Pokémon Oneshots

[o23] - Guzma x Reader

[ Overcoming Grudges ]
requested by Afandomchick100

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"Guzma! What is wrong with you?!"

"And that's another win for yours truly! How many in a row is that now?" With a cocky grin gracing your lips, you couldn't help but proudly retreat your ace Pokémon to its two-colored capsule, proceeding to attach it back to its rightful spot on your belt.

The silver-haired man standing across you with his hands gripping his locks firmly raised his gaze in response to your playful outburst, only to throw a dirty glance your way. In contrast to your joyous behavior towards someone who was technically considered to be a criminal, his demeanor was far less cheery and steered in the direction of permanently grumpy instead.

"Tch. This ain't the end. I'll take you down for sure next time!" Guzma declared with his own unique kind of enthusiasm, despite the fact that his Golisopod had lost against your partner countless of times in the past. The man certainly wasn't of delicate nature, but for some reason or another, you felt as if he acted even more irritable towards you than towards anyone else —not that you could take pride in that.

There was a factor that made you feel less bad about those circumstances though. Despite the constant losses he suffered against you and the rude remarks he threw at you in his defense, he never once stopped challenging you to Pokémon battles. That made you think that perhaps he harbored some sort of soft spot for you, even if he put on tough fronts and would never be caught admitting it.

"I'd love to have a rematch right away, but duty calls, you know?" You stated somewhat regretfully, watching the man call back his own dual-type arthropod creature. Rather than using words in order to answer, he scoffed and turned around, raising his hand as if he was gesturing goodbye. After all, his pride wouldn't have gone unscathed had you walked away from the scene first.

You hadn't been lying when you announced that you had important matters to attend to, since you set out for the local police station almost right away. The chief officer who acted more like a Meowth-loving retiree than a high-rank employee was the person you were hoping to consult with about a certain, slightly tricky matter.

Nanu had been Ula'ula island's Kahuna for many years — had been until the day you took over his position as his chosen successor. You had caught wind that Mele'mele's human guardian had been planning to step down similarly and make place for the newer generation that was to be represented by his grandson, but you and Nanu had no blood relations that connected you if you compared the two circumstances.

Rather, he had known you since your youngster days — as he liked to label them — seen as you regularly dropped by the police box with your Pokémon and sometimes other friends who happened to be Trainers like yourself. Of course, acquaintanceship was far from enough from allowing you to inherit such a meaningful position in the region.

That's where Guzma and his troublemaking underlings came in. You had acted like a vigilante for as long as you remembered, ridding problems here and there whenever you came across any. And the majority of them was of course caused by Team Skull.

So when it came down to it, the ones who had enabled you to gain more than a few reputational points with both Nanu and the island inhabitants, you had Guzma and his gang to thank.

"Pardon the intrusion!" Trying to overthrow the many meowing Alolan Meowth that loitered around the room in terms of volume as you entered, you raised your voice slightly — enough for Nanu to hear, in any case. The man was seated at his desk, dark circles hanging beneath his eyes as usual. "How are you here again? I didn't retire just so you could come waltzing in here every day."