#isshu

Vierapril day 1: Introduction

So because I am an apparent masochist and am pulling from THREE DIFFERENT PROMPT LISTS with a ton of bunnies, I'm giving them all to you all at once. Some of these belong to my friends @ashewindrider and @inkblood-mistrieu, and one in particular we're entirely blaming on Mistrieu's Mingxia Jiang.

First pic: Talon and Luna Bane, a pair of siblings, one of whom is my main and the one I'm caught up on content on. .

Second pic: Jinghai Jiang, Moondance and Eathan k'Treva. These three belong to my friends and they're in a polycule with a Xaela Au Ra named Snowfire.

Third pic: Cor Leonis and his partner Isshu. Yes, that Cor Leonis from FFXV. That's the one we blame Mingxia for, as she went on a trip to Eos and brought the chocobros, him, Luna and Ravus back. Because she made friends. as is her wont, and they got free fantasias for the reincarnation. (This one was done by Ashe, go show some love to them and their screen-making!)

Fourth pic: Erenville and his partner Magpie Cross-k'Treva. Magpie got adopted by Moondance and Eathan, and his mama is an Elezen named Auriella Cross.

Fifth pic: Shandiin and Dancing Green (Eheeya). She is a huntress who has captured the heart of the king of the dance floor and he is the party animal who encourages his beautiful lady to relax.

Chapter 2: Just For Starters

The Junipers' brown house with the blue roof had finally came into view. It had felt like an eternity by the time Hilda bounded through her front yard and reach the front door's steps. She took a minute to lean on her knees and pant like a Herdier playing catch.

"That's the last time I leave my bike home for extra storage space," Hilda vowed with a rather horse voice. She took out her Personal Computer to select a water bottle.

[Perhaps this is why you selected a Water-type,] Minnie joked initially before climbing down Hilda's back. She cringed when she slide down the sweat across her owner's bare legs and found her grey fur covered in it. [And perhaps it shall provide you with an overdue bathing.] The smell was worse than she realized.

"Puh-lease," Hilda whined dismissively after chugging the whole bottle. "You know it's not that bad." She hopped up the steps with an eager grin and was about to grab the door handle when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Minnie hopped up the steps shortly after and was curious as to why Hilda suddenly froze like a bad computer program. "So..." she heard her owner speak up. "Just occurred to me." Minnie heard growing anxiousness in Hilda's tone yet looked up and found that her smile was still there. However, there was a vibe of dread to her otherwise neutral expression.

"Georgia heard about the General Store incident, right?" Hilda went on while her smiley face broke into a cold sweat rather than hot. "What're the odds that Auntie Aurea heard about it too?" A hue of dark blue seemed to overcast her eyes, revealing the fear that belied her brighter front.

Living with her adoptive family for seven years gave her a... sixth sense as to what to expect from them. Particularly when Hilda had done something they disapproved of. Right now, that sixth sense was setting off klaxon horns in her mind.

It was now Minnie's turn to gulp and feel the Butterfrees in her stomach. [You... did answer that call from her during our skirmish,] she recollected, sweating with her owner in the figurative sense. Normally, she would've ratted Hilda out but being involved in the day's events put her in the same boat.

"Back door?" Hilda suggested.

[Back door,] Minnie affirmed without hesitation.

Hilda poked her head around the corner and found the backyard deserted aside from the occasional Pidove roosting. Minnie also gave a peak below her and sighed in relief that Aurea wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Stay frosty, Minnie," Hilda warned in a harsh but quiet whisper, glaring with determination.

[Oh, trust me,] the Minccino gulped. [I'm downright frostbitten.]

Hilda stretched out her legs to tip-toe into the yard like she had in trying to avoid Burgundy while Minnie followed behind anxiously. They stayed on the grass to not make a sound so long as they evaded any branches.

They soon reached the back patio and were extra careful to look out for any loose tiles as they went. Hilda reached the backdoor and went for the knob when she once again froze in a moment of clarity.

[What now?] Minnie whispered in an exasperated tone of voice. [Don't tell me you heard her.]

"No but I can tell that she's there," Hilda replied with a rather serious whisper. "No way she wouldn't have thought a few steps ahead of us." She could just imagine Auntie Aurea flipping on the lights the second they slipped in. Every teenage instinct in her bones had her on high alert.

[It isn't as though we can scale the house,] Minnie lamented. [Well, not anymore now...]

Hilda felt an idea hit her like a thunderbolt aimed for the horn. "Maybe not the house but..." she exclaimed quietly but eagerly. Hilda tip-toed back from the door and looked back at the large tree in the center of the backyard. Her eyes traveled up to the branches where a very big one extended all the way out towards an open window letting in the cool evening breeze. Her open window to be precise.

"Thank you, broken A.C." Hilda whispered with a victorious tone.

Minnie saw the tree and looked up at the branch before spotting the triumphant grin on her owner's face. [You aren't...] she began to beg before Hilda scurried ahead, light on her toes. [Last time, it had nearly snapped!] the Chinchilla Pokemon insisted while impressively keeping her voice down. [When you were ten!]

"Good thing I'm not ten then," Hilda sassed back while taking out her hand-held Personal Computer. "Burgundy might've been mean about but she wasn't too far off." She tapped the screen before her hat, shoes, socks and black vest were digitally recalled into the P.C.'s data storage.

Hilda began her way up the tree slowly but surely and maintained her grip in tandem with her silence. Without her vest, she could move her shoulders a bit more freely while her bare feet gripped the more smooth bark a bit better than her shoes. She kept her P.C. down in the back of her shorts to keep it extra secure.

Minnie sighed in defeat and followed after her Hilda the tree. [And somehow you made Trainer,] she bemoaned once she and her owner reached the branch in question. [May the Great Dragon help us all once you're Champion.]

Hilda got down on her belly and distributed her weight when climbing onto the branch. She stayed flat and made her way across towards the window while Minnie looked on in baited breath. The branch began to bend despite seeming to hold sturdy once Hilda passed the halfway point. She looked up at the window and found that the branch was sinking down considerable when she was close enough. Going further would put her out of reach while standing up suddenly would send her falling.

Hilda frown intently while looking at how far the window is from where she paused and gauging how much time the branch would have to take her weight. "Sink or swim time," she declared to herself before springing up onto her feet.

Minnie was fit to scream her head off before Hilda crouched down and sprung off the branch. She had it launch her further like a diving board and get her through the window without so much as grazing the frame. The Minccino didn't know whether she wanted to tickle Hilda to death for scaring her half to death or praise her for such picture perfect timing.

A bit of both perhaps?

Hilda did a dive roll onto her bedroom floor and came down to a kneeling position, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "And the gold medal goes to..." she quipped, indulging in what she was sure her moment of triumph. The teenage brunette stood back up when she heard a panting Minnie reach the window behind her.

"So... we got home before Auntie Aurea and took a nap after such a long day," Hilda casually recited while strolling over to the light-switch by the door. "She'll bring up the General Store incident and find that we're shocked to learn we just missed the perp." She flipped on the lights for her room and dusted off her hands. "An air-tight cover story written by yours truly." Hilda grinned while feeling like she'd just taken down a Legendary and reached for the doorknob.

"Do you take constructive criticism?" an older woman's voice chimed in dryly yet sternly from behind. "Couldn't help notice a few plot holes."

Hilda felt her face physically falling in tandem with Minnie's gasp in horror, her hand only an inch from the doorknob yet again. Her head rotated shakily like a rusty animatronic and found Aurea Juniper reading one of her Manga while laying on her bed. The simmering look on her face was the definition of passive aggressive. Hilda didn't know what drained the color from her face more: her godmother catching her or that the volume had very suggestive cover art.

Again, a bit of both perhaps.

"Hey!" Hilda cried out, finally finding her voice. "You're not allowed in my bedroom or my Manga collection!" She hoped she could get the moral high ground swiftly.

"And you weren't supposed to endanger yourself or Minnie," Aurea retorted with growing irritation in her voice, punctuated when she shut the book loudly. "I'd say that makes us even but you know that'd not how it works here." She tossed the book aside while standing up in her casual t-shirt and jeans.

"Oh, here we go..." Hilda bemoaned while marching up defiantly to the Professor. "What did you expect me to do?" She folded her arms in the face of adversity as usual. "Let Baldie shake down Sean and Chris for money when I could do something about it?" It was practically routine by this point.

"That's what the police is for," Aurea retorted, remaining firm in her stance with her hands to her hips.

"They would've been too late as usual," Hilda jabbed back, not ceding any ground. "And that's assuming they bother to come at all." To make a long story short: she had history.

"Did you even stop to consider the type disadvantage Minnie was at?" Aurea persistently protested, making the Minccino flinch when pointed at.

"That Throh was as much as a joke as that punk was," Hilda retorted while strolling over to her bed. "It took three Tickles to drop their Defense, two Tailslaps to disorient them and a single Swift to send them out the door." She picked up the Manga volume and tried to hide her blush upon realizing it had a certain beach chapter. "If it makes you feel better, I ran interference with a few pies in their faces and a shopping cart to the gut." Hilda shelved it while ignoring Aurea's increasing appalled expressions over her goddaughter's tactics.

"Do you even hear yourself?!" Professor Juniper asked in all honesty.

"Minnie, back a sister up," Hilda demanded the Chinchilla Pokemon, making her flinch once more. "You were keen to kick some tail, you know?"

Minnie felt each of her owners putting her on the spot when they looked at her intently, urging for her to stand by one of them. She did support Hilda doing right by her community however destructive the outcome was. However... Aurea wasn't wrong to fuss about her godchild's well-being.

[I... uh...] Minnie nervously began, not liking her options at the moment. [I... believe I forgot to tidy up a few places downstairs.] The Minccino swiftly but shakily shuffled towards the door. [Can't have that on such a big day.] She jumped up to turn the knob fast and landed on the carpet before slipping through the opening.

"Way to show solidarity, coward," Hilda scoffed, marching over to open the door. "You can forget any treats tomorrow, you hear?" She only half meant it in the moment when she shouted into the hallway.

"You truly are your mother's daughter, aren't you?" Aurea wearily sighed, losing the luster in her stern paternal unit performance. "She could never resist playing the comic book hero." She wandered towards an old photo frame hanging on Hilda's wall near the window. "For better... The Professor looked longingly at the picture of her ward being held by an older woman, the latter's face obscured by the sun's glare. "Or worse..."

Hilda shut the door while the guilt and solemness set in, knowing exactly what Professor Juniper was referring to. "Normally, I'd issue a claim over how this may be grounds for revoking your license," Aurea began, putting her goddaughter on edge. Guilt-trip or not, Hilda glared before turning around and preparing to protest her heart out.

"However," Aurea continued while pulling something out of her pocket, "it's with the faintest bit of optimism that I hope caring for your own team will teach you about responsibility and curb your recklessness." She tossed out a small, gray rectangle at her goddaughter from across the room. "Consider yourself lucky, kid."

Hilda hastily caught the rectangle and found it to be a hand-held Pokedex. "Is this really...?" she began with stunned surprised. Hilda turned it on at once and found a second screen rolling up over the bottom touch-screen. The top showed the photo ID she submitted as a Junior Trainer and the bottom contained her personal information.

Every second Hilda marveled over it, a smile broadened across her face while small tears actually welled up in her eyes. She even cupped her hand over her mouth in disbelief that this is really happened. Suffice to say, Aurea couldn't stay mad at Hilda if only for this one moment.

"I'd also be remiss if I didn't recognize how you cleaned up Sean and Chris's stor-" Professor Juniper began to mention, still trying to keep up her authority. However, she was interrupted when Hilda wrapped her arms around her waist like she had teleported across the room. Aurea felt surprised but soon felt touched when she looked down and found her goddaughter hugging her with tears of happiness.

"Thank you..." Hilda choked out to her guardian. She felt her Auntie Aurea warmly return the gesture with a hand on her head and another on her shoulders.

"Your Starters in the living room," Professor Juniper promised. "Be the best Trainer he could ask for."

Hilda pulled back to smile back at her guardian with a nod. "Like no one ever was..." she promised before turning back towards the door.

Hilda swung open her door and raced to her right down the hallway with reckless abandon, fueled by pure glee. She even sat and slid down the staircase railing like she was nine all over again, laughing all the way. Hilda swerved left into the living room where just beyond the couch was a blue gift box on the coffee table. Without Minnie to tell her otherwise, she jumped over the couch and plopped down on the cushions with a bit of a bounce.

"It really is..." Hilda whispered to herself in baited breath before grabbing the box and tearing open the lid. She took out a single Poke Ball the size of a ping-pong ball. "I really did it... Mom..." Hilda's eyes watered up a bit while she held the Poke Ball up to her chest and closed her eyes to savor the moment.

"I've waited a years to say this," she eagerly declared while clicking the white button on the Poke Ball to enlarge and unlock it. "Oshawott, I choose you!"

Hilda held up the Poke Ball in the air while making her very extra declaration. Recognizing the verbal command, the device opens up in half and released a burst of blue-white energy that cascaded down onto the coffee table. The formless mass soon took a fairly tiny shape with a round white head, an orange nose, two stubby paws, blue torso, dark-blue flippers and a dark-blue tail. Sticking to the Pokemon's bellybutton was a shell.

Oshawott groaned while rubbing his black, beady eyes and opening them up slowly. He hadn't gotten too use to being carried in a Poke Ball so he found himself a tad disoriented by the sudden light around him. The Sea Otter Pokemon quickly shook his head before looking up ahead of him and seeing an unfamiliar teenage girl with brown hair leaning in on him.

Oshawott backed away a bit in his initial surprise and fear before he saw the expression of delight on the girl's face. "You're even more adorable up close and personal," she squeed with unbridled exuberance. This was enough to ease the Sea Otter Pokemon's nerve and make him realize the obvious.

[Are... you my Trainer?] Oshawott asked earnestly, cocking his head in uncertainty.

Hilda nodded her head excitedly. "My name's Hilda," she greeted while reaching out with her right hand. "And you better believe that I'm over the moon to finally have you." She managed to hold herself back when taking Oshawott's right paw and shaking it. Tragically, she couldn't help but be a tad rough about it in her excitement.

[As... am... I,] Oshawott managed to get out shakily when Hilda's handshake rocked him about. He appreciated the gesture but was thankfully when she stopped and let himself get more recomposed.

[My name is Oshawott,] the Sea Otter Pokemon introduced himself while putting on more of a smile himself. [It is a honor and a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Trainer Hilda.] He bowed his head in humility and grace towards her, hoping to come off as far less nervous than he felt deep down.

Hilda giggled gleefully after being immediately endeared by Oshawott's overly formal gestures. "Just 'Hilda' is good enough," she promised while lightly lifting up her Starter's head to his confusion. "I might be your Trainer but I also want to be your friend, your fellow teammate." She reached out and gave a more gentle pet on the head, getting a smile out of the Sea Otter Pokemon this time around. "If that's good for you too."

Oshawott giggled back before his Trainer took her hand back. [Yes, I would like that,] he answered, still sounding fairly formal, [Hilda.] However, his smile fell when something dawned on him and looked up at her. [Just now...] Oshawott began to piece together in his growing bewilderment, [you were talking to me and understanding what I was saying.]

Now it was Hilda's turn to go red in the face upon being found out by her Starter. "Oh... right..." she began awkwardly, feeling the egg all over her face. "I, uh... forgot to mention one tiny... super important detail about m-."

[Were you raised in a barn?!]

The two of them nearly jumped while they sharply turned towards Hilda's right and found Minnie glaring daggers at them, having exited the kitchen.

[Remove your flippers off the table this instant!] the Minccino demanded verbosely, marching forward and forcefully. [I have only cleaned them four times in the last eight hours, thank you very much.]

Hilda went red in embarrassment over Minnie's usual shtick but Oshawott was quick to panic over how upset he made the Chinchilla Pokemon. [Oh, I-I-I'm so sorry,] he spluttered out in his flustered state of mind. [I swear that I hadn't known...] The Sea Otter Pokemon just ran forward in his anxiety only to slip on the table's edge and fall towards the carpet with a cry.

Hilda and Minnie wince when Oshawott land on the floor face first with his nose taking the brunt of it. [That hurt...] he groaned while managing to get up and rub his bruised nose.

"Nothing's broken, right?" Hilda hastily asked in a panic. "I'll get a Potion ready." She rushed off the bed and squat down to her Starter while getting out her Personal Computer.

[What have I done?] Minnie gasped in her shame. [I didn't mean to...]

Oshawott was less concerned about the Minccino's remorse and more about Hilda's reaction. For a split second, Snivy's words about being too weak and rejected came to mind. He told himself to act fast.

[Thank you for your consideration, Hilda,] Oshawott replied while standing up in a stronger posture. [But as a Pokemon, I can make do with a bump or two.] He even put on a more confident smile to emulate what he saw of Tepig and cast it towards Hilda. [You can save your Potion for when you truly need it.] The Sea Otter Pokemon also hoped that his formal way of speaking would sell it.

Hilda wasn't sure at first but could tell that Oshawott was trying to at least make a good first impression. "Good to know you can roll with the punches," she complimented, putting down her Personal Computer.

[I deeply apologize for my reaction,] Minnie profusely proclaimed while scurrying up to Oshawott. [It doesn't show often but I'm what some might label as a "neat freak."]

"Yeah, you're real lowkey about it..." Hilda snarked yet smirked under her breath, speaking from experience.

[No, no, I'm sorry,] Oshawott insisted while bowing once more. [I should've remembered my manners.]

[I'm sorry for mistreating my guest,] Minnie insisted back with a bow of her own.

[I'm sorry for upsetting my host,] Oshawott insisted once again, bowing with more of a lean.

The two of them got so caught up in bowing and apologizing that they soon conked their foreheads against each other. [Owie,] they both cried at once. Hilda found it nothing short of a miracle that she was able to only snort and hold back laughter over such priceless slapstick.

After rubbing their respective bumped heads, Oshawott and Minnie were soon the ones to giggle instead over their silliness. [Apology accepted,] they kindly told each other at the same time before shaking paws.

Hilda squeed at such an adorable exchange and couldn't resist scooping the pair of them up for a hug. "My besties are becoming besties," she giggled gleefully with Oshawott held by her left arm and Minnie in her right. "Now this is the best day ever."

Oshawott and Minnie would've share Hilda's sentiments if not for her rather tight grip. They do each muster a smile for her regardless.

[As you can tell,] Minnie strained to get out to Oshawott, [she's a real hugger.]

[I think I'll take that Potion right about now...] Oshawott half joked.

All the while, Aurea could hear the shenanigans in the kitchen while bringing out dinner plates and smiled warmly.

"Chip off the old block..." Professor Juniper repeated to herself. "Eh, Helga?"

YES

YES

YES

THE KING HAS JOINED ME

(6* EX outfit spoilers under the cut)

Summer in Isshu!

Inktober Pokemon Inspired