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Just as Friede begins to turn away from the pink crystals bursting out of the ground, intent on rounding up Liko, Dot, and Roy before venturing further into the heart of Laqua, he hears an unexpected sound– the click, click, click, of heeled boots against hard stone. Friede turns to face the newest visitor in paradise.
“Well look who it is.”
The newcomer, who is none other than the ever-meddling Explorer, Spinel, just gives a small smirk in lieu of a greeting. Friede knows that the other Explorers can’t be far away, and spares some mind to worry about his young crewmates. But he knows they can hold their own in a fight. So mostly, he’s captivated by the man standing haughtily in front of him.
Ever since their last meeting, Friede has not stopped looking over his shoulder, expecting to catch a glimpse of a Beeheyem in the sky or the swipe of an overdramatic cape at the end of a darkened hallway.
Now here he is, looking as put together as ever even in the middle of an untouched wilderness.
“You traveled the world, gathering up the Six Heroes– an arduous endeavor, I might add– and you completed the task of awakening Terapagos so that we didn’t have to.”
“So that’s why you stopped trying to steal Terapagos from us, because you only really needed us to bring it here to break the barrier!” Friede clenches his fists at the realization, and feels Cap tense up on his shoulder as well.
“Indeed.” Spinel confirms, taking a sarcastic little bow. “I commend you for your fine work. We barely had to lift a finger. You Rising Volt Tacklers played right into our hands.”
“Well I wouldn’t say that…” Friede catches Spinel’s smug face faltering just slightly.
“Knowing Liko, Roy, and Dot, I’d say you’re in for a surprise.” Friede’s smile stretches further as a small furrow of annoyance forms in between Spinel’s brows. It’s addictively amusing to draw these little tells out of a man who seems to pride himself on his calm composure.
Moving a hand to his hip, he continues. “So you’re saying that now that the barrier’s been removed, the only thing left standing in your way is… us?”
Spinel doesn’t miss a beat. “Well yes, there is still, of course, the,” Spinel pointedly flits his gaze to Pikachu, “little matter of getting rid of you.” Friede raises a hand to his shoulder to settle Cap’s growl. Not yet.
“But once that’s done, Gibeon will finally have his Laquium, and we Explorers will be better, stronger, and more powerful than ever.” The Explorer finishes what is, frankly, a comically evil speech with a triumphant tilt of his chin and a cutting smile. Friede returns it with a smirk of his own.
“We’ll see about that!”
“Pika, pika!” Cap choruses, leaping off of Friede’s shoulder into a battle-ready pose.
In response, Spinel releases both his Beeheyem and Umbreon.
“I should’ve known you wouldn’t want to play fair. Well, if it’s two on two, come on out Charizard!”
Friede holds Spinel’s intense ruby gaze across the battlefield as Charizard lets out a magnificent roar. He can feel his blood humming in anticipation of the fight ahead. As much as he has been worried about running into the explorers in Laqua, Friede has to admit he has secretly been looking forward to challenging Spinel, a true equal in battling, again.
Friede moves first, ordering both Charizard and Pikachu to focus on Umbreon. Not surprisingly, Spinel is able to evade the attack by getting Beeheyem to reflect it back with its Psychic powers. Friede scoffs, amused by his opponent’s slippery tactics.
“That was a nice little warm-up, thanks!” he calls out, hoping to rile up his foe. Spinel gives no response, simply maintaining the piercing eye contact he seems to favour during combat. Friede takes it in stride, directing Charizard and Pikachu to attack Umbreon once again without hesitation, but Umbreon reflects both of their attacks.
Before Friede has a chance to fire off any more moves (or trash talk), Spinel finally starts playing the offensive, using his Beeheyem to make an electric attack on Charizard. But of course, Cap knows to jump in front, absorbing the Thunderbolt.
Friede pumps his fist in the air. “Ha! You’ve only made Cap stronger!”
A look of surprise appears on Spinel’s face. “Huh. That was a mistake.” Spinel says softly, raising a curled fist to his mouth in contemplation. Friede narrows his eyes. It’s a good act, but Spinel does not seem like the kind of guy who lets himself make a mistake like that, especially with how obsessively the Explorer has tracked and analyzed Friede’s battle strategies in the past. He’s unable to dwell on that thought though, as Spinel jumps right back into attacking, directing his Umbreon to release a nasty Snarl.
Friede and Spinel’s Pokemon continue to trade blows back and forth for a few more rounds, until Cap is charging in with a Volt Tackle and Friede just barely catches Spinel’s lips curling upward–
“Beeheyem, use Skill Swap.”
“What?!”
Beeheyem steals Cap’s Lightning Rod ability, causing Friede to drop his jaw in shock. Friede wracks his brain, trying to conjure any memory of Beeheyem using this move before. Did I miss something?
Quickly sorting through his past encounters with Spinel’s Beeheyem, from back when he was just the unknown ‘Mr. Awfully Shy’ creepily spying on the Rising Volt Tacklers from afar, Friede thinks this is indeed his first time seeing Beeheyem use Skill Swap. Did it always have Skill Swap, or did Spinel seriously tailor its move set specifically to fight Friede? If it wasn’t so frustrating, he might even be flattered. Actually, he realizes, he might be flattered regardless, as weird as that is.
“So that’s your play, huh?”
“That is correct.” Spinel politely demures back, but with a wicked glint in his eye that shoots straight down Friede’s spine. “The impressive Lightning Rod ability of that Pikachu is now Beheeyem’s, which means the power-up belongs to us.”
Was that… almost a compliment? Friede stares in wonder at the brilliant man in front of him who— despite their competing allegiances— seems to respect Friede and his partner Pokemon. At least, to a degree; it’s impossible to forget how snooty the man can be when he’s constantly looking down his nose at Friede. Don’t ask Friede to explain how Spinel manages that despite being shorter than him, even with his fancy (and probably very expensive) heeled boots.
“Very clever,” Friede replies, keeping his eyes trained on Spinel’s face so he doesn’t miss the slight blush that rises on his pale cheeks at the praise, “So that’s why you decided to use Thunderbolt, huh?”
“Of course,” Spinel spreads his hands apart in a showman-like gesture, “All a part of the plan.”
Friede can’t help but huff out a laugh. “You’re serious?”
Spinel drops the humour in his expression, staring back at Friede with something that he’d think was sincerity in anyone else’s eyes. “Serious as I could possibly be.”
The odd expression doesn’t last more than a moment before his usual wicked smirk returns. “And now that Pikachu is harmless… Beeheyem, Umbreon, use Snarl, use Thunderbolt!”
Back to battle it is then. Spinel applies all his team’s power to Charizard, who’s now vulnerable without Cap to protect it from super-effective Electric attacks.
Spinel gleefully presses his advantage. “Keep going, full bore!”
This is bad. Friede tears his gaze from his poor Charizard to look at his other partner. He can tell from the look in Cap’s eye that it has an idea. He nods to Cap. I trust you. Cap nods back, darting off.
Friede turns his attention back to his Pokemon under siege. “Charizard, don’t fight, just fly!” Just like Friede trusts his Pokemon, they trust him back, and Charizard puts his faith in his trainer as he takes to the sky. With a couple of twists and turns, Charizard manages to avoid the worst of the damage. Friede’s attention is captured once again as he hears a small gasp from Spinel across the makeshift battlefield. Spinel raises a finger to his chin, and Friede can almost see the gears of his fine-tuned brain whizzing, recalculating the odds after seeing how Charizard evaded Umbreon.
Of course, Friede can’t let that delightfully dangerous brain of his think for too long uninterrupted, as that’s a sure way to lose this fight.
“Cap, use Thunder Punch now!”
Cap leaps off the dead tree it climbed while Charizard drew all the attacks, almost landing a devastating hit on Umbreon before Beeheyem intercepted it at the last second. Friede curses quietly under his breath. So close.
“I applaud your effort,” Spinel drawls, clearly enjoying the thwarting of Cap’s plan and Friede’s resulting frustration. He saunters a few steps deeper into the battlefield as he gloats. “What, no comeback? Are you out of ideas already?”
Friede just glares back, refusing to give Spinel the response he wants. Instead, he decisively switches up his battle tactics. I can be serious too, just you wait.
“Charizard! Take Cap with you and fly straight up!”
Spinel raises a single eyebrow, mostly maintaining the smug look of assured victory, but with a hint of confusion.
“Combining two targets into one makes this easier, so by all means…” Spinel attacks again, and Friede winces as his Pokemon endure some tough hits. After the first wave is over, Friede calls out for Pikachu to use Double Team. In the confusion, Cap is able to land solidly on Umbreon’s back, grabbing onto its ears like the reins of a Mudsdale.
Spinel stamps his foot. “Umbreon, get it off you!”
But it’s too late for that. Friede quickly terastallizes Charizard, transforming it into a Dark type. Realizing the danger that his Psychic-type Pokemon is in, Spinel finally starts to lose his grip on his mask of snarky calm.
“Beeheyem, get away from Charizard immediately!” Spinel yells.
“Cap, use Thunder Punch on Umbreon and make it count!”
Even though he really should keep his eyes on the battle, Friede can’t help but fixate on Spinel. He simply couldn’t bear to miss the bloom of shock and petulant anger on the man’s face. In the single second to spare between Friede’s command and Cap’s attack, Friede watches the sharp trainer across from him calculate exactly how everything is about to play out.
At the precise moment Beeheyem teleports to Umbreon to absorb the electricity, Charizard lets out a massive Tera Blast of dark energy, knocking it clean out. Spinel rushes across the rocky surface to prop Beheeyem back up and return it to its Pokeball.
“Hitting opponents and allies?” Spinel spits out through gritted teeth. “I never thought you would’ve sacrificed your own Pikachu for glory, Mr. Hero.” His smile is sharper now, less genuine and more deadly. It’s electrifying.
“I didn’t, actually,” Friede replies, aiming for nonchalance but probably landing around the same smug self-satisfaction that Spinel displayed before. “I just took advantage of Beheeyem’s ability that it swapped with Cap’s.”
The Pikachu mirrors its trainer, crossing its arms proudly.
Spinel averts his eyes, letting the ground beside him bear his glittering, angry glare instead. “I see, my Beeheyem has the Telepathy ability, which allows one to predict ally attacks and thus elude them.”
As Spinel seemed thoroughly occupied with sulking, Friede feels free to let his eyes rove all over the other man’s form, tightly wound with fury and disappointment. It’s quite the view. “Cap was able to use that ability to avoid Charizard’s Tera Blast…” He pauses to duck and catch Spinel’s gaze again, then winks, just to be petty. “So thanks for the hookup.”
Spinel splutters. “Preposterous! How could you have known what ability Beheeyem has?” Spinel accuses. His ruby eyes flare with rage and disbelief, scorching Friede and pulling him out of his not very sportsmanlike gloating.
Friede sheepishly raises his arm and rests it behind his neck. He’s not going to like this one. “Well, about that. It was, you know… just a hunch!” Friede smiles brightly, with full knowledge of the chaos he has just unleashed.
Spinel looks utterly horrified, like a pampered child learning where Shuckle juice comes from for the first time. “A… hunch?” A HUNCH?!”
Friede has to use every muscle in his body to stop himself from bursting out with laughter. It would just be too mean.
“You just… made a choice and simply had blind faith that you’d be right?”
A few metres away from his defeated foe, Friede can see as the man’s body vibrates in either fury or shock, quite possibly both. He steps in closer to drink in even more detail of his sweet, sweet victory.
“Not knowing the outcome is just what Pokemon battles are about. You can stay in your van as long as you want, analyzing all that data I know you have on me… but what really scores the win is trusting your gut.”
Speaking of his gut, Friede can feel it swooping and diving inside him like a Wattrel. He’s proud his voice only shakes a little as he says “Let me provide you a demonstration.”
Friede slowly and carefully closes the last of the gap between him and Spinel, tentatively resting one hand on the other’s slender waist and using the other to gently grasp one of Spinel’s fisted hands, smoothing out and then cradling the newly limp fingers. The entire time, he keeps an inquiring gaze on Spinel’s face to make sure everything he’s doing is okay.
Every time Friede had allowed himself to imagine doing this, Spinel’s face had been distressingly unreadable, cards kept close to his chest. But now, when the moment’s finally arrived, there is so much to see. At this distance, Friede can see the flecks of icy teal in his ruby eyes as they dart to and fro. He can see the delicate ‘o’ shape his mouth has made, so different from the fake surprise he had acted out earlier when he made a ‘mistake’. He can see the thousands of thoughts and emotions running through his head all at once– surprise, doubt, fear, defensiveness. But crucially, also, desire.
Getting as close as he can be without actually touching the other’s lips, Friede breathes out. “Stop thinking, and let me kiss you.”
Cradled in Friede’s arm, he can feel as Spinel sucks in a shallow, cautious breath of the air they’re sharing. His ruby eyes search Friede’s for a few more seconds before they find… something. Then they slow to a stop, steady. Lastly, they close, waiting. As soon as he gets that signal, Friede moves in. He barely has to change a thing, they’re already so close.
His lips meet Spinel’s in an embrace sweeter and gentler than he thought the other man would ever want. The adrenaline rush from touching Spinel is even better than the one he gets from battling him. But of course, this beautiful, intelligent, proud, contrary, stubborn creature couldn’t stay sweet for long. As they settle into the kiss, Spinel starts leaning in further, pushing back harder, taking small nips and bites. Friede would be a liar if he said he didn’t enjoy it. In fact, it thrills Friede so much that if he doesn’t stop this soon, he doesn’t know how he’s going to find the will to continue the day’s mission of exploring further into Laqua. Friede reluctantly breaks off the kiss, and Spinel tightens the hand that’s been loosely playing with the dip in the collar of Friede’s shirt.
“Are you trying to get back at me for beating you?” Friede teases.
“No,” Spinel says with a close-lipped smile, prim and proper once again. “I humbly accept defeat.”
Friede snorts, loud and ungraceful. “No, you don’t.”
Spinel breaks, letting loose his true, Sharpedo-like grin. “No, I don’t. Of course I refuse to concede that someone who relies on luck could possibly be considered to have bested–”
“Hey! I made what us professors like to call an educated guess. That Skill Swap move was genius though.”
Spinel peers up at Friede. “Yes. It was.”
“But,” Friede smirks, “you’re not the only one with a new move now.”
“What are you talking abou–” Friede cuts him off with a deep kiss, then pulls back just as suddenly, leaving Spinel swaying slightly in his arms as he, for lack of a better word, reboots.
“Yes, I think this will work quite nicely!” Friede chuckles. Spinel stares blankly at Friede’s lips for nearly seven full seconds before he regains his wits, swatting at Friede like an angry Litten.
Friede is just about to abandon the day’s plans entirely in order to kiss away Spinel’s grumpiness when a loud BOOM causes them both to stumble. Looking up and beyond Spinel, Friede sees a giant pink beam emanating from the center of Laqua. Without moving from Friede’s arms, Spinel turns to glance at it.
“I believe that’s my cue.”
From the opposite direction, the frantic voices of Friede’s three young adventurers fade into proximity.
“And that’s definitely mine.” He sighs.
Spinel extracts himself from their embrace and dusts off his already impeccably clean clothes. “Well then. I look forward to our next meeting. Don’t think you’ll best me again so easily.”
In one last act of bravery, Friede steps back into Spinel’s space to grab his hand and bring it to his own mouth.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. ‘Til next time.” He murmurs into the back of his hand. Friede lets himself linger for one last moment to watch the blush that rips through Spinel’s pale face before turning swiftly, boarding Charizard, and flying away.