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matt0044 · 1 year

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Pokemon Heroes: The Black & White Chapter One

Chapter 3: Silly Stick In The Muds

"Where's Grandpa Cedric?" Hilda managed to speak while stuffing another helping of Spaghetti in her mouth. "He's totally missing out on this killer spread."

"Killer" was an understatement. To Hilda's left were bowls of a variety of pastas that Aurea cooked to perfection and the kind of Garlic Knots even a Vampire would consider nibbling. To her right were more junk food from all the frozen pizzas they saved for the special occasion to pastries bought from the General Store.

There were brownies and cookies freshly baked. Soda of every brand practically had Hilda burping just by looking at them all. Aurea was a real stickler for health so it would only take a day special like today kick veggies to the curb.

"Believe me, Dad wanted to at least stop by more than anything," Professor Juniper promised her goddaughter while sticking to the lemon-lime sodas. "Sadly his meeting with the League dragged on longer than expected." She refrained from calling Hilda out on her table manners just this once but it was quite the endeavor to say the least.

"I'll make sure to save dessert for him," the young lady gladly promised before starting on her third brownie.

"He told me that four suits will be over tomorrow for a surprise inspection," Aurea continued while eating her portion of Rotini. "And it's not just to see if our labs passes the white glove test." She swallowed properly with a sip from her soda. "Dad was also arranging it so they could see you and Oshawott in action."

Hilda had to actively suppress herself from giving a classic spit take with her cola. "Why me?" she demanded to know after swallowing her soda. "I passed the written portion and demonstrated my practical skills with Minnie perfectly." Knowing there was more testing threatened to kill her appetite if not for the promise of ice cream.

"Believe me, we were both on your side," Aurea swore wearily. "But four 'impartial observers' are coming over to test you in battle so you allegedly didn't get by because we're your guardians." Her loud eating revealed her growing irritation. "Their words, not mine." She finally caved and took a chocolate-chip cookie to sweeten her souring mood.

Hilda was about to give out her very honest opinion about the Pokemon League's bureaucracy when she heard Oshawott audibly gulp. [I didn't hear anything about a test,] her Starter nervously claimed. Hilda looked to her left and down towards where Oshawott was eating out of his bowl next to Minnie against a wall. [Will... we be okay?] She could tell that he was caught off-guard just as much as she was.

"Let them come," Hilda declared, putting on a far more cocksure demeanor. "If those suits want us at our best, it'll be at their own peril." She pumped her fist in the air in a show of attitude. "As they say in Sinnoh, there's no need to worry." When Aurea wasn't looking, Hilda opened her fist and let a cookie, a brownie and a Garlic Knot drop. She winked cheekily like a spoiling Grandmother.

[Of course, I'm not worried,] Oshawott insisted while putting on a more confident smile to mirror Hilda's. [What's one last battle before we tackle Unova?] Needless to say, this sudden news had his mind on high alert.

"We'll knock 'em dead," Hilda vowed before turning back to her buttered Ziti with salt before it can cool too much. "Literally if it comes to it..."

Once he saw his Trainer turn away and talk more with Aurea, Oshawott's smile sunk into his trademarked frown of anxiety. [More like they'll knock us dead...] he muttered to himself with a more quieter hard swallow.

The Sea Otter Pokemon sat before his bowl where it was half brown Poke-Bits Aurea approved of and half table food Hilda dropped down for her furry friends. However, Oshawott could feel growing anxieties muscle in on his appetite despite his best efforts.

What if he was too weak and cost Hilda her Trainer's license altogether?

What if they took him away from Hilda and gave her Snivy as a compensation?

What if... Hilda got too fed up and left him behind?

[Cookie for your thoughts?] Oshawott heard Minnie cheerfully ask. A chocolate chip cookie landing in his bowl managed to snap him out of his spiral of distress. He looked up and found the Chinchilla Pokemon happily lugging a bounty of pastries in her paws alone. [Or perhaps you are more of a brownie type of Pokemon?] She dumped them all on the ground and seemed happy to make a mess this time around.

[Can't say,] Oshawott replied, trying to shake his earlier fears off of his face. [Never really tried one before.] He took the one he was offered and ate it if only to distract him however much. It proved to be more than just busy work as he found the delicious flavor wash over his tongue.

[Mmmmmm,] Oshawott moaned with a more genuine smile while chewing. [It's so tasty.] It actually seemed to alleviate his anxieties however minimal for the moment. [Thank you very much, Minnie.] The Sea Otter Pokemon bowed graciously.

[You are truly welcome,] Minnie cheerfully claimed while eating another brownie. [The Professor's pastries do have a knack for lifting one's spirits, don't they?] The Chinchilla Pokemon dropped a few more cookies into her friend's bowl.

[Am I really that on the nose?] Oshawott sighed in embarrassment, hanging his head.

[Every Starter Pokemon I have met working at the lab has the precise pre-Trainer jitters you feel,] Minnie reassured him while sitting next to him. [Rest assure when I tell that you have already won over Hilda's heart.] She offered him another cookie personally to help his mood along.

Oshawott knew Minnie was oversimplifying his anxieties but didn't feel comfortable divulging too much. He took the cookie and ate it if only to soothe his troubled heart. The Minccino's cordial demeanor made her seem approachable enough. With a hard swallow, the Sea Otter Pokemon decided to dip his toes as the humans often coined.

[I can tell Hilda liked me... now,] Oshawott ventured forth, the last part whispered to himself. [It's the inspection that has me worried.] He tried a brownie to keep himself for going down another spiral in front of Minnie. [I would hate to make her look bad.] It was nice but a tad... strong in flavor for his personal palette.

[That is terribly considerate of you but nothing you need fret about,] Minnie promised while indulging in one more cookie and making a cheeky smile. [Hilda's perfectly capable of making herself look terrible alone.]

Oshawott could keep himself for giggling but managed to cover his mouth so his Trainer wouldn't hear. [Is that your expert opinion?] he logically but jokingly guessed, his laugh dying down. He silently appreciated Minnie's attempts at keeping him cheered up.

[I shall allow you be the judge,] the Minccino joked back while eating some of the Pokemon food in the bowl. [In all seriousness, I have seen Hilda work most of her life for this moment.] She exchanged a rather spunky grin with Oshawott to give some extra confidence. [Those stuffy suits are in for the scuffle of their lives if they believe she will go quietly.]

The Sea Otter Pokemon's anxieties still remained yet were alleviated by Minnie's infectious kindness. [I got the impression,] Oshawott began, snickering when he remembered Aurea's earlier phone call to Hilda. [Even so... I don't suppose you could battle in my place when the inspection begins.] He just thought of it and began to hope.

[I believe they want to see how you battle under her specifically,] Minnie promised uneasily, trying to let his friend down easily. [I can tell you now that they are most particular to a fault.] It was hard for her to see Oshawott's expression become dejected all over again. That is until a thought had struck her like lightening and made her smile once more.

[But I can still assist you,] Minnie exclaimed while pounding her right paw in her left palm, a gesture she'd seen Oshawott do.

Around that moment, Aurea yawned contently after feeling stuffed to the brim with food before feeling embarrassed by an accidental burp. She covered her mouth with her fingers with a blush before Hilda stiffed a snickering.

"And on that note, I'll turn in before I pass out," Aurea declared before standing up from her seat, collecting her empty plates. "You will leave enough for Dad tomorrow, right?" She gave a rather stern but knowing look at Hilda. The Professor caught the teen shamelessly snatching up a few more pastries in to a ziplock bag with an eager smile.

"Meal time is a battle unto itself," Hilda declared, smirking with her eyes closed. "Those who fail to strike first are destined to fail." Any attempt at sounding wise and thoughtful was undermined when she nibbled on yet another cookie.

"Right..." Aurea replied with a weary sigh. "Just head up to your room and have your lights out by ten." She stacked her plates before carrying them towards the sink. "Every second of shut-eye counts if we're going to get those League busybodies of our backs."

The Professor had just turned on the facet when she heard Minccino squeaking excitedly and assumed it was just pleading for more treats. However, Hilda's gasping in response was keen to indicated otherwise much to Aurea's bemusement.

"Great Dragon alive," Hilda exclaimed while almost shooting straight up out of her seat, slapping her palm on her forehead. "Literally how did I just forget until now?" She took out her Poke Ball and clicked the white button to unlock it via enlarging it.

"Return, Oshawott!" Hilda declared while aiming it squarely at her Starter Pokemon. The Sea Otter Pokemon had only just looked up from his bowl in confusion when the red beam made contact and pulled him back to the Ball in seconds.

"Okay, I'll bite," Aurea sighed wearily, smelling shenanigans from a mile away. "What are you up to this-" She had only just swung around and found Hilda holding out her Poke Ball with a rather determined grin. "-time?" The Professor found the expression rather... nostalgic.

"Aurea Juniper," Hilda began, fully invested in her dramatics, "I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!" She even locked eyes with her Auntie Aurea to complete the classic cliche.

The Professor could only give her own battle-ready grin back in response. Now that was a face she couldn't say "No" to.

------

"Oshawott!" Hilda declared. "I choose you!"

Oshawott opened his eyes after feeling his body solidify again and shook his head slightly to clear his fuzzy vision. He was wondering what was going on when Minnie and Professor Juniper came into view, finding them about a yard across from him on the grass. His confusion only grew when he looked to his left and found a big tree in front of what he could only assumed what Hilda's house from behind.

[Did I miss something?] Oshawott asked nobody in particular, still feeling disoriented from the impromptu recall.

"Just a little high note to end the day on," he heard Hilda jovially declared from behind him. "Namely: our very first battle together."

Oshawott turned around to find her kneeling down and grinning eagerly down at him. She had two black shoes on and a black vest for the outdoors but the Sea Otter Pokemon was too out of sorts to fully notice.

[Battle?!] Oshawott exclaimed, his confusion morphing to concern. [Right now?!] He turned back towards Minnie and Professor Juniper to find their faces each wore a confident smirk. An expression often made when accepting a challenge for Pokemon and humans alike. The kind that made him gulp hard.

[Oh... my...] Oshawott meekly muttered, his paws to his mouth.

"I know," Hilda squealed, mistaking her Starter's fear for a more tempered excitement. "It feels like a dream, doesn't it?" She stood sprung back up to be ready for anything.

More like a nightmare, Oshawott forced himself into thinking before putting on a more "appropriate" expression. [Feels a dream come true!] The Sea Otter Pokemon declared while showing Hilda a far more cocksure demeanor not unlike his Trainer's own. [Just give the word.]

A glance to his right led Oshawott to notice an encouraging wink from Minnie before he recalled her offering to help him out. The Sea Otter Pokemon only hoped that she knew what she was doing more than he could guess.

"Sure you wanna do this?" Aurea quipped with a confident smirk, her hands in her lab coat pockets to complete the image. "I'm not pulling a single punch with Minnie if I can help it." An evening breeze blew in as if to set the mood.

"If you can help it, you'll need more than a single," Hilda volleyed back with a determined grin of her own. "Me and Oshawott are about to over-water your lawn."

[But I'm weak to Grass-types,] Oshawott replied unironically once the quip flew over his head.

"I... had a stronger quip originally," Hilda admitted awkwardly. "We'll workshop battle one-liners later."

She saw her Auntie Aurea and Minnie cocking her head over her trash talk before pulling out her Pokedex. Aiming it at Oshawott, the device gave a read out of his stats as well as the precise moves that he had under his belt.

"Water Gun!" Hilda declared with gutso, thrusting out her hand. "Soak 'em to the bone!"

Jumping from how fast things were going, Oshawott still made haste to gather Water-type energy into his throat. He told himself to just follow Hilda's orders and not lose his cool before blasting pressurized water in a straight beam aimed squarely on Minnie.

Hilda could vividly see the Minccino wigging out over their stinky, wet fur and grinned over her easy win. Perhaps... too easy.

"Swift!" Aurea shouted at the exact moment Oshawott started blasting. "Deflection on the double!"

Minnie lived up to the attack's name as she charged her tail with Normal-type Energy and leaped into the air to perform a double somersault. Both flips each had her tail whip and fling multiple star-shaped projectiles squarely at the Water Gun.

The first volley struck the pressurized water and reduced its force before the second finished off what was left of the blast. Whatever projectiles made it past hit Oshawott's body all over and made him cry out from the stinging.

By the time Minnie landed, the water splashed onto the ground and soaked the soil. She wasn't one to battle for the thrill of it but even she couldn't help but smile with pride over pulling off such a maneuver.

"Hang in there," Hilda urged Oshawott, gritting her teeth at the sight of him still starting to wobble from the impact.

[I'll be okay,] the Sea Otter Pokemon promised, trying not to lose face. The pain died down soon but not fast enough for his liking.

Hilda felt bad hearing how he groaned in trying to tough it out but was also concerned by how Minnie's attack hit him hard with just the leftovers.

"Wow, nice work," Aurea laughed playfully with a smarmy look in her eye. "You literally over-watered the lawn." She found Hilda's peeved reaction to be priceless. "Now if only you did your chores this well..."

Hilda felt more than a little peeved once she figured out that Aurea was hoping she's rush in blindly and that it was working. She pulled out the Pokedex to refresh herself on Oshawott's set of moves and considered Tail Whip for a moment. However, Hilda was so keen to get in a hit that she overlooked it almost entirely in favor of the more offensive attacks.

Plus, it looked a tad too silly.

"Razor Shell!" Hilda declared to Oshawott. "Cut 'em down to size!"

The Sea Otter Pokemon was initially confused by his Trainer wanting to get in close range so soon but didn't want to come off as too scared. [Already on it,] Oshawott swore to Hilda with a firm glare while channeling his Water-type Energy throughout his body. Whatever his Trainer had in mind, he had to trust that it would work.

Oshawott took his Scalchop off of his bellybutton with both paws and made a dash towards Minnie. He channeled his Water-type Energy into his shell and created a glowing blue blade on it from the moisture in the air attracted by his power. The Sea Otter Pokemon's flippers splashed on the puddles left from his previous Water Gun and held his sword steadily by his right.

Aurea only briefly pondered why Hilda was attacking this boldly before realizing how close Oshawott was getting. "Minnie, dodge and counter with Tail Slap!" She was intrigued by what her protege would do next.

Oshawott got in close and tried to deliver a downward slash from his right to left. However, Minnie jumped to her left and narrowly avoided the Shell Blade while channeling Normal-type Energy into her tail.

"To your right!" Hilda warned quickly, knowing where the Minccino would jump to evade.

Within this split-second, Oshawott recovered fast enough to swing back to his right in hopes of at least grazing his foe. However, Minnie powered up her tail in time to spin around and swing it to slap the Shell Blade in an attempt to deflect it. The impact was strong enough to knock the Scalchop out of Oshawott's grip and sharply sting the Chinchilla Pokemon on the tail.

Minnie landed back on the ground and winced at the barely deflected strike. The blade in question spiraled in the air before stabbing the ground shell up. It was still stable with just enough energy leftover to Hilda's far left near the tree. However, that didn't concern her just then.

"Tackle her Oshawott!" Hilda urged during this very sliver of time. "Now's your chance."

It was rudimentary for Oshawott to channel Normal-type Energy throughout his body within a second's time and rush forward within the next. Aurea and Minnie alike had only just begun to consider countermeasures when the Sea Otter Pokemon rammed into his furry foe. The Minccino went flying and would've hit the fence if she hadn't first landing on the grass.

"A solid hit at last!" Hilda cheered. "Way to clean her clock, Oshawott!"

The Sea Otter Pokemon began to smile both from his Trainer's cheering and the rush of his successful attack. What seemed like embarrassment tailor made for klutzy Oshawott seemed more like a triumphant victory. He never knew his confidence could reach such heights.

"Nice follow through," Aurea commented to herself, hoping her proud smile didn't show too much. She kept an eye out for Minnie getting up and an ear out for Hilda's next move.

"Keep Minnie on the ropes!" her goddaughter urged Oshawott, eager to win. "Water Gun her down!"

[Consider her soaked to the bone,] the Sea Otter Pokemon declared, hoping to work on his own quips. Oshawott charged his throat with Water-type Energy and blasted another beam of pressurized water directly at Minnie. The way she seemed unsteady in getting back up made him believe that she was easy picking.

At first.

"Evasive maneuvers, Minnie!" Aurea ordered just when Oshawott fired away. "Zig-zag!" She saw Minnie's pained expression shift to something more confident as she'd expected.

The Chinchilla Pokemon dodged the Water Gun by jumping forth to her left and scurried back towards her right when the beam followed. All the while, Oshawott kept his blast trained on Minnie's tail intently and hoped to catch her once she came in range. He believed she was getting in close to get him with a proper Tail Slap and that he could wash her away at the right distance. Minnie indeed came within a foot of him... just when his Water Gun dried up.

["Not now!"] Hilda and Oshawott exclaimed together in that very second, even sharing the same slacked jaws of shock.

The Sea Otter Pokemon expected one hell of a smack across the face when Minnie jumped up and somersaulted over him. "Grab him from behind!" Oshawott heard Professor Juniper order when his shock became confusion. He was slow to turn around and allowed the Minccino to swiftly latch onto his back. Her stubby arms quickly proved to be surprisingly firm in holding onto his sides.

[What is this?] Oshawott demanded to know, feeling cautious yet baffled all at once. He struggled to shake Minnie off but she kept hold of him and didn't let him budge an inch.

"T-that position..." Hilda exclaimed with bated breath and fear growing in her eyes. "Let him go, Minnie!" She had prayed that the Professor had the decency to make it a last resort. "It's too soon for that move!"

Aurea sharply looked at Hilda with a rather cold glare. "I warned you, didn't I?" the Professor reminded her goddaughter firmly. "That I wouldn't pull a single punch." She sighed deeply in knowing what's to come. "Take this to heart, Hilda: pick your battles wisely or they'll pick you off."

[W-w-w-wait a minute,] Oshawott stammered in growing dread. [What's happening?] Minnie's devious giggling behind him sent chills down his spine.

[I apologize for my... overindulgence,] the Minccino answered villanously before bringing her tail around. [I so often get carried away once the ball gets rolling.] With sadistic glee, she began brushing Oshawott's bare belly and sneered a toothy grin. [And right now... we're going down a terribly steep slope.]

The Sea Otter Pokemon immediately burst out laughing from the ticklish sensation and wriggled about crazily in Minnie's hold. [Ple-he-he-he-he-hease,] Oshawott begged with the biggest smile in his partial enjoyment while shutting his eyes in embarrassment. [It's... too... mu-hu-hu-hu-huch.]

Oshawott could feel his body weakening in composure and dropping in basic Defense. Part of him was worried that he'd be too shaken up to brace himself for a Swift let alone a Tail Slap. Another part of him was too busy laughing happily in tears.

"Forgive me, Oshawott..." Hilda melodramatically begged with clenched teeth and fists. "I never thought this would end so... so... " She shut her eyes and tried to look away in shame. Not just for putting her Starter through this. "...so... adorably..." Rather for delighting in how cute his plight was.

Aurea was a bit more open about enjoying Minnie's going to Tickle Town on Oshawott while looking at her X-Transceiver. "Almost thirty seconds," she remarked to herself, deciding to not let the Minccino's sadism get out of hand. "I'm not that big of a monster." The Professor figured that she'd end it quickly with a Tail Slap as a show of some modicum of mercy.

All the while, Oshawott still struggled with Minnie's grip and tickling. [You're a special one, aren't you?] he heard the Minccino slyly taunted. [Not even Hilda would last this long.] The Sea Otter Pokemon couldn't help but be reminded of how Snivy toyed with him if in more cold-blooded manner. Beneath his laughing smile, he was beginning to feel just as helpless and even worthless.

At this rate, Oshawott managed to think through the tickles, Hilda won't want a pathetic thing like me.

However, the thought of surrendering verbally only began to occur to him when he felt the soil beneath him soften. Both Oshawott and Minnie slipped backwards all of a sudden in their struggling when the dirt suddenly became mud.

[WHOA!] they both cried before the Minccino took the brunt of it, landing on her back. Oshawott felt Minnie let go of her grip and rolled off onto the ground from the forceful fall.

"Whoa, plot twist!" both Hilda and Aurea exclaimed in their surprised.

It doesn't take long for them to notice puddles on the grass glistening in the setting sun. Hilda's quicker to remember how Minnie's Swift splashed Oshawott's Water Gun and scattered the liquid like a sprinkler. In the corner of her eye, she sees Oshawott's Scalchop in a particularly damp spot.

"Clever boy!" Hilda muttered to herself in growing pride while taking out her Pokedex. "Oshawott, end this with Razor Shell!" She grinned more and more once she'd read up on the attack's other applications.

Oshawott still felt shaken and stirred by Minnie's tail but spotted his Scalchop just before the big tree ahead. [I can still do it...] he whispered in disbelief. The Sea Otter Pokemon rose back up and raced forth with a more determined look on his face. [I can still win this!]

"No, no, no," Aurea cried in frustration, seeing Oshawott rushing towards his shell. "Minnie, what are you-?"

The Professor got her answer in the form of the Minccino squeaking in distress and darted towards her Pokemon in fright. There was Minnie looking all over the mud covering her body. An expression of pure discomfort covered her face from cheek to cheek.

[My evening grooming...] Minnie shakily croaked out, cringing over the icky grime that would slime her to the bone. [It was innocent...]

"Time and place, neat freak!" Aurea barked irritably. She thankfully missed Hilda's triumphant grin at that moment.

"Curve your Shell Blade, Oshawott," the rookie ordered excitedly, imagining Unovan football for this next maneuver. "Go long!"

By this time, Oshawott had reached his Scalchop while channeling Water-type Energy throughout his body and grabbed it. With a bit of finesse, he created a new Shell Blade out of the water in the dirt and had it curve out of its side.

The Sea Otter Pokemon swung around to focus on Minnie while she was still out of sorts from her mud bath. Finding the precise angle, Oshawott threw the Shell Blade like a Frisbee and had it spin in the air just like one.

"Duck, Minnie!" Aurea cried out in time.

Minnie snapped out of her spiral of disgust in time to gasp upon seeing the spinning Shell Blade heading straight for her. She bowed her head down fast and felt it whoosh over her, avoiding her by just half a centimeter.

[Whew!] Minnie sighed in relief. [That was a near thing.]

["More than you think,"] Hilda and Oshawott quipped together in a synchronized moment of confidence.

Minnie found herself thrown off by their retort before the Shell Blade boomerangs around and comes up behind her. It doesn't slice or pierce the Chinchilla Pokemon's torso but the sharp slash is painful and strong enough to knock her back down. This time, the Minccino's face goes splat in even grimier mud. She was so weakened that she didn't have the strength to wig out properly.

Oshawott, on the other hand, jumped up a tad to catch his Scalchop with his right paw once the Shell Blade had dwindled down. [I... I did it...] he muttered in increasing bewilderment after landing. [I really won...] The Sea Otter Pokemon looked down at his shell while catching his breath and began to smile softly.

Oshawott's meditation over his victory was sharply disrupted first by the sound of Hilda's unbridled laughter and her sudden hold on his torso. "Victory toss!" his Trainer declared while actually tossing the Sea Otter Pokemon into air. He wailed in fright while getting his Scalchop back onto his bellybutton before he can lose it again.

Hilda reached out her arms to catch Oshawott perfectly and held him up to her right cheek, giggling giddily. "It's official!" she declared while nuzzling her cheek against her Pokemon friend's. "You're the best Starter a girl could've asked for!"

Oshawott felt his initial shock wear off and give way to delight over the infectious affection that Hilda was showering him. He gave a nuzzle to his Trainer while laughing himself over his unlikely victory. The Sea Otter Pokemon almost felt like he was dreaming after all of Snivy's put-downs since hatching.

"Forget those suits," Hilda cheered before holding up Oshawott to her soft chest in a hug. "Might as well go straight to the Champion while we're at it." She twirled around while still riding the high of her narrow victory before stepping in a soft patch of mud.

Both Pokemon and Trainer alike yelped comically before Hilda landed butt first onto the still soggy grounds, bracing with her elbows. Oshawott landed safely back first on her chest after she'd let him go in the moment. However, their pratfall wasn't enough to sour their mood as they looked at each other with a mutual grin and another giggle.

All the while, Minnie had gotten back up with a mud facial and spat out some that got in her mud. [One reaps what they sow...] she sighed in utter resignation, looking at all the mud on her paws alone. [It's nothing short of karmic after my... shameless display.] The Minccino could only hang her head and cringe when remembering how overboard she went in Tickling Oshawott.

"Sorry to make things mucky, Minnie," Aurea apologized while coming over and squatting down. "I actually didn't think that Hilda and Oshawott could pull off that boomerang maneuver right out the gate." She brought out a Super Potion and sprayed it all over Minnie to help her with that Critical Hit. "So much for humbling the rookies..."

However, neither Professor nor Pokemon could help looking over and smiling mutually over Hilda's happy fall in the mud with Oshawott. Part of them were glad to have lost. Even Minnie didn't mind her uncleanliness. Outwardly, of course.

------

After getting back inside, Hilda had thrown her muddy clothes in the bathroom's laundry bin and stepped into the tub for a thorough shower. She knew that Minnie wouldn't allow anything less after their little tumble in the mud.

Surprisingly, the Chinchilla Pokemon had offered to go second if only as an apology for her excessive tickling. Hilda could only imagine the amount of self-control she was burning through by the second while she turned the knob.

[Do I really need a shower too?] Oshawott bellyached while his Trainer held him in her right arm. [I didn't get too dirty, did I?] He winced the second that the shower head sprayed him with the initial cold water and tried to keep it out of his eyes.

"Any 'dirty' is 'too dirty' in Minnie's book," Hilda assured Oshawott, amused that even Water-types hated bath time. "Trust me, I've have plenty of romp in the mud to figure that out." She squirted out a bit of bath lotion from a bottle of Pokemon Fur Wash and began to lather the back of her Starter's head.

"Speaking of the old grime, I don't think I thanked you properly," Hilda added while letting the suds wash off.

[What for?] Oshawott asked in confusion, raising his arm so his Trainer could lather his sides.

"For that brilliant turnaround you pulled off, duh!" Hilda exuberantly praised while digging into her Pokemon's fur. "You felt the ground softening below you and figured that it was just muddy enough to make Minnie slip with you." She giggled as the moment replayed in her mind.

[I did?] Oshawott asked before quickly course correcting. [I mean... I, uh, didn't realize it was so obvious.] He tried to sound more confident even while Hilda started to scrub his muddy flippers with a little tickle.

"Aren't you just the model of modesty tonight?" his Trainer sassed back playfully, endeared by Oshawott trying to play it cool. She even gave him a peck on the noggin if only to see him blush.

------

After a thorough drying, Hilda flopped backwards onto her bed after a change into her pink pajamas. "Trust the best day ever to run me ragged," she sighed deeply while letting her limbs sprawl all over nearly listlessly. "Time to hit the hay, Oshawott."

[I don't know what that means,] the Sea Otter Pokemon admitted by the side of Hilda's bed, [but I don't feel sleepy at all.] His Trainer extended her right arm down to let him hold onto and lifted him up.

"Neither do I but we need every bit of shut-eye we can get," Hilda conceded while putting Oshawott on the bed beside her. "The better to kick those suits in the butt with." She gave him a good pat on the head to get him smiling.

"Never thought I'd see the day," the pair heard Aurea's voice from the doorway, finding her poking her head in. "Hilda herself actually exercising some modicum of restraint as a Trainer?" The sassy look in her eyes spoke volumes alone.

"It's more likely than you think," Hilda retorted with cheek, blowing a raspberry. Oshawott tried to imitate his Trainer but only wiggled his tongue with a little spittle.

"So was our battle everything you hoped for?" Aurea then asked with a more softer demeanor.

"Everything and more," Hilda promised happily, lifting herself up to sit and smile back. "You... think she'd be proud?" Oshawott couldn't help but not a slight melancholy in his Trainer's voice.

"Always has been," Aurea replied sincerely. "And I know she always will." Oshawott also noticed a slight tear in her eye.

[Do hurry, Professor!] Minnie cried from the bathroom, interrupting the tender moment. [It has begun hardening... entombing me in eternal filth...] Aurea didn't need Hilda to know how melodramatic she was being. [Great Dragon alive, save me!]

"Wish me luck," Aurea sighed before closing the door. "Or a miracle..."

Hilda and Oshawott snickered considerably once the Professor was clearly out of earshot. [I wish today didn't have to end so soon,] Oshawott sighed before plopping down on his bottom.

"Who says it has to?" Hilda cheekily claimed with a mischievous grin. She took out her Personal Computer and tapped it to release an item from her Inventory.

Multiple bags of dinner leftover scattered across the mattress much to Oshawott's surprise. He walked across the matresss to find that there were brownies, cookies and even some Garlic Knots. By the smell of things, they were still fresh and warm. The Sea Otter Pokemon gave a bright smile of hopefulness back at his Trainer.

"Auntie Aurea said to turn in but nothing about going to sleep just yet," Hilda declared while opening a zip-lock bag of chocolate-chip cookies. "Let's say that we're... practicing your speed and timing." She had her thump flip a cookie like tossing a coin while each one of her own.

From the other half of the bed, Oshawott was quick to move left in order to catch the treat in his mouth. He chewed on it lovingly and swallowed it just when he saw Hilda flick over a brownie. The Sea Otter Pokemon dove to his right and let it land on his tongue.

[Yeah,] Oshawott giggled with his mouth full, winking back knowingly. [Wouldn't want to slack off now, would we?]

It was the perfect end to a perfect first day.

They'd never have known how good they had it then...

To Be Continued...

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doublebattled · 1 month

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stealing my banner from my other blog because fuck it I might as well. detailed headcanon on Isshu, ancient unovan history (nothing that could be construed as modern, literally just up to the Heroes of Truth and Ideals), and the surviving culture. All of this is written AS IS KNOWN BY MODERN DAY HISTORIANS. This is largely why I am writing it on this blog instead of Adair's; lots of names are omitted because those have been lost, it's incomplete and in places not actually wholly accurate to the slightly more detailed version of canon that would be found over on @fusionbolts. I also have a lot of links embedded to other headcanons. So lets get into it.

The Foundation of Isshu

While the vast majority of Isshu's history is forgotten to time, there are a few oral traditions and folktales that have persisted, one of which being the most foundational to their culture: the founding of Isshu and Isshurem's pact with humankind. As expected, the details of the tale are somewhat fuzzy, being literal centuries old, but the core of it remains fundamentally the same:

In the distant past, there was a time when the differences between humans and pokemon seemed impossible to bridge; they lived entirely separate from each other and fought often. At this time there lived a young boy who was born with a gift that allowed him to speak with pokémon. This boy, who walked freely between the worlds of human and pokémon, sought out the Great Dragon, arbiter of balance, to help him bring about peace between their kinds. They forged a pact, that human and pokemon kind would walk side by side forevermore.

At least, that's the general gist of it. (A longer version of it exists on one of my older blogs, if you're so inclined. Fair warning I wrote it like five years ago. Probably more.)

This foundation myth is fundamental to Isshu's spiritual beliefs and their relationship to pokémon, information which can be found here. However, Isshurem has always been core to its belief system as the nation's sort of guardian deity, with the name "Isshurem" itself literally meaning Guardian of Isshu. In the old days, leadership of the nation meant being Isshurem's partner.

The Golden Age

Very little is known in detail about the golden age of Isshu Culture as much of it was destroyed, lost to time, untranslatable until very recently, etc. Part of it is the result of Unova's very tumultuous history and the eventual fall of Isshu, and part of it is just due to the fact that it's a very, very old culture and a lot of their written history fell victim to time. BUT,

The Golden Age of Isshu was, as the name would imply, the height of their civilization, but historically speaking—virtually none of it still remains. The only structures still standing from the Golden Age are the League Building and Dragonspiral Tower. Historians who have been able to study the few remaining writings from the era have also managed to learn something about "seals", a form of ancient "technology" developed by the people of Isshu that made their quality of life quite remarkable by ancient standards. It's also what gave us Golett and Golurk! Nobody knows how, though. The Golett that exist are... all of them. Ever. The art itself has been lost, but remnants of it remain in modern Isshu art and traditional crafts.

The original written language of Isshu has also largely been lost—or so it was thought until the Abyssal ruins were uncovered and translated, allowing them to serve as a sort of Rosetta Stone for the original alphabet. The modern version still follows many of the same grammatical rules (and uses the same pronoun system!), but beyond that, there's little resemblance.

In short: little is known about Ancient Isshu, but it was believed their civilization was highly advanced for the time. They were, perhaps because of their advanced technology, or perhaps due to their distance from many other regions, an extremely isolationist culture and did not have much exchange, cultural or otherwise, with the other large civilizations at the time. That was, until...

The Fall of Isshu

Short version: colonialism happened.

The long version: Paldea, Kalos, and Galar sometimes just got done fighting a real big war and somebody (we won't name names) set off a superweapon and just decimated both armies entirely.

Wars are very expensive and this was a large problem for everybody, so with this on top of it, two of those countries came out pretty broke and the third was having its own problems with a giant space worm and some dogs. It was a bad time! The solution? INVADE SOME OTHER COUNTRIES ABOUT IT!

Again, this is a particular part of history that is not especially well-documented from the Isshu/Unova side of things. Historians know that Isshu's rather limited military force was not prepared for the attacks, which made them a pretty easy target. We also know the then-sovereign of Isshu was killed in the ensuing conflict, and the original dragon was presumably quite badly wounded, which ultimately led to Isshu's utter defeat at the hands of invading foreign forces. (It is believed that the Abyssal Ruins, dating back to that general era, are a tomb or memorial for the last King.)

This is the period in which most of Isshu culture was lost. Either it was taken by foreign forces (which is why we have Golett outside of Unova!) or destroyed utterly. For the next two centuries, much of the remnants of these people lived in the northern, mountainous regions of their country, where they could live more or less in peace. At this point, the Village of Dragons becomes the last bastion of Isshu civilization, and remains that way for... pretty much the rest of their history.

The Isshu people were not treated well during this time, as tends to happen with colonialism. I will not go into heavy detail as I think we can all fill in the gaps as to what that means, but it wasn't a great scene. (Slightly further detail on all of that and the leadup to the Unovan Revolution can be found here.)

In the meantime, the three major countries that had done that colonialism and also had done a war with each other right before... started fighting again. Shocking. It was less of a full-on war and more infrequent, but definitely regular territorial squabbles that, unfortunately, the remaining Isshu got dragged into. So you know what that means!

The Unovan Revolution / Foundation of Unova

Two brothers and a dragon do a revolution! Again, this is not an especially well documented period of history, but it is heavily mythologized thanks to it being the precursor to Reshiram and Zekrom. The short version is a couple of guys found Isshurem, who most people thought was dead, and it helped them do a revolution. (The full story is much more complicated than that, but you get the idea.)

As you can imagine, this was incredibly important. Arguably, the foundation of Unova was the only thing that allowed Isshu culture to survive in any form during the modern day. But it wasn't without its problems. As with any colonial state, people were, uh, having some complex feelings about who rightfully belonged there and who didn't, the direction of this new country, etc. etc., which would inevitably create a schism between the two brothers who started the revolution, and... Well, we know the story from there. Three dragons!

The ensuing conflict(s) and family drama would drive the then-kings to their deaths and leave the dragons stuck in rocks for a few millennium while the new Unova got to mythologize them.

There is reason to believe that while the Heroes of Truth and Ideals were both in agreement of trying to restore and preserve Isshu culture (generally accepted as being the culture they came from), their successor let it languish for unknown reasons, presumably political. (Ironically, it's pretty well known that their successor was the progenitor of the Harmonia royal line... Harmonia being an Isshu name.)

Modern Isshu Culture

As to be expected, there are still remnants of Isshu's culture and people within Unova, particularly in the northeast. While it's been through some extremely tumultuous times, even after Unova's founding, there have been some troubles with homogenization. But, nevertheless, there remains a handful of people who consider themselves Isshu and keep a few key cultural practices (copy and pasted from another headcanon, you're welcome):

1. Isshu do not (traditionally) use pokéballs. Tradition is to find and befriend a partner pokémon without catching them. Now, mind you, in the modern day and age, this isn't always practical, so some would opt to capture a pokémon after formally befriending them, particularly if their partner was especially large, dangerous, etc. However, a partner pokémon is typically kept outside of their pokéball as much as possible.

2. Isshu do not eat farm-raised meat, but wild-caught meat is acceptable. Again, practically speaking, this is somewhat difficult in the modern day: that accounts for, y'know, most meat products. Depending on where they live, many Isshu are effectively vegetarian or pescatarian. (The rules regarding animal byproduct, like in gelatin, are a little loosey goosey, but it's generally regarded as fine: ultimately, it abides by another core principle of Isshu culture, which is to respect the body of what you hunt/kill as to not let it go to waste. What isn't used should be returned to where it was found and returned to nature.)

3. Though far from a hard rule by any means, Isshu marriage tradition dictates that the couple exchange emblems of their partner pokémon when engaged, so the couple is symbolically always together. It's all very cute.

4. The major cultural holidays take place on the summer and winter solstices, with the latter being the cultural new year, much like how other cultures recognize a lunar new year. Minor holidays are on the equinoxes.

5. Again, this is far from a hard rule, but music is a very important component of Isshu culture. Many of their core mores and norms are born from concepts that are, culturally and linguistically, tied very HEAVILY to music. As such, it's extremely common for Isshu children to learn how to play an instrument.

#hit the books ★ { headcanon. }#alright here it is #it's not especially detailed but it is the tldr version #there are a lot more fuckin complicated thigns i could get into with relation to Why isshu culture got squashed by poke-europe but like #we can figure it out right.#it was far from an incredibly socially equal culture but its social heirarchy did have ppl who were traditionally oppressed in -#- poke-europe like aura users and psychics at the Top

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