Pokemon AU drabble

Rival Problems

It's a nice peaceful day on the outskirts of  Verdanturf Town, the sun is shining and the flowers are swaying in the gentle breeze.  The perfect kind of day to enjoy a picnic in my favorite spot with my adorable Pokemon. My Teddiursa, affectionately named Teddy, is lounging in my lap, and my Pikachu and Togepi seem to be playing a game of tag with each other; I've set up near a small pond big enough for Sharpedo and Buizel to swim in.

All in all, it's going to be a relaxing day. My Pokemon need the rest before we continue battling gym leaders. Lilycove City is our next destination, but I felt like the back tracking was needed. My main goal is for my babies to be happy, not over-worked, and besides being slightly behind means I get to avoid my rival.

I used to travel with my rival for awhile, I was determined to beat him in every way; I've never won a match against that arrogant prick. That all changed when I found Togepi. I raised this adorable baby since it was an egg and I constantly dote on it, buying it anything I can; I spoil all of my Pokemon, really. Togepi looks up to my rival so much, it even tries to imitate him.

He's bought Togepi a pair of sunglasses that resemble his and I just don't have the heart to take them away from it, despite how much it annoys me to see Togepi wearing and acting like him. He has no right buying my Pokemon things. He isn't supposed to be nice, we're supposed to be at each others throats constantly.

I feel paws patting my face, Teddy trying to get my attention focused onto something in the distance. There's a man in a red hoodie and tan shorts walking towards me; there's an Aipom perched on his shoulder. Shit, if Lui is here then that means-

"Chill, Jon, I'm the only one here" I must've had a look on my face, that or he just knows me too well. "Mind if I join you?" He asks as he sits down next to me anyway. He has a big, dimpled grin on his face.

"What brings you out here, Lui?" The ever happy man shrugs his shoulders as he gets out his pokeballs. A Luxray, Swellow, Chimchar, and Scraggy join my team in the field; he must be planning on staying with me for awhile.

"Wanted to see if you'd like to travel with me for awhile."

"Did you ditch Evan or somethin'?" Lui and I haven't travel together since the start of our journey. We met some new friends on our way to Rustboro and travel with them for a bit and split when we all didn't want to go to Dewford at the time. We've met up and hung out since then, but its been awhile.

Lui and I met two of our friends on our way into Lilycove, Tyler and Arlan. We caught up on the recent events of our adventure. Tyler wants to head for the Elite 4 and leave to see other regions; he plans on heading to Johto next. Arlan plans to go with him to the other regions, but he wants to study Pokemon and become a breeder. We even talk about our recent encounters with Team Aqua and Team Magma; Tyler mentions that Evan has ran off after the leader of Team Aqua.

Despite the fact that I can't stand his success, I hope he makes it out alright.

Lui and I stay in Lilycove after Tyler and Arlan leave. I plan on entering the Pokemon Contest here with Teddy. Teddy is guaranteed to win, he's too cute not to. Lui doesn't seem to mind us staying longer, which is nice. I don't want to separate already, we've only been traveling together for a few days. I miss joking around with someone on the road and being able to have actual conversations with someone.

I can tell he's worried about Evan though; I am too, as much as I hate to admit it. Despite the nagging in the back of my mind, Teddy and I get ready for our contest. Lui is sure that we're going to kick ass; he's already planning on making me buy some sort of celebration dinner at one of the port side restaurants.

"Good luck you guys!" He squeaks out, big smile plastered on his face and giving us a thumbs up.

Its an hour after the contest, which we won, and it's been pouring rain nonstop. It's extremely dark out, even for this hour, and the lightning and thunder seem worse than a normal storm. Lui swears he can feel the ground shake every now and then.

We're taking shelter in the Pokemon Center and every sense in my body tells me something is wrong. "Lui, I'm scared." I turn to look at him, and for once his ever present smile is gone. He's sitting on the couch looking grimly at his PokeNav.

"So am I, man." He looks up at me running a hand through his dark colored hair, "I haven't been able to get ahold of any of the guys since this storm started up."

I cross my arms against my chest,"I feel like there's something wrong. Not with the guys, I mean, just in general."

It's been a few days since the rain has stopped; everything has seemed even more peaceful than before. It almost feels like everything is in balance again, but that sounds stupid.

Lui and I have been sitting on the beach in Mossdeep City for a few minutes now. Our Pokemon playing behind us or swimming around the island as we chatted. We can hear the sound of the sand shifting behind us, but decide to ignore it. Our Pokemon are probably play fighting and causing a general ruckus.

"Hey guys!" We both jump in surprise and turn to see who spoke. There stands a man in a red leather jacket and sunglasses; my Togepi sits securely in his arms, attempting to imitate his cool demeanor.

"Evan, you fuck! Where have you been?!" I'm a lot more agitated than I should be, and for once it's not because of my Togepi's attachment to him. For once, I could careless about his overly cool attitude and his competitive nature; I'm so happy, but so pissed just to see him stand in front of me.

"I wasn't battling Team Aqua's leader and trying to make sure he didn't destroy the world?" For once he actually looks sheepish. He's still proud of whatever he's done, I can see that clearly, but he actually looks slightly embarrassed. I continue to stare at him, waiting for a proper answer.

"You could have at least sent us a message like everyone else." Lui chimes in, "We were worried after you didn't send us anything when the storm cleared." Lui doesn't sound as angry as I feel, which is probably an accomplishment.

"I was busy! There was so much going on-"

"That's not an acceptable answer, Evan!" Every time he opens his mouth, I get more agitated. Can't he understand that his stupid adventure isn't as important as my- our feelings? "It's been two days since we sent you a message asking if you were okay and you didn't even bother to respond."

Lui seems to understand something I don't, as he motions father down the beach and walks off with both of our teams. I turn my gaze back to Evan and I don't even get the chance to speak again; he's standing extremely close, reaching a hand towards my face.

"Jon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you so much." He's speaking softly, making soft motions under my eye with his thumb and-

Since when did I start crying? I don't understand, none of this is making sense anymore to me. Am I relieved that he's safe, is that why I'm crying? I don't bother thinking about this anymore as I bury my face in his chest, care to avoid squishing Togepi. Now I'm really bawling my eyes out, face pressed as close as I can get it and my arms holding on as tight as I can.

Evan's making soothing motions on my back, murmuring how sorry he is into my hair. It takes a few moments for me to calm down, and even longer for him to explain what had happened. In a span of a few days, he's taken down a group of villans, seen three different legendaries, and meet one of them. He'd battled and angry legendary and came out unscathed, he even released it to continue its eternal slumber.

I was jealous of his expierence, once again he's beaten me at something, but seeing him safe and sound counts as a win my book. I grab the back of his neck and pull him into a kiss, his glasses bumping awkwardly against my face. This kiss feels like all the pent up irritation and competition I felt towards him; it feels like all of the kind and encouraging words that he's ever said to me.

Somewhere into my travels, I stopped seeing Evan as just a rival and more as a potential partner.

---

I trailed off in the beginning and couldn't figure out how to end it. Eh, it was fun to write.