#thegoldchamp

@thegoldchamp

A plume of dust kicked up behind Lairon, a roar cracking through the air. Feet hitting the ground like thunder as she tore down the path towards the oncoming Donphan. The two pokemon colliding in a display of power. 

Brendan was never the best battler. While he did train hard his talents laid in contests. However, a battle was always inevitable when Ethan was in the same region as he was. They had a knack for popping up in the same town at the same time. And of course, Brendan would never say no to a challenge. 

Granted the challenge hadn’t even been initiated yet, but Mason always seemed to know when a certain special Donphan was around. A laugh split Brendan’s mouth into a smile. “I thought I caught whiff Johto!” He exclaimed, watching the dust settled around the two pokemon.

Hey, that’s all right!  If you’re having a rough time with things, then you don’t always want to deal with roleplay too, right?  Don’t worry about needing a break, my friend!  Ethan and Officer Jac will be on hiatus waiting for you until February 4th.  We’ll see you then!  Take care!

“Ethan.......Ethan,” Brendan whispered and nudged his buddies arm. Unfortunately unable to succeed in getting his attention. He tisked lightly, glaring up at where they happened to stop. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Was Arceus having a good laugh right about now? 

Whatever, he mumbled incoherence and stared back Ethan. His face slowly going flush. He big his lip, trying to figure out a way to weasel his way out of the situation. A finger went to his chin in thought, blush only growing when he heard someone at the party shout “oooh, look at that. Someone’s under the mistletoe.”

Fuck, now he was really in for it. 

Brendan looked back up, back down to Ethan, and back up again. They were friends, right? It was tradition, right? It would all be ok, right? People wouldn’t freak out that ‘world renown coordinator Brendan Yuki was smooching someone at a new years party’, right? Probably not, he wasn’t that well known here in Johto. So everything would be ok, right?

He cleared his throat, swiveling to face Ethan and grabbed his shoulders, maybe a little too rough. You’d think he’d love being in the spotlight, the center of attention for one moment. But this...  ‘Just suck it up and kiss him already you doofus!’

He leaned forward, feeling the proverbial cattle prod he mentally placed against his back. God why did he have to be so short? For a brief moment their lips touched. Soft and nervous, all too quickly Brendan pulled back, deeming the challenge complete and cleared his throat again.

Aside from welcoming the Winter Solstice and ringing in the New Year, Ecruteak City rarely observed other holiday traditions. But as the Christmas trend made its way around the rest of the Johto region, it eventually found itself in the form of festive decorations in the city’s Pokémon Center. A handful of volunteers decorated the large fir tree in the corner while some seemed to be struggling with untangling the lights. The resident Chansey proudly displayed handmade wreaths on all the doors while the nurse hung tinsel from the counter.

As for Morty, he wasn’t sure what all went into the Christmas preparations, but he was willing to help out if only to get an idea of what it was like. His tall stature allowed him to reach high places on the tree and straighten the decorations. The nurse happily used his height to her advantage. 

He did as he was instructed and hardly needed the use of a ladder to tie off a sprig of mistletoe to the doorway. At first, he thought it was a plant used to ward off evil Christmas (?) spirits, but quickly learned that wasn’t the case at all. He didn’t understand the reason for it, but the nurse had always been somewhat of a romantic sap. Watching people kiss under the mistletoe may very well be the highlight of her season. 

Honestly, he didn’t know what was more absurd. This, or the legend of a man in a red suit delivering presents to all the children of the world in a single night on a flying sleigh guided by magic Stantler. Maybe he didn’t understand the mistletoe’s appeal because he didn’t get to try it on someone else. 

What luck that the next person to fall victim to the mistletoe happened to be someone he already knew (and wouldn’t immediately murder him).

A peck on the cheek was quite common in other regions, far from here. If this were Kalos, it would be commonplace to receive such a greeting among friends. But this wasn’t Kalos.

A swift motion and it was over before he knew it. The look on Ethan’s face only made him laugh heartily and he pointed upwards to explain the reason for his gesture. 

thegoldchamp

❄ Though the Hau’oli City Mall was packed with people today, Red had actually grown to appreciate crowds- when they could blend in, anyway. When Red had arrived in Alola, everyone was recognizing them, and it was difficult to go anywhere without some stranger calling out their name. But after a year running the Battle Tree, people got used to their presence and didn’t bother them in public as much anymore. So the crowds were actually quite nice- the more people around, the harder it would be to spot Red.

❄ That desire to not be noticed, however, clashed with their admittedly rather recent love for fashionable clothes. They found themselves in the Gracidea boutique, looking at expensive outfits. Ones they could obviously afford, since Red was paid generously for their position as a Battle Tree boss. Though they did admit that trying on a red floppy felt hat valued at 153,000 Pokédollars along with a fluffy red skirt that cost 50,000 made them look a bit too much like a snotty rich person.

❄ Regardless, Red bought the clothes anyway, swiping their credit card without hesitation. The hat went right back on their head as they gently flipped their long black hair, feeling fashionable and confident. Red continued to browse around further, shopping bag around their wrist. This was their day to indulge- hopefully no one would judge them for the way they spent their money.

Someone he can enjoy a comfortable silence with. On the flip side, someone he can easily talk to and let his guard down when he’s around them. Morty’s reserved nature may give some people the impression that he isn’t interested in them, but anyone who makes a bigger effort to engage with him usually stands out to him. He values people who want to spend time with him without ulterior motive (i.e. taking advantage of his clairvoyance). 

Deffo WealthandTasteShipping aka gio/maxie. Aside from hardenshipping I’d never really thought about Maxie ships but then Vetra’s Maxie showed up and was thirsty got me on board. Basically any ship where Gio gets to seduce people into making bad decisions works for me, and if it’s Doomed From the Start because Giovanni is horrible and can’t trust anyone in any meaningful capacity well then even better. Bring on the angst and emotional drama, that’s the shit I live for.