#para:catch

This was it. This was the moment Sofia had been waiting for for as long as she could remember. She’d spent years thinking about what it would be like to finally have a Pokemon, and while she’d come up with multiple scenarios and situations where someone would finally gift her with a starter of her own, never could she have imagined being in the situation she was in now. It wasn’t the age thing that bothered her, because while she would have loved for this to have happened sooner, the fact that it was happening at all was what mattered. No, the thing that Sofia had trouble with wrapping her head around was the fact that she was about to enroll in the Police Academy.

And of course she was running late. Her mom had tried to slip her some money so she could stay in a motel in Viridian City the night before, but Sofia had refused and promised she’d be up in time. For once she wished she could have just listened to her mom. Although it was her mom’s fault that she was in this mess to begin with, considering she’d been the one who’d convinced Sofia to enroll, despite her never showing interest in the Police force. But her mom had sacrificed so much to take care of her that Sofia just couldn’t say no. When her mom had wanted her to go to Celadon University, Sofia had tried her best to get in, but her grades just weren’t good enough. A part of her had hoped that would be the end of it and that her mom would just accept that she wanted to be a trainer. But then her she’d started extolling the virtues of the life of a Police Officer, and Sofia knew what she had to do next.

Almost skidding past the entrance to the Academy, Sofia dug her heels into the ground and reached out for the door, letting herself in and waving at the receptionist as she passed her. While training didn’t start for another day, the building was relatively empty considering the other cadets were meant to be there to choose their companion Pokemon too, which of course was a bad sign because it meant that she was running even later than she thought.

Following the various signs through the building, Sofia eventually found herself out in the training field behind the Academy. There in the center of the field was a group of cadets, all congregated around a pen filled with Growlithe puppies. Most of them seemed to have already found a partner and that made her feel anxious and just a little sick to her stomach, but Sofia continued on until she was standing with her new peers. Most of them barely paid her any mind, and some even openly rolled their eyes as they took in her slightly disheveled appearance, but Sofia simply returned the gesture and squeezed past them to get closer to the pen.

It was just as she thought; just about every Growlithe was spoken for. All but one that sat in the corner, watching on as its siblings found new homes. Ignoring the others around her, Sofia climbed straight into the pen - a move that would later result in her first caution - and knelt in front of the last Growlithe. As soon as he saw her, he jumped up and ran around her, sniffing her as best as he could before resting his front paws on her knees. He was a little thing - much smaller than his siblings and clearly the runt of the litter - but he was full of energy and that was something she could relate to. 

For most of elementary and middle school she’d been the smallest in her class, but everyone knew better than to mess with her. She was the scrapper - the one who knew how to make boys twice her size cry without much effort. This Growlithe - her Growlithe - would be the same, she told herself. And while it was possible that she was telling herself all of this in an attempt to make herself feel better about being so late, Sofia couldn’t help but latch onto the idea that somehow she’d found a diamond in the rough. Either way it didn’t matter because she was attached and by the way he was licking her face, she figured that he was attached too.

With Scout in her arms, Quinn turned to thank the driver and carefully got off the bus that had brought her all the way out to the foot of the Ice Path that connected Mahogany Town to Blackthorn City. She’d seen photos of it before, but nothing had prepared her for the sheer scale of the path, or for the cold. She hadn’t even gotten anywhere near the path yet and she was already freezing cold.

“I guess that’s what I have you for.” Quinn mumbled to the Vulpix in her arms, and shifted her grip to bring Scout in even closer to her body. Originally she was going to let Scout walk up with her, and just be there in case any of the ice Pokemon got too close to her, like the Nosepass had the day before, but clearly she had to rethink that plan. 

With one arm still tightly wrapped around Scout, Quinn used her free hand to dig around her waist, until she had Caspian’s pokeball in her grip. Releasing him, she smiled and watched as he circled them a couple of times, stretching and enjoying the freedom of being outside, before he descended to her level and rubbed his cheek against hers. 

“Come on Cas, we’ve got a path to climb.” Quinn cocked her head towards the base of the path, and rolled her eyes when Caspian soared past her and took the lead with ease. Making sure she had everything on her, she slowly started to follow, finding the walk a little harder than she’d expected. Snow was not something she’d seen that often. Only since moving to Vermilion had she really gotten a chance to experience it, and still it had nothing on this. 

The higher she climbed, the colder it got and while Quinn had spotted some Pokemon, nothing had really caught her eye. It was disappointing to say the least, but she’d come out her for a reason and wasn’t about to give up anytime soon. Not when she really needed an ice type for her team. In her heart she’d hoped for something like a Lapras or a Dewgong, but the likelihood of finding either on a mountain was almost unheard of, so Quinn was going to have to settle until luck brought one of those into her life. 

The sound of shuffling reached her ears and Quinn turned her head back to the path ahead of her. While the other Pokemon had kept their distance, and stayed away from the path itself, there in front of her was a Cubchoo that didn’t even seem to notice she was there, as it walked around aimlessly. 

Putting Scout down on the ground next to her, Quinn pulled her Pokedex out of her pocket and pointed it at the ice type to record its data. The sound of the pokedex whirring to life and speaking, caught the attention of the Cubchoo, who looked at it quizzically before waddling up to Scout, who didn’t seem to know what to do about their new friend.

Quinn’s look of amusement  at the situation, soon turned to one of worry when she saw the watery mucus that hung from the Cubchoo’s nose. Before coming up to the path, she’d done her reading and she knew what water mucus meant for a Cubchoo. He was sick and weakened as a result of whatever had happened to him. She’d already been leaning towards catching him, but that was all she needed to know to actually go through with it. 

Not wanting to startle him, Quinn slowly reached for an empty pokeball, opened it and gently nudged the Cubchoo with the side of it, watching as he disappeared inside in a red blur. He didn’t put up any kind of a fight, which wasn’t surprising, given his condition, and only it only served to strengthen Quinn’s resolve. She reasoned that if he really didn’t like life away from home, she still had time to come back and release him and with that in mind, Quinn straightened up, clipped his pokeball onto her belt and motioned for Caspian and Scout to follow her down the path. Seeing Scout struggling in the snow, Quinn chuckled and picked up the fire Pokemon.

Rachel was a mess. It was obvious to anyone that even took a single glance at her. As she walked down some dark street near Scandals, she thought back to the evening's activities. Miles had offered her a good time, but really, she was just drinking to forget. Rachel wasn't much of a drinker, so she couldn't really handle her alcohol well. She was the picture-perfect definition of a lightweight, and she definitely went past her limit tonight. She saw her phone light up. It was another text from Noah. Taking a seat on the curb, she typed back a response as well as she could. At this point all her texts were basically incoherent. She didn't know where she was and it was pitch black out. Hopefully someone would find her and take pity upon her, otherwise she'd probably be stuck out here all night, especially since her battery was going to die soon.

Puck was furious. It wasn't like Rachel to go out and drink with Miles of all people? The girl got drunk off the smell of wine coolers and here he was driving to go pick her up from Scandals. Knowing Miles he probably found some guy desperate enough to fuck him and left Rachel all by herself roaming the streets. After driving around for thirty minutes he finally found her sitting on the curb, looking intoxicated. Parking the car on the side of the small street he got out and walked towards the small brunette. "You're so stupid, I don't even wanna hear what you have to say." Leaning down he placed her over her shoulder and threw her in the passengers seat. "What were you thinking Rach? I didn't tell your dads but you can't go home like this. You're staying at mines." Getting back in the car he turned to face her and noticed she was out of it. "Here drink some water."

Rachel was so gone that she didn't even notice the truck pull up. Her eyes widened as she looked up and saw Puck standing before her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, still in shock, barely even registering the fact that he threw her over his shoulder and practically tossed her into the truck. She must've been imagining this. There was no way Noah was really here to save her. Why would he? He didn't love her, at least, not like she loved him. Feeling dizzy, she held her head in her hands. "Fine," she grumbled, as he passed her the water. She took a long swig of it before handing him back the bottle. To be honest, she didn't know what to say. He didn't want to hear anything from her, so staying silent was probably the best option.

Puck drove them back to his place in complete silence. He knew why she went out drinking but Rachel was better than this, their break up shouldn't have led her to drink, especially with the guy who basically called their relationship a Chris Brown and Rihanna. Parking his truck in the garage, he slammed the driver side door shut before opening her door and tossing her over his shoulder for the second time tonight. "I told your dads I was taking you out and that Hannah had a project she wanted help with. I also took Zilla, she's with Hannah. You're being an unfit parent!" He joked trying to make light of the situation. Finally reaching his room, he closed the door and placed her on the bed. "How many drinks did you have tonight?"

Rachel shrugged in response. She really didn't know how much she drank. Miles had brought over some drinks to her place, so she was a little tipsy even before they got to Scandals. "I lost track," she admitted, her eyes trained to the floor. She couldn't look up into his eyes. She knew she'd absolutely break down and start sobbing and she couldn't do that. Not again. "You can't take Babs away," she practically whispered, biting down on her bottom lip to keep her tears from welling up. She thought back to this afternoon. Rachel had spent hours in bed with the kitten. She couldn't will herself to move from that one spot. She just felt so broken.

Puck wanted to laugh at the sight before him. The girl was drunk and if he didn't stop talking about the kitten she would break down and be a complete mess. His mind traveled back to Hanukkah and how happy they were, the New York trip was amazing, she even bought him an m&m pillow that she was currently occupying. Rachel looked so broken and it was all his fault. It wasn't about the kiss, it was the intention behind it and the fact that he thought about cheating was horrible. Everyone knew Rachel could do better than him and they were right but when it was just them two, in their own world everything felt right. "I won't. Hannah just wanted to see her. You know I wouldn't do that to you." Walking over to her, he told her to lift her hands over her head. She smelled like booze and needed a change of clothes. "I'm taking off your shirt and don't try any frisky business, got it?" He smiled, pulling off the shirt and going to his dresser to retrieve one of his crew necks.

Rachel felt a bit better once he said that the kitten would be returning home with her. "Just don't let Hannah pull her tail," she mumbled, her eyes fighting to stay open, "She always tries to do that and then Babs attacks her and it's such a mess. Tell her I'll give her cookies if she plays nice with her or something." Rachel took in a sharp breath when he mentioned taking off her shirt. She didn't know how to react. Right now, her body and her heart were telling her just how much she wanted the man before her, but her head was telling her it would be a dire mistake to act upon her impulses. He was her first love and in an instant it all came crashing down. Maybe they'd be able to be together again someday, but for now, she couldn't trust him. She couldn't let him in again fully. "Okay, No," she said softly, a yawn escaping her lips along with the affectionate nickname, "but you're the one who'll try the funny business, not me."

Puck handed her one of his t shirts before taking his off and slipping on some basketball shorts. "And even if I did it's not like you would deny my advances." He stated, making his way to the bathroom to freshen up. Things weren't supposed to be like this, they were finally at a place where their relationship worked and now they were back to square one. Almost like they were strangers. She was hanging out with Miles and flirting with Brody and he was out sharing waffles with Frankie. Brody was another subject, that was his girl he was flirting with but at the same time she wasn't. Rachel wouldn't date him, would she? Would she do it out of spite? Rachel wasn't like that, everyone that knew her knew she had one of the kindest hearts. Placing his toothbrush back on the counter, he made his way to the bed and slipped in beside her. "I'm impressed, you went hardcore tonight. I'm shocked you're still functioning." His hand rested on her waist and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her. It's not like she would even remember and even if she did she could always blame it on the alcohol. Leaning in he pressed his lips against hers, waiting for a second to see if she would pull back or continue the kiss.

Rachel discarded the top and shirt she was wearing, as well as her bra, then slipped Noah's t-shirt on over her head. She always loved wearing his clothes. Most nights she slept in t-shirts of his that he had left at her house over time. It was second best to actually getting to sleep next to him. Something about having his arms wrapped round her as she drifted off to sleep was calming. She always felt like that was exactly where she belonged, but now she was more confused than ever. She just wanted to rewind to about a week ago. Things between them were so perfect then. She had never felt so loved by anyone in her entire life, minus her fathers. Now, all she felt was broken. Her breath hitched as he placed his hand on her waist. The contact made her feel like her whole body was aflame. It was crazy how the most innocent of touches affected her when he was the one touching her. "Noah," she whispered, finally letting her gaze meet his, before his lips met hers in a searing kiss. She willed herself to pull away, but she couldn't. He was a drug to her and she needed more. Maybe this would be the last time she would ever kiss him and she needed this. Letting her eyes flutter shut, she deepened the kiss, bringing a hand to rest at the back of his neck, fingers threading through the bottom of his 'hawk.