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imjeralee · 4 years

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Wallflower: Chapter 18 - “ba-woon”

Raihan x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary: You’re an unassuming Pokemon breeder who works at the nursery in the Wild Area and he’s Raihan, the fearsome gym leader of Hammerlocke who has more than a million followers. You don’t want anything to do with him but he’s…persistent.

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Lemon, smut, violence, language.

Extra note: this chapter is messed up tbh.

ba-woon ... ...

Some time ago, Galar.

What a fucking mess.

Rose's party was a complete disaster. She honestly thinks everything in Galar is so messed up and backwards, compared to Unova anyway. She can't wait to leave and return to Nimbasa City - she doesn't remember enjoying Galar, and don't think she ever will.

And now she's visiting someone in prison. Never in a million years would Raihan's ex-girlfriend imagine that she would step one foot here.

It's Raihan's stalker, whom she knew about when she was still dating Raihan but never really bothered to do anything about nor take any action, because she believed the stalker was just a harmless fangirl. The stalker had now reached out to her online, regarding something to do with Raihan and his current girlfriend. Something that would ruin them both.

Naturally, being his ex-girlfriend, she was very intrigued but not entirely believing. To conceal her identity, she comes in wearing sunglasses and a large sunhat and baggy clothes, terrified that someone would recognise her. As if she would risk wanting to be seen here; the number of followers would rapidly go down the drain.

She goes to the counter and gives the name, informing the attendant that she's here to see an inmate. Then she's shown to the visitor's room and she sits down in the empty booth, waiting.

Soon, a girl in a jumpsuit arrives; she's very young and average. One would wonder what she did to land herself in a place like this but one can't judge a book by its cover. Once the girl in the jumpsuits seats herself down, she picks up the phone receiver and instructs the ex to do the same.

"How did you even get my contact details?" She barks. Truthfully, she would've ignored the message.

"I used to work in Macro Cosmos."

"And what's the thing you wanted to tell me about?" Raihan's ex adds, crossing her arms. This better be good, it better be worth her time.

The stalker says, "I still have a copy. It's the last one. Banette helped me hide it before they came. It's the video I took of Raihan and that girl he's with, when they were in the hotel room. I'll tell you where it is."

Raihan's ex raises a brow in response. "....Excuse me?" She says, clearly not impressed. "Are you serious? That's the reason why you called me here? So....what? What exactly am I supposed to do with it? Why are you even telling me this?"

"Because you could do anything." The girl says, "You could do anything with it. As long as it's in your hands."

...

Present, Johto.

You go through the rest of the form: it says you have the right to cancel at any time and there is fine print which Looker encourages you to read, with one paragraph in particular that dictates something called a 'Faller'. What that means exactly, you're not sure but Looker explains.

"Fallers are individuals who have passed through Ultra Wormholes." He says, "This is probably a bit too much information for you at the moment so I won’t indulge too much right now. The existence of Wormholes isn't exactly top secret information. There was an incident in Alola not too long ago where a couple of Wormholes opened up and several Ultra Beasts slipped through and it became headline news. Myself and my superior - who is also a Faller - were handling this case. However, let's not jump to conclusions right now. We could just proceed with the Hypnosis session first, see how it goes and then take it from there."

"Um...okay."

"Have you had any out-of-body experiences before?" He says. It's so blunt and to the point, you can only nod.

"Yeah, during Rose's party." You reply, "We were trying to stop Team Rocket and Eli in the energy plant, Leon and I closed the generator and then something happened and I was in this weird place where I saw Giratina."

Looker soaks it all in. "I see. That would be the Distortion World."

"Yeah."

He doesn't ask you anything else nor does he want to take up more of your time any longer so he leaves you and Raihan with more documents to read over once you're home and also to give you some time to discuss with mom and Glenn. Should you want to go ahead, you must sign and return the form to him. He gives you his number so you can contact him when ready. Then he thanks you for your time and departs; you will see him soon, probably when you return to Galar. You put away the remaining documents Looker enclosed with the folder into your backpack.

For a few seconds or so, you and Raihan merely stare at each other as you sit in your booth until you bite down on your lip, brows furrowing. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You can't seem to catch a break?" Raihan suggests.

"Exactly!" You exclaim, "Where is all this coming from? Fallers, Ultra Wormholes? What's next? I've just about had it."

Getting up from your seats, you promptly leave the cafe and head towards the direction of the Dragon's Den, following the tourist signs once you pass Blackthorn Gym. It's pretty easy to get to regardless and there are plenty of gift shops around which you will tour with Raihan later.

"I trust Looker; you'll be in good hands." Raihan reassures you with a smile as you hold hands along the way. "You've nothing to worry about. Do you want to go back and talk to your family about it?"

You shake your head, "No, no, it's okay, we're already here; let's just head to the Dragon's Den."

It's best not to think about it any longer...plus the caffeine is kicking in so you feel renewed with energy.

Raihan gives your hand a tight squeeze and together, you arrive at the giant lake which must be crossed in order to reach the den - you take Lapras' pokeball and release the ferry Pokemon into the water. You scramble onto Lapras' back and Raihan climbs on after you, glancing right and left. "Ready?"

"Yep."

You pat Lapras gently and she begins gliding over the water and towards the large cave up ahead. Along the way, you see Magikarps swimming in the tranquil lake below and a few Woopers slinking around. The weather is perfect - it’s not cold but not too hot either - and the breeze is gentle and cool.

"We really should do this more often." Raihan mutters, and you agree with a smile.

Once you arrive, Raihan hops off Lapras and helps you down; you recall mom's pokemon and begin the trek over the harsh and rocky path with the dragon tamer into the cave. The den used to be off-limits - they would only let people who earned the Rising badge to enter but now they allow tourists and visitors. It looks different too, mainly due to the inclusion of two newly built paths leading inside, spiralling left and right - the lake outside narrows into a deep stream but you're aware it leads to a further, massive lake inside the den itself where all the Dratini and Dragonairs are. It's dark and damp and you and Raihan pass a shrine that stands in the middle of the water where an elderly man dressed in traditional garb is praying.

You excitedly point to a small Dratini that is draped around the old man's neck, snoozing. It's so adorable! You can't wait - you want to catch a Dratini badly. Raihan grins and you both up your speed without further ado, heading into the den and occasionally being challenged by trainers and defeating them along the way until you reach the opening. It's a massive cave with rocky walls that stretch up high and wide and the only source of light are the scattered torches which the dragon elders have lit up for trainers and visitors alike.

It's a lot busier inside, with a few Ace Trainers and Dragon Tamers inside with their dragon pokemon. A tamer flies around on his Dragonite, ducking and diving over sharp rocks, controlling it's speed and momentum, whilst an Ace Trainer trains her Dragonair in the water with a whistle and some strange device. Meanwhile, a pool to the left reveals a small group of wild Dratini snoozing over the rocks whilst another shakes itself under the waterfall, enjoying the rush of water.

Raihan abruptly clamps a hand over his chest in reaction to the most beautiful sight that is taking place before his very eyes.

"Are you okay?" You ask, though you don't think he is. You feel he has died and gone to heaven.

Raihan turns to you, a wide grin appearing on his face. "I'm fine," He exclaims happily, "Let's go."

Fumbling for your pokemon, you both release your dragon pokemon by tossing your capsules into the air and an extravagant display of lights subsequently follows; the pokemon appear before you, emitting loud growls and waving their tails, wings and claws. Raihan takes a headcount whilst you do the same - he's brought Duraludon, Flygon, Goodra, Turtonator, Axew and Bagon. You count Chompy, Salamence, Haxorus, Dreepy and Deino, whom you have taken along on Raihan's behalf. Goomy and Applin are the only pokemon not present but never mind; you have quite a lot on your plate already.

"Alright! Everyone's here!" You cheer. It's a Dragon Pokemon Field Trip!

"Let's take a group photo first." Raihan says eagerly, and Rotom comes flying out just in time.

"Bzzz, I got ya covered, champ! On the count of three?"

"Thanks, Rotom!"

Everyone proceeds to move into position a short distance away from Rotom, though much allocation is needed. All the large pokemon move to stand behind yourself and Raihan; though Raihan's height forces him to kneel on one leg beside you, clutching Axew and Deino in his arms whilst you sit with Bagon and Dreepy nestles on your shoulder.

"One...two...three...Everyone zzay 'GROOOOOOOOWL'!!!" Rotom yells, and all the pokemon unleashes the fiercest growls they can muster that the walls tremble and shake and Rotom snaps away. “Yay! Good job everyone!”

Rotom returns to you both so you can check out the photos and you both peer at the screen, swiping through at least five. There's one where Rotom caught all the pokemon growling and their jaws are open. There's one with Garchomp, Goodra and Duraludon waving their arms in the air. Wow, these photos look amazing! Except from the one where you blinked. Damn.

The itinerary for today is simple - Raihan will carry out the training and you will follow up with an examination. Raihan's provided you with his Pokemon's previous assessments, so you can use them to compare.

Therefore, the next thing you do is take all the pokemon to the dragon shrine first so they can soak up all the powerful dragon energy in the den. Your group bumbles behind you, the dragon pokemon looking up and around in awe. No doubt, they are experiencing some special feels for this place. Chompy, Salamence and Haxorus are the only pokemon familiar with this place since you've brought them here before. Once you reach the shrine, you tell Raihan this is where trainers and their pokemon pray for strength and courage in battle and also to pay their respects.

There's a way to do it, so you prompt Raihan to follow your lead - you take some loose cash from your pockets and drop it into the offering box and Raihan does the same. Then you bow deeply twice, clap your hands twice, bow deeply once more and take a few steps backwards.

You clasp your hands together and close your eyes in prayer and everyone follows you. Your group grows silent as you pray; you're pretty sure Chompy and Haxorus are praying for a nice meal at the end of this whilst Salamence is probably praying for more opportunities to fly.

"That'll do. Let's go." You say, when they are finished.

The training promptly begins; you're hoping to spend half a day here and hopefully catch a Dratini at the same time if possible. You find a good spot where there's enough space for all the pokemon to move and run around - and Raihan begins with a warm up and here is where you see a different side to your dragon tamer boyfriend - this must be what he is like when he is at Hammerlocke stadium.

You see him instructing the pokemon fluidly and with the sophistication of a seasoned professional drill sergeant (but he doesn't bark orders no, he's the opposite; he's highly encouraging and gentle) and you watch as your pokemon immerse themselves fully into the experience, though the smaller pokemon are struggling slightly.

You watch as the pokemon begin doing some laps around the den whilst some do sits up and push ups. Raihan observes with Rotom hovering beside him and taking photos and videos, whilst you go to help the smaller pokemon with lighter workouts. To finish up, Raihan pairs the pokemon and let them battle each other but not to the brink where they are knocked out. There's no winner or loser. Your EV trained pokemon fight each other, with Haxorus, Salamence and Garchomp engaging in a three-way battle. Raihan passes each team, making assessments.

When it's your turn to take over, you become nervous because no-one's really watched you on the job before so with Raihan grinning in one corner actually makes you anxious. Nevertheless, you pull yourself together and begin the check up, pulling out your tools which include a stethoscope, ophthalmoscope and otoscope. They look highly technical but these are the three main tools you utilise and they’re easy to use. You get the pokemon to line up and begin the examination one by one which only takes two to three minutes per Pokemon. You hastily scribble down some notes in your pad which you will look at in more detail when you get home.

When it's getting late and the pokemon have gone through a tough day of training, you return them all after feeding them and giving them treats for all their hard work and finally, Raihan turns to you. "We still got a Dratini to catch."

You're kind of beat but you nod, hopping off the rock you were sitting on. "Let's do this."

Since you spotted wild Dratini lounging in the pond near the entrance, you head over to see two of the shed skin pokemon basking over the rocks. Raihan is quick to approach, releasing Goodra. One of the Dratini rears its head up, ready to fight, whilst the other begins to squirm away. Oh no, it's trying to run away! Without thinking twice, you throw Lapras' capsule because she's roughly the same level as these Dratini and would fare a better chance compared to your EV trained pokemon who would destroy it in one move. Raihan commands Goodra to use Dragon Breath and then throws an Ultra Ball at the severely weakened pokemon.

"Lapras, use Ice Beam!" You yell, and the wild Dratini is smacked with a blast of ice which hits it's belly. Aha, now's your chance! You pull out a spare Ultra Ball, tossing it at the pokemon.

Raihan's ultra ball wiggles three times and clicks shut with the green light, indicating Dratini has been successfully captured - however, yours wiggles twice and then abruptly explodes in a burst of bright light. Dratini reappears, blinks for a brief second then promptly dives underwater, having successfully run away.

"Motherfurret!" You shout with frustration before you can help yourself, "Not again!"

Raihan picks up his caught pokemon and returns to your side.

You look up at him with a sigh. "....Guess it isn't meant to be." You mumble dejectedly.

"Take mine." He says, attempting to press the capsule into your hand for your taking.

You shake your head at once. "No, it's fine, Rai. You caught it."

"But I want you to keep it."

"Nooooo."

"I'll catch another one."

You cross your arms, unwilling to accept. "It's fine, I can get one from the Gamecorner in Goldenrod."

He gives you a testing look but you nod firmly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright...." Raihan slips the capsule into his bag but you feel he isn't convinced.

...

You leave the den to grab dinner, opting to have a nice meal at a restaurant in Goldenrod which Raihan chose because he looked it up and it's received raving reviews online and five stars. Then you and Raihan do some shopping at the Department Store although Raihan is more into this than you are. Generally, Goldenrod is quite pricey and it has designers you have not heard of and can't really afford but to Raihan, you swear he has died and gone to heaven again.

You trail after him, watching him as he goes through racks and shelves and aisles filled to the brim with clothes, shoes and accessories. Occasionally, he'll pull something out and ask you for your opinion. Sometimes you split up so you can buy some gear and treats for your pokemon before you regroup with him.

It's interesting shopping with a guy; Raihan has good fashion sense because he picks out staple items and then he also pulls out items which are in season and are sure to last for a long time. He also picks out some interesting items which are a variety of colours and it makes you think who on earth could pull it off but you're sure Raihan can since he's so tall and skinny and can make anything look good.

His total bill comes to a six figure number, which has your eyes bulging to the size of plates but apparently, that's nothing to him. Then he nonchalantly asks you if you want anything but you politely decline.

When you wait for Raihan to finish paying, you're looking through photos on Rotom which you took when you were training at the den and you're wondering what's taking him so long until a pair of hands suddenly clamp over your eyes and you squeak in fright until the hands lower from your eyes and you see Raihan who presses a deep kiss on your cheek. Phew, you breathe a sigh of relief.

He has a wide smile playing on his lips. "Hold your arms out."

"What is it?" You lift your arms as requested and he brings out a pink plushie from behind his back and plops it into your hands. Your eyes grow wide - it's a Skitty doll. You look at him, then at the doll with your mouth agape. "...For me?"

"It reminded me of you."

You gush, clutching it firmly to your chest. "It's so cute!! Thanks!"

His grin widens. "I knew you'd like it."

You go on tiptoe and Raihan takes this as a cue to lean forwards and your lips meet.

With the Skitty doll and many bags hanging off your arms, you head to the Gamecorner next, playing a few games such as UFO catcher and Whack-a-Drilbur and you take a quick look at the prize station but seeing various pokemon up for sale as prizes turns you off and you're not sure whether to get the Dratini; instead, you decide to call it a day and go back to Ecruteak. You had wanted to pay Glenn a visit but maybe tomorrow when you have more free time. Besides, you want to discuss with mom about the meeting with Looker. It's actually been on your mind all day. You managed to push it to the depths of your mind somehow, unwilling for it to ruin your day.

When you arrive home, mom is already preparing dinner and when you open the door to the lounge, you see Glenn sitting on one of the plushy cushions whilst the TV blares on in the background.

"Glenn, you're here!"

"Yeah," He greets you casually; there's a pink goo slithering over his head and shoulders - it's a Ditto. "How was the Dragon's Den?"

"It was really good."

"Awesome. Did you guys catch a Dratini?"

"Raihan did but I didn't...and er...I'm glad you're here, I need to talk to you and mom."

"Hm? About what?"

Firstly, you need to put your shopping away so you head to your room to get changed into comfier clothes and return to the lounge with Raihan; Glenn recalls Ditto and you pull out the folder Looker had given you and you ask him to take a look.

"A detective has asked me if I can help him with a case."

Glenn blinks blankly. "That's so random."

"We know him. He helped us before." You mutter, and Glenn takes the folder off you and sticks his hand inside, pulling out a few files. He chooses one to read and has a quick skim through until his brows furrow slightly; you and Raihan glance at each other from the corner of your eyes and you don't think this bodes too well.

However, the lounge door slides opens and mom enters with Blissey. "Phew! Almost done. Dinner's nearly ready."

"Hey mom, take a look at this." Glenn says, handing her the paper.

"What is it?" Mom plops herself beside Glenn and dons her reading glasses, scanning the paper. She's smiling but you watch as the smile slowly disappears. It grows silent as they both read the contents. Raihan reaches for your hand and holds you tightly, threading your fingers together and after a short while, mom settles the file down and turns to you. "So this detective named Looker is working on a case regarding a missing child....and he thinks you're the missing child?"

"Yeah."

"And he wants you to undergo Hypnosis in order to confirm the theory, to extract memories..." Glenn mutters, rubbing his chin. He continues reading the file out loud: "A Hypnosis session is used to extract missing memories and concise testimony from the subject. Usually the subject is an individual who suffers from retrograde or psychogenic amnesia. Subjects will undergo a session in an effort to recall their missing memories under the guidance of a trained professional and a Hypno allocated by the Bureau. The session can last up to three to five hours maximum, depending on the severity of the amnesia."

Mom looks at the photograph of the couple and the little girl next. "This is the missing child, right? You don't look anything like her at all." She says.

Glenn pulls out another file except there's a few photos that were lodged within and they drop out and over the table. "Whoa, that's a Buzzwole." He points out, as he picks up the photo of the beefy red bug. He moves to a second photo and raises a brow, "Huh, don't think I've seen this one before..."

"I think that's a Xurkitree, dear."

"I've never seen anything like it." Glenn puts down the photos and begins reading the next file: "Operation f....um, faller, spelled with blanks in between...interesting, Operation Faller is the top secret - haha, not so top secret now - Operation Faller is the top secret operation conducted by the Bureau in an effort to identify, track down and locate fallers, individuals who have passed through Ultra Wormholes; the operation came into existence after the Alola incident where Ultra Wormholes opened and several entities known as Ultra Beasts entered Alola."

Glenn abruptly stops.

"Um...what exactly am I reading or looking for here?" He says, confused.

"It's the Alola incident, dear, it made headlines a while ago - the existence of parallel worlds." Mom says. "Remember?"

"Oh, yeah! People went mental! Er...this is getting weird...they even said they found a world where pokemon don't even exist! Can you believe that?" Glenn mutters before he moves onto the next file. It's a file that's got your name on it. "Subject was discovered in Ilex Forest with blunt force head trauma. Subject could not recall her identity, where she came from or how old she was at that time.... That sounds like retrograde or psychogenic amnesia to me."

You bite down on your bottom lip; this is making you uncomfortable...

He flips to the next page. "Drifloon. Subject was found with a Drifloon - Drifloon are not native to Johto, or Ilex Forest so it was theoreticized to have been responsible for subject's accident but no proof has been found. Drifloon is known to have spirited people away, in particular, children. The expression 'spirit away' is used to refer to the mysterious disappearance or death of a person, or humans who have been abducted to the spirit world. The term is loosely utilised in Drifloon's pokedex entry - for this case, the balloon Pokemon may have transported subject either to a new region... or a parallel dimension, or Ultra Space."

Glenn stops again and looks at you like a Stantler caught in headlights.

Gulping, he continues. "...The pokemon was allowed to stay with subject after displaying no malicious intent towards subject. Instead, pokemon demonstrated protective behaviour over subject and listened to subject's commands."

You force out a weak laugh. "It wasn't Driffie. It can't be, it's not. He wouldn't...he wouldn't do that to me. This is ridiculous and if I was...whatever, I'd remember for sure."

The lounge goes silent as all eyes fall on you.

Mom nods and says, "There was no proof, dear. Driffie is harmless. And you love Driffie."

"Yeah." You mutter weakly as you absent-mindedly squeeze Raihan's hand under the table.

Glenn puts down the documents and lets out a quiet groan, rubbing his temples. ".....Basically, there's three things going on here: number one, Looker wants you to remember your missing memories to find out if you're the missing child of the case he's working on. Two, he wants to find out if there's the possibility of you being a Faller and three, the file says that Driffie could've been the one responsible for your accident."

You don't like the direction where this is going to at all. "I don't care; I have you and mom and Raihan and it won't change anything; I'm perfectly happy where I am."

"What are you gonna do, sis?"

"....I dunno."

"It's okay, dear, I think you should go ahead and sign it. There's no harm in wanting to help someone out and finding out more about yourself." Mom replies; she moves to stand, bringing you into a tight hug and pecking you on the cheek. "You'll still be my daughter and we'll still be your family."

...

After dinner, Glenn and mom ask if you're okay again but you lie and tell them you're fine. They reassure you that you're doing the right thing for yourself and whatever happens, they'll still be there for you. Whilst Raihan remains in the lounge to chat with mom and Glenn, you decided to take a bath but when you see the full moon hanging in the night sky, you end up sitting outside in the back porch with the folder; you didn't want to look at it any longer but since you still had some documents to go through for yourself, curiosity killed the Delcatty so you grab it and take out the contents again. Indeed, the folder contains a myriad of documents about Fallers and photos of Ultra Beasts and Ultra Wormholes. But it's then you come across Driffie's file and you hesitate.

Nausea overwhelms you. Driffie....no way. It can't be. You put the folder down, then pull out Driffie's capsule and release him; he emerges in a brief burst of red light in the garden.

"Flooo...." He blinks, letting out a gentle wheeze.

You can't bring yourself to ask. Hell, how are you supposed to ask? Did you spirit me away? Did you take me away from my family? Did you try to kill me? Did you try to hurt me...did you want to hurt me?

Didn't Allister once say to you...

”It wants to say... ‘I’m sorry’.”

Oh shit. Oh fuck. It can't be...

"Hey, um....Driffie?"

He looks at you, tilting his head curiously. "Floo...?"

"Was it....was it you?"

Again, he merely tilts his head to the side.

You sigh loudly. Oh Arceus, how could you think Driffie would do this to you? He is your sweet Drifloon who you've had since....ever. He's never hurt you. "Never mind. Forget it. I'm sorry, Driffie."

"Floo..." He floats over and nestles on top of your head, wrapping his arms around you just as the rest of your capsules suddenly burst open at once and all your Pokemon appear - Espie, Poliwag, Metagross, Salamence, Chompy, Haxorus, Dreepy and Tyranitar. The smaller pokemon jump into your lap whilst Dreepy slinks over your shoulders.

Your stare, blinking blankly as your pokemon begin to idly gather round and sit around you with what little space there is. Tyranitar and Haxorus sit beside you on the porch and Chompy and Metagross move to sit in front of you - Metagross has to tuck his legs in - whilst Salamence curls behind you, propping you up. You glance at each and every one of them before you smile at them warmly. You know the reason why they've appeared - they can sense your sorrow and fear.

"Did you guys hear what happened?"

Metagross turns to you and nods. Chompy growls and so does Haxorus and Salamence. Espie purrs loudly. Exhaling shakily, you watch as she puts her paw over your hand and Poliwag puts his tail over her paw. Your Pokemon look up at you and you smile at them.

"You got my back, right?"

Everyone nods.

You feel the corner of your eyes prickling with tears and you quickly dab at your eyes, hoping they hadn't seen. You've had them since they were babies - or at least since they were very young - and you took them under your wing, fed them, trained them. They're strong all because of you. You need to remind yourself about that more often and also give yourself more credit. As much as you were there for your pokemon, they are here for you, too. With those thoughts in mind, you watch your pokemon settle themselves around you protectively and you reach over, patting them fondly.

"Thanks, everyone." You utter under your breath. "Thank you for being there for me."

Metagross emits a low screech whilst Salamence, Tyranitar, Chompy and Haxorus growl loudly in response. Your smile grows wider as you pat them again. Espie purrs and Dreepy and Poliwag rub their cheeks against yours.

"If anything happens to me....I....oh, I don't know, I never thought about it."

Your pokemon look at you in bewilderment but you don't follow up. They sit with you, staring up at the moon until a while later, you hear the door to the lounge opening and Raihan passes you on the porch; you and your pokemon all turn to him and he freezes.

"Hm?" He exchanges glances between you and your pokemon and grins, "What's up? What are you doing? I thought you were sleeping."

You shake your head as you pat the space beside you, "Wanna join us?"

"Sure." He says, and he manages to squeeze himself beside you and Haxorus. Your pokemon don't mind, and Raihan reaches for you automatically with his arms out and you put down the documents. Espie and Poliwag hop off your lap and jump on top of Metagross' head so you can climb into Raihan's awaiting lap where he wraps his arms around you firmly and you rest your chin on his shoulder, closing your eyes. He envelopes you all over with his warmth, his arms holding you securely. "...You'll be okay, princess." Raihan mutters, pressing his lips against the curve of your cheek.

"Looker has really bad timing." You reply, as he peppers you with kisses. It's true, you feel the entire vacation is ruined because of this. You don't blame him but you kind of wish you hadn't met up. "I don't mind helping out but I don't know what I'll find out."

Raihan tightens his grip on you, stroking your hair affectionately and tucking some loose strands behind your ear with his long fingers. "I'll still be here. And if you are a 'faller', that's kinda cool." He says, and you chuckle under your breath. "Don't worry. I'll protect you. The Great Raihan will protect his princess, always."

You chuckle louder until you gradually dissolve into silence where you are just holding onto him and sitting in his lap.

"Have you decided what to do?"

"...Yeah. I'm gonna sign it."

"You sure?"

You nod. "I'll just...give it a shot. There's no harm, I guess. But I wish I could catch a break though...I'm really tired."

"I know you are, princess."

Leaning against him, you close your eyes and give him an affectionate squeeze.

"...You're the best thing to happen to me." You mutter quietly and he emits a gentle sigh, wrapping his arms even firmly around you.

"I know."

You can't help but smile and as you pull away from him, he grins and leans forwards, your lips pressing briefly before you throw your arms around him again. Raihan hugs you close, rubbing small, soothing circles on your back whilst you rest your cheek against his shoulder until you glance over and pick up a photo, inspecting it. It's a white jellyfish creature and the longer you stare at it, the more it looks familiar to you.

You feel like you've seen it before.

...

Days later.

Life returns to normal, or what is defined as normal in your books.

You leave Johto, return to work and so does Raihan. Your new boss is difficult to get along with; she's far more strict and doesn't seem to get your sarcasm or humour. You don't seem to be able to build up the same rapport you had with your previous boss. Your days are often spent in silence but you reckon work is just work and it cannot be helped. Not everyone likes their jobs - such as your friend, for example. You're left wondering when your next holiday is because your trip to Johto has now come to an end; the days had flown by just like that and it was over way too soon, way too quick.

And when you returned to your cottage in Ballonlea, you realised you've become way more accustomed to Galar than you had thought but after the meeting with Looker, things seem....different now.

You've told Raihan that you've already set up a time and date for the hypnosis session with Looker and although he says he wants to come with you, it will clash with his work so you tell him you can do this on your own.

Emitting a gentle sigh under your breath, you get ready, heading to Hammerlocke police station where you ask for Looker at the counter and a few minutes later, he emerges from a room and into the waiting area to retrieve you.

"Thanks for coming." Looker says, as you hand him the signed form.

"No problem."

"Are you ready?"

"Yep."

And you follow him into a small room with a sign that says 'Interrogation Room 2'....as if that wasn't intimidating enough. He closes the door behind you and it grows quiet as he sits at the desk, scribbling something down on the notepad in front of him. There's a hypnotherapy chair in the corner and a Hypno sits on its haunches on a stool, looking at you with its beady eyes. You stare at it in return, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Have a seat." Looker mutters, gesturing to the chair. "And grab a drink if you want."

You head over to the chair before you glance at the water machine nearby so you help yourself to a drink by reaching over and filling up a plastic cup, downing a few sips. It's silent in the room except from Looker's pen squeaking over the paper, the clock ticking on the wall and Hypno's shallow breathing as it stares at you relentlessly.

Looker finally finishes writing his notes and averts his attention to a case he's kept propped up against the desk, lifting it up. Unclipping it, he pulls out several strange devices which he lays carefully on the desk, then he pulls out a tape recorder from a cupboard underneath the desk which he also neatly sets on the table.

"Put this on." He hands you one of the weird contraptions, which is a bracelet that resembles a Dynamax band.

"What is this?" You ask, as you strap it on, pulling the fabric and tugging it around the width of your wrist and pushing the snap fasten into place.

"It's to read your energy levels during the hypnosis session." Looker mutters, "It works similar to a polygraph."

You didn't quite understand and Looker continues setting up some random machinery around you.

"Are you ready?" He says, when he's finished.

"Yeah." You put down the cup on the table provided beside you and take a deep breath.

Looker nods stiffly and pulls his seat over to you, dragging it on its wheels. "Let's begin. Lie down, please. Come on, Hypno. We're starting now."

As you lie over the chair properly, Looker presses on the tape recorder and he says out loud that he's recording 'Subject Sixteen, Initial Hypnotherapy Session'. Hypno moves in front of you with a shiny white pendant that dangles from his claws. Looker instructs you to tell him your name, age, where you come from and your occupation, which you do.

"When you're under," Looker adds, "Focus on the sound of my voice: I'll be guiding you along the way. I'll ask you to describe what you see and I'll tell you what to do next. I want you to remember that there is nothing there that will hurt you so you do not have to be scared. However, should you feel threatened, you can stop the session and we'll bring you back. Just tell us to stop."

You nod weakly. "Understood."

"Good. Let's begin then."

Glancing at Hypno, Looker nods and it begins swinging the pendant in front of your eyes in a smooth fashion.

“I want you to think about your childhood,” Looker says, “We’ll start from there.”

”S-sure.”

You honestly wonder how this will work.

Hypnosis?

You've seen hypnosis work on a pokemon but not on a human...

You keep your eyes trained on the pendulum.

Nothing so far.

It goes right.

Then goes left.

And back again.

Your eyes follow the motion, back and forth...

Back...

...and forth...

You're still in the room with Looker.

You're still...conscious.

Is this supposed to work?

How does it work?

The pendulum keeps swinging, Hypno keeps its eyes on you. It's mouth moves, whispering.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Opening your eyes, you sit up.

Wait.

When did you even close your eyes?

Where the hell are you?

"What do you see?"

It's Looker's voice.

You glance around.

You're...in a field.

A field full of beautiful flowers of red, blue and yellow...

The Wild Area?

No, it's...it's not. It's not the Wild Area. It's not even... Galar. Your gut just tells you it's not Galar.

"What do you hear?"

You hear giggling. Laughter. Voices.

They sound happy.

"Where's it coming from?"

You spot a small group up ahead and you wade through the field of flowers towards the source. A short distance away, you can see the woods. They're dark and foreboding.

"Who is it?"

Heading over, you see a couple sitting together on a red and white checkered picnic blanket surrounded by an abundance of food and a hamper whilst a little girl stares at a Butterfree fluttering around her. You realise you cannot see their faces; a messy, gaping black scribble erases any distinguishable feature.

Confused, you begin to step backwards.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't...I can't see their faces." You reply, swallowing down.

"Can you go closer?"

"I think so."

The couple are too busy getting the food ready to notice that the child gets up, having spotted something in the woods.

"Ba-woon." She says.

"What?"

"Ba-woon." The little girl says again.

Their voices are an echo.

Suddenly, a small swarm of Beedrill comes, attracted by the food - noticeably, the sticky jam sandwiches. The couple stand up to fend them off. They don't notice the child leaving the picnic mat, wandering further and further towards the woods.

There's something there.

"Ba-woon." The little girl says, giggling.

She stops in front of a small and cute, purple pokemon. Having lured her to the woods, it begins to float further inside.

"Ba-woon, come back! Where are you going?"

It reaches for her and takes her hand and in a split second, just like that, they both disappear into nothingness.

Gone.

#kibana #raihan #raihan x reader #Raihan x you #jeralee #wallflower #archive of our own #fanfic #fic #reader insert #pkmn #pokemon #pokemonshield #pokemonsword #pokemon shield and sword

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The Nintendo King and the Midlife Crisis

It was December in San Diego, the palm trees strung with tinsel in Ocean Beach. Pat Contri shuffled barefoot on the floor of his game room, black hair wet from the shower and curling above his eyes. He was in front of a wall of nearly 1,000 games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the greatest console ever released; the wall, floor to ceiling, was amazing to behold, Contri as small as Ahab in front of his whale. He read from the spines of gray plastic cartridges he’d spent two decades collecting: Spy Hunter, with its Peter Gunn theme, which he got for Christmas in 1987; Jaws, which he picked up at a flea market with his mother in Rahway, New Jersey, a year or two later; Zelda II, a game he had his parents order from the Sears catalog in 1988, a game he cried over because it took forever to arrive.

The wall was both a shrine to his life’s hobby and the backdrop for his work. For a decade, Contri has played a character called Pat the NES Punk for nearly 250,000 viewers on YouTube. Fans recognize him at the airport, at the gym, at the swap meets, and he has become not just an expert on Nintendo but a public face for anyone who grew up with the NES, anyone who’s worn a Donkey Kong T-shirt or who still has the Super Mario Bros. theme song thumping in their heart.

The Punk is goofier than the real-life Contri—a bit more manic, an exaggeration of his id. Games are the Punk’s life, and thoughts of the NES sing him to sleep and then wake him in sweat. Almost all of his videos, which run around 10 minutes, focus on the Punk’s experience with a single NES game. Each is a combination history lesson and review, delivered with a narrative voice that lets Contri (as writer, director, and star) show off his sense of humor, his knowledge of Nintendo, and occasionally even the depths of his introspection—about being boxed into an endless childhood by videogames, about the inherent sadness of trying to fill a hole in his life with them.

See more from the Life Issue. April 2018. Subscribe to WIRED.

Nik Mirus

One of Contri’s best videos, a 12-minute piece from 2013 dedicated to the rare and expensive NES game The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak!, begins with the Punk rustling awake from a fever dream, choking out “I need help.” And, looking at his games: “What am I doing? They’re just videogames. I’m holding like a thousand bucks’ worth right in my hands. That could be going to something useful, something memorable. Like a vacation! I could go anywhere I want. Scotland. Italy. Tahiti …” And there he pauses. “I wonder if there’s NES games in Tahiti.”

It was a bit, mostly, but as Nintendo celebrates the 33rd birthday of its historic console—and as Contri approaches 38—it was also a sign of the conflict within him. Like a lot of people who were born in the years just before and after the launch of the NES, he is no longer young and not nearly old, neither new nor vintage, and it seems like he has started to feel a bit lost in the in-between. “I don’t know if I want to be 65 years old talking about retro videogames,” he told me. “I don’t want that to be the only thing I talk about forever. I think sometimes, ‘Is this where my talent begins and ends?�� ” He says he doesn’t play NES videogames anymore—except when he’s in character—and that it’s different now: It’s work. He admits this in resignation, like it’s sacrilege, the man for whom Nintendo became a career.

“There’s something a little self-deprecating about the Punk character, and about my character too,” says James Rolfe, a 37-year-old godfather of YouTube gamers who plays a character named the Angry Video Game Nerd and is a collaborator of Contri’s. “All these YouTube characters have some kind of element of sadness to them. Thinking back to childhood, were we wasting our time with games? Were we really entertaining ourselves? Were we really happy?”

Contri’s home library consists of nearly 1,000 NES games.

SHAYAN ASGHARNIA

Contri is a 37-year-old man who has been playing videogames his entire life. His cousin’s Atari 2600, when he was 4. His family’s PC-IBM XT. Then he was 7 when his parents bought him an NES console, and preadolescent Pat started spending hours in his family’s rec room in front of a small Magnavox monitor. Later, in high school, he played Super Nintendo and then PC games, and rediscovered the NES while he was in college. After he graduated, in 2002, he eventually settled into a job in market research, working 50-plus hours a week in Princeton, New Jersey, and living in nearby North Brunswick. He hated it.

One day in 2006, he came across the Angry Video Game Nerd’s irascible game reviews, and the sight of a character drinking beer and railing about the game Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest rang out to him. “I saw the AVGN doing well, but I saw a lot of bad videos out there too,” Contri says. “I’d watch them and think, ‘Not only does this person not know how to play the game, he didn’t include any history of it.’ At the very least, I thought I could do better.”

Contri made his first video, six and a half minutes of him as the Punk playing a couple of NES baseball games before landing on the best, Baseball Stars. He chose the nickname because he thought it had a ring to it, had an attitude, and, well, women he’d dated told him he acted like a punk. It also captured the overpowering feeling he got when he played the games; the NES made him happy, and the character was a weird, happy extension of who Contri really was. He made his second video a month later, about The Three Stooges, and then another one after that. He started pumping out videos, each loaded with enough humor, personality, and insider knowledge to set it apart from everything else online. In 2012, a few years after leaving New Jersey for San Diego, he quit his market research job and started making videos full time.