#mega garchomp

Warnings: AU, jealousy, being sacked.

Notes: Inspired by the Pokémon Horizons episode 'Mega Evolution-Bonds,' whilst the restaurant that Reader works in was partially based on the Pristine restaurant in Paris.

As you place plates of homemade bread with whipped, smoked butter in front of the latest customers at Restaurant Immaculé in Lumiose City you keep half an eye out on the still light street outside. Your best friend, Augustine Sycamore, who is in his early twenties like you are, can usually be relied upon to swing by. He works for the premium version of the Gogoat Shuttle, which means that rather than people riding the Gogoat by themselves Augustine takes that role and pulls the passengers, who sit in a small carriage, along behind him. Multiple passengers can be transported that way and in a more comforting fashion than the non-premium service.

Although neither of you are doing what you desire both of your jobs offer you a level of income that will hopefully be enough to support you both as you reach for your goals: Augustine is striving to become a professor so that he can expand his research in Mega Evolution and you want to go on a journey to become the best Pokémon trainer that you can be.

The temporary job suits Augustine whose pride and knowledge of Lumiose City can be on display as he chats almost non-stop to his passengers, whilst you, who have a passion for food, enjoy being close to the kitchen, even if you are just serving in your current role, so there are worse things the pair of you could be doing.

You turn back towards the kitchen just as a crash comes from inside it. Customers swivel their heads and you try to murmur something reassuring to them, but when there are more yells and shouts, not to mention clanging about, you quickly hurry there, pushing your way easily through the door.

A Garchomp stands amidst the normally pristine kitchen, which is usually calm and full of passion as foods with fresh ingredients that are local to Lumiose City are rustled up-mushroom tart, trout with pickled beetroot, cauliflower with chilli and yoghurt, enough to make your mouth salivate-but now saucepans are either boiling over from neglect or have been knocked over from the thrashing and possibly frightened Pokémon, causing puddles of scalding water to be on the floor. Your colleagues meanwhile have taken refuge along the walls and are practically cowering. Due to the reputation you have obtained as a Pokémon geek and wannabe trainer they look to you to deal with the problem as you enter the chaos.

"Everyone should evacuate," you inform them, "The restaurant also. Do any of you"- but before you can ask if any one is willing to assist you with their own Pokémon there is a bit of a stampede for the door, everyone eager to escape. The panic filters through to the main restaurant and customers abandon their meals and make for the exit. You sigh. Garchomp makes a distressed sound. You look at one another. She looks around, unable to work out how to get out and seemingly spooked by the racket that she has set off. "I do not know how you got in here Garchomp," you tell her seriously. Her amber eyes meet yours. "But I am asking you to please just"-

There is a sudden noise behind you and as someone scrambles to be beside you, gasping about how they had just dropped off a passenger and heard about what was happening, Garchomp freaks out again, the white claws at the end of each of her long arms catching upon some kitchen utensils and sending them crashing to the floor. You wince as she stomps around in a frightened fashion, before you say determinedly to the newcomer, "Is this the Garchomp Augustine?" You are glad to have a reliable friend by you in that moment, but regret the way he had spooked Garchomp just when you think you might have been getting somewhere.

"Oui," he says, confirming that this is indeed the creature that he has seen around Lumiose, the one that he has told you about as he'd given you a lift into work-right after he'd done his typical teasing, joking that you were royalty as you'd sat in the carriage behind him-the one that had no doubt eaten the leftover scraps you'd smuggled out from the restaurant's kitchen and passed along to Augustine to give to her. "But how did she come to be here?" he asks.

"I have no idea," you shake your head sadly, your hand close to your belt just in case you have to act.

"Come. Come Garchomp, it is all right." Augustine sees where your hand has gone, before he turns his head back towards Garchomp and makes one last-ditch attempt. "You can calm down now. There is no one here who wants to hurt you. It is just I and my friend"-

For a moment you think that Garchomp might be about to listen-she does stop her pointless movement and begin to come towards you, but then she charges with a roar and wild abandonment at Augustine. You just about manage to drag him out of the way, before he pushes you away roughly-you cry out his name as your back hits the wall. He doesn't seem to hear you as he charges after where Garchomp has made her way into the now darker main restaurant. You follow after the pair quickly. Augustine calls after Garchomp hopelessly, but she ignores him and only turns to face the two of you again when she realizes that she cannot go any further. Her face is etched with frustration and she swishes her tail, making a sad, crooning noise as her eyes flick between you.

"Garchomp...Garchomp..." Augustine pants. You look at him. He seems to be begging Garchomp with his mind not to cause any more damage, to calm down and for all this to be over, but your gut instinct tells you that there is no other choice-you seize one of the Poké Ball's at your belt and let it fly, releasing your Nidoqueen who has been with you for a while now and who is your most trusted partner-she will protect you, but she will also quickly realize how delicate the situation is. Augustine lets out a groan, made unhappy by your action.

"I'm sorry Augustine but I can't see any other way. She needs to be subdued or she will only become more stressed," you tell him, before you watch how Garchomp is eyeing up her new opponent. Then, possibly because she is still scared she uses Sand Attack. Augustine and you shield your eyes, before you cry, "Ice Beam!" Despite Garchomp's previous attempt to ensure otherwise the attack hits its target head-on and Garchomp lets out a cry of fury. She uses Slash against Nidoqueen who is not quick enough to dodge, being a bulky Pokémon herself. "Toxic!" you yell, before Garchomp has a chance to move away again, whilst beside you Augustine seems to be worrying that things are escalating rather than growing calmer and that you are doing more damage to Garchomp than good. Garchomp lets out another screech and attempts to use Bite on Nidoqueen. She pulls her head back just in time so Garchomp misses her. The Pokémon study one another again. Then Garchomp looks to you.

'I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you,' you try and tell her through your mind, 'I just want to help you get out of here, but for me to do that you need to calm down.'

"The poison is affecting her badly," Augustine murmurs anxiously, breaking your concentration. "Maybe making it less likely that she will submit to our wishes."

You try and re-focus, looking at Garchomp. 'Please Garchomp,' you urge her with her mind, 'Let's stop the battle now. We can treat you and then you can leave.'

Garchomp lets out an almighty roar that causes the framed artwork in the restaurant to fall off the walls and glasses behind the bar to shatter. Then she uses Bulldoze and seems much more committed to the battle, causing you to push Augustine behind you protectively and think more on your feet, bouncing on the soles of your shoes. You have Nidoqueen use Ice Beam again, but thanks to another better-timed Sand Attack from Garchomp the attack goes awry, freezing and then melting against part of the wall instead. There is a back and forth between you that you find to be intoxicating-it has been a long time since you've had a battle this enjoyable and you almost miss the glow of multi-coloured light at first and what it means, but then you realize-Garchomp must have a Mega Stone on her and it is reacting with the Key Stone that is on your bracelet. Garchomp is Mega Evolving! Somehow, despite not being your Pokémon or having established a bond with you in the traditional sense her head and shoulders are becoming more angular, spikes are forming each side of her abdomen and growing from her knees, her claws and fins are melting together to form sharp, red blades...

You look at her in astonishment and then, in that moment, as her wicked amber eyes catch against yours, you understand that the exhilaration from the battle has made her no longer afraid and that she enjoys battling and wishes to impress you. Indeed she does-you want her badly on your team in that moment and she knows it.

You grin, before you let out a ragged breath as she uses Slash: Nidoqueen takes more damage, particularly because of Garchomp being Mega Evolved.

"Earthquake!" you cry in a last-ditch attempt to end the battle so that you might be able to catch Garchomp, quite forgetting in your desire for her, where you are and the trouble that, that move might cause.

"No!" Augustine cries, grabbing you around the middle and pulling you backwards to the floor as the ground begins to shake, but thankfully Nidoqueen is sensible enough to keep things to a minor tremor that unsettles Garchomp more than hurts her and does not cause any structural damage either to the building that you are in or the ones that surround you in Lumiose City. Side-by-side on the floor with Augustine you can't help but laugh, the thrill of the battle sending spasms of energy throughout your body. Augustine, however, does not seem to see the funny side. He gets up and says in disgust: "You should catch her. She is waiting for you."

Still too energized to realize that whilst you might have formed a new bond with Garchomp you have managed to fracture your relationship with Augustine, you sit up. Garchomp is back in her normal form and is looking at you with a curious kind of respect about her face, though she does seem to be growing steadily weaker from the poison that is still coursing through her body. Nidoqueen is looking at her with some concern.

"We'll have to patch you up," you murmur empathetically, before a sudden breeze makes you turn your head. Augustine has fled and the door that leads through to the kitchen is swinging after him. Not understanding his haste you watch as he re-appears around the front of the restaurant, looking serious, how he swings a leg easily over Gogoat's back and takes off without another glance at you. You wonder if he is worried about getting into trouble with work-the time he had taken to help you meant that he wasn't picking up passengers after all-but you dismiss it a moment later as Garchomp lets out a sad croon.

Without any further ado you catch her and take her to the Pokémon Centre, explaining the situation to Nurse Joy. Whilst Garchomp is getting treated you send a message to the restaurant's owner, saying that they might like to get in touch with the insurance people and start the clean-up operation. You also send one to Augustine, thanking him for his help and saying that you hope it didn't lead him to getting into any trouble. You don't hear back from him and nor does he drop anyone else off when you are working in the now tidy restaurant again a few days later-the back door won't be left open by anyone in the future as this it appears is how Garchomp had gotten in.

Concerned by what might have happened and when you still don't hear from Augustine you go around to his apartment one night.

Reluctantly he lets you in and slouches towards the direction of the kitchenette where he is making a strong cup of coffee for himself. The tinkling sound of jazz plays in the background.

"It is so good to see you again," you tell him, your Kalosian accent effusive and a thrill running through you like it had done in the battle just from seeing his face and knowing that you will finally be able to spend some time with him.

"How is Garchomp?" he asks you in a surly fashion, finishing off his coffee and not asking you if you want anything at all, but you can tell that he really wants the answer from the way that his grey eyes never leave yours.

"Well, thank you. Much more settled. I am looking forward to our many battles together." You try to be upbeat, but something is sinking inside you the longer you stay with your friend and when his face sours you ask, "Is everything all right? I hope you did not get into any trouble just because you helped me?"

"I lost my job." His eyes duck irritably towards his chipped white cup, which is on the counter between you.

"What?!" you exclaim, your hands going up to cover your mouth in horror. "Just like that? Couldn't they have given you a warning?" Augustine lifts his eyebrow impatiently at you and you uncover your mouth and repeat what you had just said.

"I was on my warning," he tells you, before he sips hastily at his coffee, wincing as he burns his mouth. Automatically, as some of the coffee escapes his lips, you rip off a piece of kitchen towel and hand it to him so that he can dab at his mouth. He does so gingerly and when he is finished you look at him for further explanation. He lets out a sigh. "They didn't like it when I stopped to check on Garchomp and feed her. They said it made people late for their appointments. They had complaints so I got put on warning."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He shrugs. "Have you managed to find anything else?"

Augustine shakes his head, his eyes not looking at you again. "I am fed up of messing around," he says impatiently. "I just want to get on with my research. Anything else is a waste of time." His eyes flick to you.

"I am sorry Augustine," you tell him sincerely, before you add in a hopeful tone, "I am sure that Garchomp will not mind in assisting you with your research. She is quite a gentle Pokémon you know? She"- but you break off from telling him what a great assistant Garchomp has been to you in the kitchen at home when you see Augustine's frown deepening. "What is wrong?" you ask.

He mumbles, but you can't hear him. When you do not reply he repeats, "I was hoping that she might be my Pokémon." You feel as if you have been hit by a Whirlwind attack and have the same moment of understanding that you had finally managed to cultivate in your battle with Garchomp. Of course Augustine would have wanted such a thing! He had seen Garchomp around Lumiose City on a near daily basis, had been forming a relationship with her through spending time with her and feeding her and then you had just blundered in and caught her because you'd wanted to in that precise moment and it had made sense to you. Only it wouldn't have done if you had stopped for a moment and considered Augustine.

"I'm sorry. You can spend time with her. Here, I'm sure she would not"- but you falter then for as you'd pulled Garchomp's Poké Ball from your belt and made to hand it to him his hand had gone out to stop you in turn and his fingers have come to rest on top of yours upon the object. Your eyes catch against each other's and then you quickly pull away from one another, you re-affixing the Poké Ball with a slightly trembling hand to your belt and Augustine clearing his throat gruffly, blushing a little bit underneath his stubble.

"She is yours. You caught her fair and square. No doubt you are the better battler in the end and it is important that you spend the most time with her to continue to grow that trust between you"- his eyes widen when Garchomp releases herself and stares at him, crooning a little in his direction as if to try and persuade him of something.

You fight back a grin. "I think she has something to say about that. She's sassy too, did you know?"

"Oui," Augustine's eyes soften as he looks at her, "I found that out. I saw it in the way she did not like me trying to cover her in the rain. She bit me once." Garchomp makes a sound as if to apologise. Augustine shakes his head. "You were scared, just like you were at the restaurant. You probably went to the restaurant because you were hungry, weren't you?" His fingers go to pat at her head tentatively. "I had not been able to stop that day because of my warning. The smells coming from the restaurant were too tempting for you. I should have stopped. I wanted to stop. I could have helped avoid all this. No wonder you trusted them more than me"-he jerks his head at you-"No wonder you Mega Evolved for them. They had the right instincts-reminding you of what you love and who you are. Why wait for me when all of that was right in front of you?" Garchomp croons sadly, nudging at his hand with her head persistently. You realize that Augustine had been jealous now and you can understand why-he wants to devote so much of his time to Mega Evolution research and then you'd come along, stolen the one Pokémon you can see now that he'd wanted as his partner and even managed to gain her trust enough that she'd Mega Evolved for you in spite of the fact that you'd been on opposing sides.

"I've really screwed this up," you mutter and both of them look at you, Garchomp's eyes wide and astonished as if she hadn't thought you'd be the vulnerable one. You pull Garchomp's Poké Ball off your belt and look at it, thoughts radiating from your eyes as you do such a thing. Love. Then, making your mind up, you go across there and force it gently into Augustine's hand. "I may have won her trust for one battle, but I think it is you who will be the best for her in the end Augustine. Take good care of her, won't you?" You reach up, peck him on the cheek and then kiss your own hand, before you place it on Garchomp's snout. You look deeply into her eyes, telling her to look after Augustine in your mind, but her shoulders begin to swing this way and that in increasing distress as she realizes what you are about to do. You turn. Augustine splutters something incoherent behind you, before he reaches to grasp at your wrist. Your heart surges inside your chest.