it jumped to the ball, giving her one last smile before nudging its center, willingly capturing itself. Frye scrambled, clumsily clawing herself forward as Shiver followed, now bending down with their hands to their knees. She sat up in a criss-cross position, gingerly scooping up the jittery Poke Ball like it was the most fragile thing. After what felt like an eternity, it eventually stilled itself with a click; Frye gazed at it with glitter and stars in her eyes.

“Wh… what was that?” Frye whispered, her gaze snapping to Shiver in disbelief. “After all that time it just… let me? This rascal?”

Though Shiver hadn’t caught a Pokemon in this way before and couldn’t have a say in what it really meant, they understood Eevee in a way. They smiled down at her and patted her shoulder reassuringly. “It must’ve chosen to stay with you,” they said. “I can tell it likes you.”

Frye turned right back to Eevee’s ball. Maybe she wasn’t thinking straight from the tumble, but she didn’t release it just yet. Shiver couldn’t help but notice her shaky hands and the wobbly grin pulling at her face.

Shiver looked up at the horizon and the blazing afternoon sun. They looked straight ahead, towards the grass, then back at Frye’s look of admiration to her new friend, feeling such a random burst of inspiration flutter in their heart. Perhaps this was what Frye was living for every time she entered a forest? The unknown? They sighed through their nose, surprising themself with how complete they felt from wearing Frye’s shoes. They stood up, dusting the dirt off their clothes as Frye stared up at them in wonder.

“What? Leaving already?” She got to her feet next, shaking the dizziness out of her brain and softening the sting from her fall. “Too exhausted to face the rest of the journey?” she continued dramatically.

Shiver shook their head and began removing their backpack. “How about you do me a favor and call to let Big Man know?”

Frye tilted her head with a hum. “What for? Let him know what?”

“That we’re camping here for the night, of course.”