#pokemonimagines

After landing in Wyndon and getting a rather exciting ride in a flying taxi (“How innovative! This Corviknight is gorgeous, why there was nothing like this in Kalos.”), you’d arrived in Turffield.

The roads were and pathways were all dirt, adding to the countryside feel, and when you took in a deep breath the fresh air was more than enough to get you settled into what would be your new home.

You take a brief moment to check your phone to find the address of the cottage, mentally noting that it’s in the west side of the town.

You grab your rolling luggage and sling your book bag over your shoulder, smiling when you feel the excited jiggle of the pokeball on your belt. “Don’t worry Rosemary, I’ll let you out as soon as I find the new house, then we can explore the town together,” you let her know with a smile, patting the pokeball gently.

Then you set off, walking down the road with a happy skip in your step. The atmosphere of the little town just radiates peace, with the distant sound of a flock of Wooloo playing in the fields, and just ahead you could see two Yampers playing tag with one another. It felt almost too perfect-

“Wooloo, no- watch out!”

The voice calling out makes you jump a bit, and you turn to find the source. But before you’re able to fully turn, a sudden voice hits your back and knocks you right over, and all you can see is white.

You momentarily struggle and try to sit up, and blink curiously when you end up face to face with a… Wooloo.

“Hey there, little fella,” you say with a laugh, getting a loud ‘baah’ in return.

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry, this little one has an awful lot of energy.”

It’s the same voice from earlier. You manage to get the Wooloo off of you and look up, your eyes meeting those of a stout looking man. 

“Oh it’s no problem, really, I’m not hurt or anything-” you try and assure him, but you’re cut off once more by the jiggling of Rosemary’s pokeball and a bright light.

Your Florges is out of her ball, flittering about nervously, clearly worried about you.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m fine,” you murmur gently, reaching out a hand to try and calm her. She lets out a little chitter, holding onto your hand looking up at the stranger warily. 

When you look back up at him, though, you can see that he’s fascinated by Rosemary.

“What species of pokemon is this? She’s gorgeous,” he says in awe, bending down a bit to get a better look at her.

It’s rather endearing that this stranger has such a genuine interest in your pokemon, it reminds you of your own fascination with plant and pokemon life. The curiosity in his green eyes was a bit childlike, and you immediately found him rather cute.

And it seemed that Rosemary had also taken a liking to him after hearing his compliments, since she moved to fluff her flowery mane and bat her eyes at him. Oh yea, she was loving the attention.

“Oh, this is Rosemary, she’s a Florges- they’re native to the Kalos region,” you explain, happy to discuss one of your favorite pokemon for as long as he wanted.

“Fascinating, are you from Kalos?” he asks, turning his attention back to you.

You shake your head, “Gosh, no. I wish, but no. I’m from Unova, actually, but I was in Kalos for six months studying it’s grass types, specifically Florges and it’s pre-evolutions.”

His eyes seem to light up at this.

“Grass types? What a coincidence, I’m the gym leader at Turffield stadium, and grass-types are actually my speciality. My name’s Milo, by the way” he says with a cheery smile.

A gym leader? Well now that you were getting a better look at him it made sense, he sported the Galar gym challenge’s uniform in a variety of greens with a grass type logo splayed over his chest.

“Oh that’s perfect! You were actually just the person I was looking for, I assumed that if you specialize in grass types you could probably tell me all about the ones native to Galar for my research,” you exclaim, finally getting up and off of the ground and dusting the dirt off of you, “I’m cataloging the unique grass types in every region, so you’d be a great help- if you want to help me, of course, I can’t force you to do anything.”

The look of excitement on his face is a bit infectious, and the smile he gives highlights the cute freckles on his nose on cheeks. “I’d absolutely love to help, I can give you your first introduction to one of our grass types right now,” he replies, grabbing one of the pokeballs from his waist and tossing it up.

There’s a flash of light and small of cry of joy as a pokemon you’d never seen before floats before you. It’s body and face are small and cute, but on the back of its head is a big, cottony ball of fluff with seeds scattered about, similar to a dandelion in bloom. Immediately you’re taken, finding this new pokemon adorable.

“Oh my, who is this sweet little thing?” you ask curiously as the little grass type floats up to look at you.

“This is an Eldegoss,” Milo quickly replies, clearly pleased by your interest, “They evolve from the Flowering pokemon Gossifleur. They’re a pure grass type, incredibly sweet, and just a joy to have on the team.”

You smile as you lift a hand and pet the Eldegoss gently, your hand practically sinking into it’s cotton fluff. “She’s lovely. I’d hate to be a bother, but I have two more requests. Can you show me more grass types, and can you take me to this address?” you ask with a shy smile, showing him your phone with the cottage’s location.

The sweet smile he gives you makes you melt a bit, and soon enough the two of you are walking side by side into Turffield, chatting back and forth and slowly getting to know one another better.

---

It’d been about a month now.

You and Milo had become fast friends, hitting things off quickly and bonding over your love of grass type pokemon.

He was indeed a great help to your botany work, more than happy to show and tell you all about the unique grass types of the Galar region, and even some from other regions that you hadn’t seen while in Kalos.

There was something else that had been blooming while you worked alongside Milo, and it wasn’t all the flowers that the gym leader tended to.

You found yourself nursing some feelings for the sweet gym leader, feeling which seemed to surpass your friendship. He was just so kind to you, he always seemed happy to talk and see you. He’d pay you visits at the little college and bring food, usually Galar specialties you’d never had before, and then he’d watch you work on your grass type catalog while asking all sorts of questions, just as passionate about the project s you were.

And it wasn’t even just his personality that endeared him to you, his looks were just as cute. You weren’t sure how he was so physically fit and built yet had a soft and adorable face at the same time, but the contrast seemed to work for him. His laugh was dorky and when you said goodbye he’d pull you into a strong hug which you never wanted to leave, and his eyes… oh, you thought you could stare into those green eyes for hours on end.

Currently you were sat in the backyard of the cottage; a sort of garden area with a picnic table, a small pond, and a couple of blooming flower beds. The sun was setting as you flipped through some notes, jotting down a few notes about Eldegoss’ moveset. There was a little chatter and a splash of water, and you look up to see the Grookey you were currently watching over dancing around in the pond. At the same time you had two Gossifleurs nestled into the flower beds, and Rosemary was out and about as well, eating a pecha berry in the corner of the garden.

“Care for some company?” a familiar voice asks.

A smile immediately makes its way to your lips and you glance over to see Milo standing behind the fence gate. “Sure, you know you’re always welcome,” you reply happily, setting down your pencil as he unlocks the gate.

He walks over and sits beside you at the picnic table, and you’re quick to notice that he seems a bit more reserved than normal, casting his gaze to the ground rather than looking at you directly like normal.

“What’s with the surprise visit, big guy?” you ask him, bringing up the tongue-and-cheek nickname you’d given him weeks ago.

“Well,” he begins, sitting up straight, “I’ve shown and taught you a lot about our Galar pokemon, but there’s one line of pokemon I haven’t introduced you to yet.”

This piques your interest. “Oh? What is it?” you ask eagerly, always excited to learn.

Milo seems to smile at your enthusiasm and pulls out a pokeball- a love ball, specifically. You watch curious as he clicks the button and there’s a flash of light, and next thing you know there’s an… apple? In your lap?

An apple pokemon.

Gently lift a hand and tap the top of the apple, and the two ‘leaves’ atop it open open and blink up at you, revealing that they’re the eyes of the little creature.

You giggle and hold the little pokemon in your hands before looking back up at Milo, “what species is this?”

You’re confused when you see the faint blush dusting his cheeks. “This is an Applin, there’s a sort of… tradition involving Applins in Galar,” he answers, a shy smile on his face.

“And are you going to tell me the tradition?” you ask with a cheeky grin, lifting the Applin and letting him hop around atop the picnic table.

He nods his head and clears his throat, looking out into the distance at the setting sun. “It is said… that... when you gift an Applin to the one you like most, that you will stay together no matter the distance,” he explains, the blush on his cheeks growing even darker as he speaks.

You’re almost starstruck as you gaze up at him, mouth agape. You would’ve never imagined he felt the same way for you, perhaps you were just oblivious but you assumed your feelings would just be unrequited for your entire stay.

He glances over at you and seems to misinterpret your expression since he starts nervously backtracking, “I-I understand that it probably want the best way to confess- it’s probably not what you’re used to and… Arceus, this was a bad idea, I just thought it might be nice since I don’t know how much longer you’d be in Galar for and it could just be a little token of affection, and-” he rambled, and though he was flustered you found it pretty adorable.

You decide to cut him off and grasp his hand gingerly, before leaning up and kissing him sweetly.

The kiss was brief but did it’s job by getting the message across: you liked him too.

When you pull back you see that his face is the reddest you’ve ever seen it, and he stammers trying to find the words.

“Hmm, you’re cute,” you murmur gently, and this sends him over the edge as he pulls his straw hat down to hide his flustered expression.

You giggle at this and try to lift the hat, but he keeps it firmly held down, “oh c’mon, Milo! You’re even cuter when you’re blushing like this,” you tease, finally managing to pull it up.

Now that his face is unobscured you’re able to look up at him, and his eyes soften as he gazes down at you. You feel one of his strong arms wrap around you and gently pull you closer. “So… what do you say?” he asks, sounding hopeful.

The man looks like he could practically jump up and out of his seat with excitement and he grins wildly, “Yes!! I won’t be able to thank you enough for this, (nickname)! I’ve already checked the tickets, there’s a flight at the airport just outside of Celadon city in a few hours, think you’ll be able to make it in time?”

“Oh it’s no issue, I can call a cab within the hour. I’ll be in Galar before you know it, you just go and get ready for that battle of yours, champ,” you assure him, excited for what’s to come.

The two of you exchange goodbyes and as soon as you end the call you jump up, bounding around your house and making all the necessary preparations. You pack a luggage bag of makeshift clothing, toiletries, and anything else you might need for at least two weeks of being abroad. You call Blue, Oak’s grandson, and let him know that you’ll be needing him to fill in for you for a little while- he has no issue with this, and accepts the job in his regular cocky fashion.

Before you know it you’re up in the air, your Dragonair settled into her pokeball on your hip, and you stare out the window and watch clouds and ocean go by as you imagine all that awaits you in Galar.

---

After a not very brief five hour flight you’d touched down in Wyndon airport, just a few miles north of the actual city itself. As soon as you step out of the plane and take your rotom phone off airplane mode, you’re bombarded with a sudden rush of notifications you hadn’t been able to receive while up in the sky.

You skim all your messages, a few were from Blue letting you know all was alright in Kanto, a few were from your family and friends wishing you a safe landing, and the more recent ones were from Leon letting you know he wouldn’t be able to pick you up from the airport himself.

You momentarily wonder why, but when you look around the sudden realization hits you.

Every person in the airport around you is glued to their phones, watching the little screens with excitement.

The Gym Challenge finale match was underway, it’d started as you were approaching Galar.

You reread Leon’s message and see he’d assured you that a friend of his would be there to pick you up instead.

With a shrug of your shoulders, you pat the pokeball on your belt to let your Dragonair know all is okay, before heading onto baggage claim to retrieve your luggage.

Minutes later you have you bag in tow, lugging it towards the exit. You walk out curiously, smiling as soon as you feel the bright sun on your skin, the crisp air refreshing you after hours of being cooped up. 

Curious, you glance around, searching for whoever might be here to pick you up. Leon never specified which friend it’d be picking you up, all he said was a ‘friend’, and if he wasn’t in the middle of a very important battle right now you would’ve already called him with questions. 

However, it doesn’t take you very long to figure out who your guide will be. 

Down the road a bit you’re able to spy a tall lad jogging in your general direction. His skin tone was on the darker side, and his fashion sense was rather flashy- with a bright orange bandanna around his head and a slightly oversized dragon themed jacket covering his torso.

You recognized him quickly; Raihan, Galar’s very own dragon tamer, and Leon’s longtime rival.

You decide to make it a bit easier for him and meet him halfway by walking towards him.

“(Name), hey, I’m-” he begins, but you’re quick to cut him off and spare his breath.

“Raihan, no need to introduce himself, as a fan of dragon-types there’s no way I wouldn’t know who you are. Also you’re a friend of Leon’s- or should I say rival? Maybe both,” you reply with a bit of a laugh.

Now that he’s standing before you you’re able to fully realize his height- and he practically towers over you. He looks down at you with a bright grin and you can practically feel the energy emanating off of him, but his eyes are what catch your attention the most.

They’re a striking and almost electric blue, and you don’t quite realize that you’re staring until he points it out himself.

“Enjoying the view, sweetheart?” he asks with a confident smirk, and you blush as you avert your eyes to the ground. 

He laughs a bit, and you pout at how he finds your embarrassment amusing. 

“Hey now, no need to be shy, I’ve heard a lot about you too- mostly from Leon, he thinks you’re a genius,” he explains, which makes you glance back up at him.

“Wait really? What’s he said-” you ask, interest piqued, but you’re cut off by a growling noise.

Your face flushes when you realize the noise came from your own stomach.

You and Raihan make eye contact before bursting into laughter, yours being a bit more shy as you wrap an arm around your stomach.

“I guess a five hour flight will leave your fuel tank pretty empty, huh?” you mutter, shoulders slouched.

A hand gets placed on your shoulder, making the blush on your cheeks somehow even redder, and you glance up to see Raihan smiling down at you, “no worries, happens to the best of us. I know a great cafe nearby, we can swing by for a bite to eat and maybe watch Leon’s match- if it hasn’t already ended, he tends to wipe out the competition.”

“Does the competition which gets wiped involve you?” you ask with a bit of a cheeky look, grinning when you see how the comment took him aback.

“Hey now, there’s a reason I’m the eighth gym leader, I’ve nearly beat Leon on several occasions,” he retorts, quick to defend his pride.

“Oh I have no doubt, you’ll have to let me see those dueling skills of yours,” you suggest, patting the pokeball on your hip.

The smile on his face is infectious, and you find yourself smiling up at him in return at no time.

---

An hour later you’re sat atop one of the hills in northern Wyndon, the stadium out in the distance. The sounds of the crowd can be heard miles away, but that’s not your main focus right now.

No, your focus is the bombastic and confident man before you, who’s in the midst of telling the story of a rather exciting battle he had not too long ago. You’d been getting to know each other and already blended rather well, being a little more than friendly right off the bat.

“- so there I was, two pokemon left- my Gigalith and Duraludon. The bastard I’m battling is getting cocky, thinking he’s so clever with a team of fairy types. Clearly he’d forgotten that my star gigantamax-er is half steel. So I gigantamax, Duraludon grows to the size of a skyscraper, and I whip out the move Max Steelspike!” he explains, reliving the story with such vivid energy that you feel like you’re there watching the battle yourself.

“Do you wipe the rest of his pokemon?” you ask with a smirk, his energy contagious enough to get you incredibly invested.

“I wipe the rest of his pokemon!” he exclaims and you giggle, laying back and leaning into the grass.

Raihan takes out his rotom phone and flips it open, letting it float above both of you as he takes a seat beside you. “Smile for the camera, sweetheart,” he says with a wide grin, bearing those sharp canines of his.

You blush upon hearing that little nickname but decide to just go along with his request, putting up a peace sign with one hand and giving a closed eye smile. 

You hear the audible click of a picture being snapped and the phone floats back to him and he grabs it to quickly show you the photo. “Oh, this is a good one, definitely getting posted, you look adorable,” he teases you.

“You don’t look too bad either, handsome,” you reply smoothly, feeling comfortable enough to flirt with the renowned ‘dragon tamer’.

You notice a slight jitter in his movements, your little comment catching him off guard, but he’s quick to bounce back with his confident personality. “Well that’s a change- earlier you could barely stare at me without getting as red as an Applin, now you’re flirting?” he muses, putting his phone away as he lays down in the grass next to you.

Your eyes meet and you get to stare into his, still a bright blue in spite of the setting sun.

“Ah well, I’m think I’m past the initial intimidation. You have a bit of an… overpowering presence,” you admit, giggling a bit as he quirks an eyebrow at you..

“Is that so?” he asks, folding his arms behind his head as a grin settles onto his face.

“Oh yes,” you murmur with a nod, turning your head to face him, “but I’ve gotta be careful with how much I feed that ego of yours. If I compliment you too much you might just end up exploding.”

He feigns hurt and and clasps a hand to his chest, gripping the front of his jacket, “oh, sweetheart, you wound me!” he exclaims dramatically, moving his other arm and wrapping it around your shoulders, tugging you closer to him.

You recognize this tactic, he just wants to make you flustered and get a rise out of you, but you refuse to give in. In fact, you decide to one up him.

“I wounded you? Oh I’m sorry, maybe this will help,” you reply, leaning up in his arms and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Now you’ve got him.

He stutters over his own words momentarily, and you’re able to see the faint blush on his cheeks.

A smile quickly replaces his shocked expression though, and you find yourself grinning back all the same.