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“so what exactly is the purpose behind it?”
till turns a beat late, reluctant to pull his gaze from the blue expanse of the sea. though, it doesn’t seem to matter because ivan’s looking out at the sea as well. nevertheless, till keeps his gaze on the other. after all, ivan makes for just as pretty of a sight.
“the purpose behind what?”
ivan’s arms lean on the boat’s railing, face tilted up to soak in rays of sunshine. “your pokémon journey,” ivan says shortly, closing his eyes as the wind picks up, “what do you hope to accomplish from it?”
till frowns. his eyes travel from the bow of the boat where they’re standing back to helm where mr. briney is steering, brain cells firing rapidly as he goes through all of his prior conversations with ivan. had he really not told him?
“i told you my goal was to defeat all eight pokémon gyms in the hoenn region, right?” till checks, unable to remember.
luckily for him, ivan nods. “that much was also obvious from the way you barged into the pokémon trainer’s school and demanded to battle roxanne.”
roxanne, otherwise known as the gym leader of rustboro city. it was the closest city till could reach by traveling on foot and was luckily home to the pokémon gym.
recalling his battle against the rock-type specialist roxanne had till grinning, so he lightly says, “you’re from rustboro and you’ve worked with roxanne before. shouldn’t you know what my end goal is?”
ivan sighs, continuing to bask in the sunlight. “and like i’ve told you, i don’t pay attention to anything that has to do with battling. the sooner you get that through your head, the better.”
“yes, your highness,” till drawls out. the boat passes by an uninhabited island and it immediately catches till’s attention. only once it’s out of view does till finally respond back properly to ivan. “the goal is simple. challenge and defeat all eight gym leaders in hoenn, then go to ever grande city and register to battle the elite four. once i do that, i can challenge the reigning champion for their title. i’ll become the strongest pokémon trainer in the whole region.”
ivan hums. “and that does... what?”
“huh?”
finally, ivan opens his eyes and faces till, dark orbs drilling into teal. “you’ll be the strongest pokémon trainer in the whole region,” he says, repeating till’s words, “but what does that prove? what do you gain from it? what’s the reasoning behind partaking in this challenge in the first place?”
till stares at ivan, befuddled. “are you crazy? becoming a pokémon champion is, like, every kid’s dream! the trainer’s school in rustboro is proof of that. people yearn to excel at battling, at harnessing their pokémon’s strengths to the fullest. not only do they become stronger, but they forge unbreakable bonds with the pokémon on their team.”
till pauses to catch his breath, fully aware he’s ranting. when ivan doesn’t say anything, he doubles down.
“once you’re champion, you’ve proven that your team has the drive and grit to surpass your limits. i’m not just proving myself, i’m proving that my pokémon have the right to stand tall and proud. why do i want to become the champion? because i know i can fucking do it. it’s not a pipe dream to me. and once i’m champion, i want everyone to know it. i want to be able to say ‘fuck you’ to anyone who ever thought i wasn’t good enough. that’s the end goal, and it always has been.”
there’s a moment of pause before...
“huh.”
with that single syllable, ivan turns away from till.
till gapes. “that’s it? that’s all you have to say?”
“what do you want me to say?” ivan asks innocently. “i asked you a question, you said your piece, i acknowledged it. all’s well that ends well, no?”
till huffs, but his gaze doesn’t waver from the breeder’s figure. he watches as ivan smiles down at the magikarp jumping in and out of the water beside the boat. it’s a sight for sore eyes; ivan rarely smiles genuinely around till, but when he does, it’s like the world around them brightens that much more.
there’s a pang in till’s chest, one he’s not familiar with. he doesn’t think he’s getting sick though, so he ignores it.
the boat steadily makes its way south toward dewford town, their next stop from rustboro city.
while till was still in rustboro, he’d helped out with a small skirmish between a thief and an employee of the devon corporation. the employee was so thankful, he’d arranged a meeting between till and the president of the company. initially, till had been confused, but only after talking to the president did he finally understand.
‘i’d like to ask a favor of a fine trainer like you. after all, this isn’t the first time you’ve helped my employees, is it? please deliver this letter to a man named steven stone. you should find him studying rocks in the town of dewford.’
oh, yeah. till more than understood.
he was the cheapest, most effective errand boy the devon corporation could get their hands on.
however, till was in a giving mood, and it helped that the president arranged for the boat ride to dewford. it saved till a lot of hassle. on top of that, till had also realized that there was a pokémon gym in dewford, so he’d be killing two birds with one stone with this task.
the best part, till thinks, is that ivan had agreed to join him on his journey. sure, the breeder isn’t the easiest to get along with, and yes, they had a rocky first meeting, but till can’t imagine traveling without him. especially not after—
“you have a letter to deliver, right? are you doing that task first or will you head straight for the gym?”
ivan’s dark eyes are looking at till again, and he feels his mouth dry a little. till shakes his head and starts to answer ivan. “we’ll ask around for steven first. i have no idea where to start looking for him, but i figure someone’s bound to know where he is.”
“oh? are you boys talking about steven stone?”
till and ivan look over at mr. briney, who is currently directing the boat toward the dock. till lights up when he realizes that mr. briney might have the answer they’re looking for. “do you know him, sir?”
mr. briney laughs. “i first met steven back when he was just a wee lad. all grown up now, he is, but he’s quite the friendly fellow. if i remember correctly, he’s also friends with brawly, the gym leader in this town.”
till beams, suddenly more excited. “then it’s settled. we’re going to the gym first, hehe. after i win, we can ask brawly about his good friend steven.”
till’s enthusiasm must be infectious, because ivan’s lips quirk up too. “sounds like a plan. i can wait outside the gym or explore the tow—”
“come with me,” till interrupts, grabbing ivan’s arm. his eyes are solemn as they gaze into ivan’s, and his voice takes on a more serious tone. “i want you to watch me. i want you to see how i battle. it might... it might show you more than what i’m able to tell you, if you know what i mean.”
ivan takes his time mulling over till’s words, to the point that till’s sure ivan is going to reject him. so when ivan hesitantly nods and says he’ll follow till into the gym, till is ecstatic.
“just you wait,” he says excitedly, “this is going to be the best battle you’ve ever seen!”
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brawly’s gym functioned like a cave, with its dim lighting and the winding, twisted corridors that felt like it was designed to get them disoriented. though it was annoying that they were forced to seek out brawly in what was essentially a maze, it wasn’t all bad. not in till’s eyes, at least.
“don’t let go of my hand, okay?”
till hopes his voice isn’t as shaky as he thinks, hopes his hand isn’t as clammy as it feels.
“i won’t,” comes ivan’s deep, comforting voice. “lead the way, till, i won’t let go.”
he’s not sure why, but a surge of confidence builds up inside till, and within a few minutes, till sees the light at the end of the tunnel. literally, because till reaches a door which leads into a huge, brightly lit room that held none other than the fighting-type gym leader, brawly.
brawly was nice enough; till liked his energy and cheerfulness. as soon as till requested a battle, the gym leader was immediately on board. before they got started though, till is graciously given five minutes to prepare himself and get ready.
within those scant minutes, till quickly leads ivan to the side, out of bounds from the middle of the room where the battle would take place. “stay here and keep yourself safe. stray attacks shouldn’t reach you here, but just be careful anyway.”
ivan raises a brow. “shouldn’t i be telling you to be careful? you’re the one battling, you know.”
“me?” till smirks. “i’ll be just fine. i’m made of tougher stuff than you think.”
ivan rolls his eyes at till’s arrogance. “should i wish you good luck at least?”
“i won’t say no.”
ivan’s eyes become impossibly soft as they gaze into till’s, and till feels that stupid heart palpitation again. “good luck, till. i hope everyone comes out unscathed.”
till nods before taking his place in the center of the room, twenty feet away from where brawly stood.
usually, there was an official referee for pokémon gym battles, but dewford was a small town with an even smaller population. brawly didn’t get many challengers in his gym, so the only ‘referee’ was the mutual trust between the two participants.
brawly starts off with his first pokémon: a fighting-type pokémon called machamp. till answers by releasing his own pokémon.
brawly whistles lowly. “a metang? they’re pretty rare. how’d you get your hands on one?”
“a gift from a family friend,” till replies easily, “i know there’s a slight disadvantage with me using metang. your fighting types will be faster and hit harder, but i’ll be knocking you out soon enough!”
“i look forward to it!”
the battle is long, but incredibly fulfilling. till’s metang holds its own, knocking out two of brawly’s pokémon. though big and bulky, metang’s psychic abilities meant it could tip the scales by hypnotizing and bullet-punching brawly’s pokémon before they knew it. eventually, metang hits his limit.
“all done, buddy?” till places a comforting hand on metang’s metal body, speaking warmly to the tired pokémon. “you did a good job. thanks for all your hard work. return.”
with a flash of light, metang returns to his pokéball. till places the pokéball in its rightful spot on till’s belt before grabbing another right next to it, smirking at brawly. “i’m not out yet.”
brawly chuckles. “i didn’t think you were.”
till throws the pokéball in the air, and breloom comes out, letting out a determined sound, ready to battle. his opponent is brawly’s third and final pokémon, hariyama. because both of them are fighting types, till finds that hariyama is pretty evenly matched with breloom, a fact that has him slightly worried. eventually, it becomes a matter of who is stronger and faster. the two pokémon exchange blows, kicks, and jabs to the face, neither willing to let up. but in the end, only one could prove victorious. breloom wins with a clutch uppercut and renders hariyama unable to battle.
“that’s it!” brawly exclaims, raising his heads in defeat. “you got me fair and square. you’ve rightfully earned your gym badge from me, till.”
till cheers, hugging breloom in excitement before turning to the gym leader. after till receives the gym badge from brawly, he turns excitedly to where ivan stands waiting.
“ivan!” till calls out, raising the badge above his head. “look! i did it! i defeated my second gym!”
while she hadn’t been there earlier, ivan’s delcatty now sits at the breeder’s feet. she gives till and breloom a disdainful look before looking away, seemingly disinterested.
till isn’t bothered; he doesn’t need the affection of every pokémon he meets. breloom, on the other hand...
till groans. “don’t tell me...”
lo and behold, breloom is all heart eyes despite delcatty pointedly ignoring him. he puffs up his chest, making a big show of walking up to delcatty with his battle wounds on display. he gets so close that eventually delcatty has no choice but to acknowledge him. she looks him over, judging eyes roving over his figure from top to bottom, before giving a meow that only indicates that she isn’t impressed.
ivan stifles his laughter as till sighs. “c’mon, man, she’s not interested in you. there’s plenty of other pokémon in the field.”
breloom doesn’t seem to hear till because he tries again, starts punching the air in front of him as if mimicking the way he fought during the gym battle. he glances at the elegant cat pokémon in hopes she might spare him any praise.
spoiler: she does not.
by the end of breloom’s posturing, ivan is in stitches from how ridiculous he’s acting and till covers up his mortification by force-returning breloom to his pokéball.
“love is so fucking evil,” till mutters to himself.
ivan’s laugh is sweet as it carries in the air.
soon after, delcatty returns to her pokéball, though not without sending till a narrowed glare. till just rolls his eyes and goes to ask brawly about steven’s whereabouts.
“oh, steven? last i heard, he was going to check out granite cave. there’s a series of cave paintings he’s been inquiring about, and i think he figured he might as well go see them in person.”
with that, their destination is set.
as they make their way toward granite cave, till only has one thought revolving in his head.
what did ivan think of his battling?
was he impressed? did he think till was talented? did he see the way till expertly guided his pokémon so they could best use their abilities? did he notice how his pokémon didn’t get too hurt overall?
“i can hear your brain overworking from here.”
till forces a smile, tries to be casual. “i was just, y’know, wondering what you thought of my gym battle.” he hesitates before continuing. “did you... like it?”
there’s a pause as ivan deliberates his answer, but it comes soon enough.
“i don’t care for any sort of battling, gym or not. i’m not gonna lie, sometimes i even feel sick when i watch one. that’s one of the reasons delcatty came out actually. she wanted to comfort me in case i started feeling ill.”
till feels his stomach plummet. “ivan—”
“but i didn’t,” ivan says, cutting till off. “i didn’t feel sick. it was, strangely enough, an easier battle to digest. i see where your confidence comes from now, till. you have a lot of potential. your battle was clean, fluid, and lacked any unnecessary injury to both sides. your pokémon trust you a lot too. it felt like they could anticipate what attack order you would give based on your mutual understanding of one another. it was honestly kind of amazing to see.” ivan flashes till a toothy smile, fang peeking cutely. “you did a good job.”
till feels a rush of blood in his ears, feels his cheeks burn hot as they redden.
it’s not the praise itself that’s affecting till, but more so the way ivan says it. it’s spoken thoughtfully, with actual notes of observation instead of empty flattery. ivan expresses his approval not because he wants to inflate till’s ego, but because that’s what he genuinely feels and thinks.
till’s not sure when he last felt this happy.
“does that mean you’ll watch more of my battles in the future?” till asks quickly, riding the wave of his elation.
“i’m not saying yes,” ivan quips back, “but it’s not a no either.”
till laughs. “i’ll take it!” a thought then occurs to him. “hey, you said one of the reasons delcatty appeared was for you. what was the other reason?”
ivan’s smile widens. “don’t tell him, but she was curious about breloom too.”
immediately, breloom’s pokéball on till’s belt starts shaking wildly.
“no!” till berates, hand held firm on the pokéball. “stay inside, you’re not coming out. she’s inside her own damn pokéball, for god’s sake.” he shoots ivan a small glare. “you didn’t even lower your voice when you said that.”
ivan giggles. “oops.”
somehow, they make it to granite cave without any more chaos from either ivan and breloom. how, till isn’t sure, but they make it.
when they enter, they’re immediately met with a spelunker who warns them the cave can get pretty dark up ahead. without thinking, till immediately grabs for ivan’s hand, thanking the man as they pass by. till definitely does not look at ivan to see his reaction.
the spelunker is right though. the light from the opening of the cave soon ebbs away, and there aren’t enough torches hung on the walls to provide more than just the bare minimum to see. till thinks ivan huddles closer to him as they walk, but he isn’t so sure. he doesn’t turn to check in case he’s wrong.
he doesn’t think he wants to be wrong.
“brawly said something about cave paintings, right?” till whispers, conscious of the echo within the cave. “where would cave paintings be located in a place like this?”
“maybe there’s a separate chamber?”
“you think so?”
ivan squeezes till’s hand. “only one way to find out.”
so they keep going. till keeps one hand on the right wall for balance while the other leads ivan from behind. at a certain point, till feels one of his pokéballs shake, but he can’t tell which one in the dark, so he just mutters some words of comfort and goes on his way. eventually, he feels a tug from ivan.
“there’s more light up ahead. is that it, do you think?”
till lets out a sigh, already tired of inhaling cave dust. “i sure as hell hope so.”
luckily for till, it is. the passage opens into a chamber flooded with light, streaks of sun filtering through the collapsed roof above them. the walls along the back are covered from ceiling to floor in drawings that must date back by centuries. and there, gazing up at those drawings, is a tall man with silver hair.
till feels ivan’s hand slip from his, and he only has a moment to lament its loss. he quickly clears his throat. “steven stone?”
the man turns.
till is immediately overwhelmed by the intense aura surrounding him. steven carries himself well, with the air of a prince who hasn’t lacked much in life. his clothes are tailored to fit his body perfectly, and he sports several rings studded with gems. all in all, steven makes for quite the imposing figure.
at first, till thinks it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make friends with someone who was clearly of greater stature than him. it helps to have friends in high places, doesn’t it?
but then this bitch takes one look at ivan and lights up with an arrogant smile, and till decides instantly that he hates him.
“you called me by name, did you? how can i help you gentlemen?”
till narrows his eyes. this guy is referring to both of them, but he’s only staring at ivan.
ivan doesn’t seem to notice and just nudges till when he doesn’t speak up.
till sighs. “i was sent by the devon corporation. they wanted me to deliver a letter to you.”
reluctantly, steven looks over at till, though with a lot less enthusiasm. “a letter, you say? may i take a look?”
till digs in his bag and pulls the letter out, shoving it at steven. he was already ready to never think about the damn letter again.
steven looks over the words written on the envelope. it’s just his name, but from the way steven nods, it seems he recognizes the sender. or the handwriting, at the very least.
this time, his eyes are kinder when he faces till. “thank you. you must have traveled far to get this to me. may i ask for your name?”
till doesn’t want to, but society says he should play nice. “it’s till.”
“till. it’s nice to meet you.” then steven turns to ivan, and his voice softens, deliberate and self-assured. “and who might you be?”
oh, he’s an asshole.
ivan smiles back, and till is pleased to see it’s one of those fake smiles ivan shows most people.
“my name is ivan. i’m a breeder from rustboro city. it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“likewise,” steven practically purrs. “forgive me, i didn’t know there were any breeders in rustboro. have you lived there long?”
“for quite a few years now,” ivan answers, not seeming to pick up on steven’s flirty vibes, “though i usually help with lessons at the trainer’s school. i teach basic pokémon health and care to the children.”
“that’s wonderful,” steven commends. “you’re quite the asset to the city, aren’t you?”
ivan shrugs. “i’m just doing my job.”
“nonsense. you seem like the type of person to care greatly about the young students in your hands. speaking of the trainer’s school, it’s been quite some time since i’ve spoken to roxanne. maybe i should stop by one of these days to meet her. of course, ivan, if you have time—”
“sorry!” till interjects abruptly. “ivan’s not returning to rustboro. he’s traveling with me on my journey. no need to make plans with him since he won’t be around.”
ivan raises a brow at till, obviously confused by till’s strange behavior, but steven seems to take in stride. “no worries. i have some traveling to do myself. perhaps i’ll see ivan at a later date naturally. whatever destiny throws our way, hm?”
till grits his teeth. “sure. destiny. listen, we should really get—”
“till, hold on a second.” ivan points at the back wall. “mr. stone, is that an ancient legendary pokémon depicted on the wall?”
steven lights up. “why, you’re more well-versed in this region’s history than i expected.”
“oh, no, i just read a lot.”
“that in itself is praise-worthy.” till wants to gag from how much steven is fawning. “would you like me to explain the paintings in further detail to you?”
“you don’t mind?”
“i’d be honored, ivan,” steven says, like a fucking simp.
ivan glances at till. “well, we’re in no rush. right, till?”
till’s right eye twitches. “right. no rush at all.”
for the next half hour, steven goes on and on about the pokémon and how it relates to hoenn’s colorful history. till lingers behind while ivan ventures closer to the wall with steven at his side. he glares when steven places his hand on the small of ivan’s back, glares when steven grabs ivan’s hand and uses it to point at a particular spot on the wall, glares when steven makes a joke till can’t quite hear and ivan giggles cutely in turn.
eventually, ivan satisfies his curiosity and steven decides to stop being a flirty asshole. the moment he sees his chance, till pipes up with a raised voice. “it’s getting late, ivan. we really need to meet mr. briney before he leaves us behind.”
till knows the retired seafarer wouldn’t do that to them, but he also needs a reason to pull those two apart. if not for the sake of his journey’s continuance, then for his sanity.
steven looks plenty disappointed when ivan nods in agreement. “yes, we do have to get going, steven. thank you for taking the time to tell us about the cave paintings.”
oh, so he’s steven to you now, till thinks sourly. great. wonderful.
as horrible as an experience this has been, till is pleased to find out steven still has notes to jot down in the cave and will not be joining them in their walk out of the cave. though he can’t accompany them, he does inform them of the shortest path to take in order to get out quickly. it’s the only moment steven has proven to be useful to till.
when they finally emerge out of the cave, the sky is orange-turning-grey. the sun is red as it descends beyond the horizon, and the moon can just faintly be seen.
till dusts off his pants and shirt, feeling the dirt and dust of the cave sticking to him. “well, glad that’s over. at least we can now—huh?”
there’s a flash of light as one of the pokéballs on till’s belt clicks open. out of the ball comes a small electric pokémon with blue-tipped ears and a negative-charge symbol on its face.
“minun? was it you who wanted to get my attention in the cave?” till asks.
minun voraciously nods his head before adopting an expression of concentration. he scrunches up his face and charges up his body with an electric current, effectively turning him into a walking flashlight. once he’s all lit up, he stares at till with a raised brow.
till blinks before slapping his forehead. “fuck, you’re right. i could’ve used you for light in the cave. fuck.”
minun lets out a happy chirp before dimming its body down to normal. he nimbly hops onto till’s shoulder and settles carefully before pointing his paw toward the dock.
“yes, yes, we’re going now, minun.” from this distance, till can see mr. briney readying the boat again. if till’s correct, their final stop will be slateport city. he turns to ivan, only to find that ivan has already started making his way toward the dock. “hey, wait up!”
ivan doesn’t stop nor slow down, leaving till to catch up with his long strides. “took you long enough, tilly,” he teases. “what, were you lost in thought again?”
till scowls. “just thinking about how i have one last thing to do for this damn company before i’m free to do whatever i want.”
“free to continue challenging gyms, you mean?”
there’s a strange edge to ivan’s voice, one till cannot immediately place. as it is, till can’t back down. not when his dream is on the line.
“that’s right,” he nods, tone firm and stubborn. “i’m going to become the champion of hoenn, and i’m not going to stop until i make it.”
when till turns to face ivan, he’s not surprised to see ivan already scrutinizing him, as if searching for a weak point within till’s words.
till bristles, feeling insulted. “i mean it. you can’t make me change my mind even if you tried.”
ivan’s eyes spark to life at till’s fighting words. “well then. i suppose i’ll have a front row seat to your imminent glory, won’t i?”
“yes, you will,” till huffs out. for not the first time, and hopefully not the last, till grabs ivan’s hand and starts pulling him faster toward the boat. “c’mon. i want to make it to slateport before it gets too dark.”
ivan giggles, but allows himself to be pulled along.
their last moments in dewford are spent joyfully, with till showing off his newly acquired gym badge to mr. briney and breloom escaping his pokéball the moment delcatty appears at ivan’s side. minun is still hanging around and causes more mischief by tripping till with his tail so his trainer knocks into ivan. the two boys look at each other, blinking at the position they find themselves in, before bursting into laughter.
mr. briney looks at the chaos happening on his little boat and simply chuckles to the wingull sitting on his shoulder.
“ah, youth. love is truly so beautiful. don’t you agree, peeko?”
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