Unsanctioned (Gladion X Fem! Reader)

A Royal Battle

I continued on my path across Akala island, wiping out every foe that came across my path. While it was quite a challenge, it was safe to say that both my team and myself had developed drastically.

But what was with this flower Gladion gave me? Even though I had just moved to Alola, it seemed so unlike other flowers that I had seen. It was a more muted pink, much unlike all of the bright hues that surrounded me in Alola.

"Hm, according to this..." I murmured out loud, tapping on the screen of the rotomdex. "We should be approaching some place called Royal Avenue soon." Dartrix chirped with delight in response.

As my team and I walked down the street, we caught a glimpse of a familiar face standing in the street.

"Gladion!" I called out, the boy bearing an irritated look on his face. "How are you?"

Despite my shouting, the boy did not seem to pay me any mind. He suddenly dashed into the building in front of him, mouthing something incomprehensible.

"We've gotta go in there," I urged, quickly running to heal my Pokémon before following him inside.

"Woah," I gasped quietly to myself upon entering. We were in a large white dome, a large reception desk of sorts in front of us. I noticed Gladion standing in the corner, seemingly spaced out. "Gladion!"

"Wh- oh, it's you," he sighed, a small frown on his face. I noticed his cheeks flush slightly as I ran over to stand next to him. "What do you want?"

"Stop," I begged him. "What is this place?"

"God, do you really not even know that?" He scoffed dramatically. Though he obviously came off as rude, I knew he didn't mean too much harm. "This is the Royal Dome, where one can participate in Battle Royals."

"Oh~," I sighed in relief as I scanned the dome. "Is this where you come to train up?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted with an annoyed tone.

"That's pretty cool. I'll have to try training up here too," I smiled. "Maybe we could do it together."

"C-cut it out," he stammered nervously, obviously flustered.

"Wait!" I exclaimed suddenly, causing Gladion to jump a little. "You never told me why you gave me this flo-"

"HAHAHAHA!" a loud voice boomed, cutting off our conversation. I flipped around and saw what I assumed to be the source of the noise; a tall, shirtless man clad in a ridiculous looking wrestler's mask. "Greetings, Battle Royal-goers! It is I, none other than the Masked Royal!"

"What?" "Is that really him?!" "No way?!" A sea of voices stirred, all confused and awestruck. I turned back to Gladion to see that he was indeed shocked as well. The man climbed down the stairs and walked closer to us, and I realized that he was more familiar than I thought he would be.

"Professor?!" I exclaimed, the man's expression unchanging.

"No, the masked royal!" He smiled as he put his hands on his hips. "Would you two care to take part in a battle with me?" I turned to Gladion, who just seemed to be irritated.

"I mean-"

"Sure," he cut me off, taking a pokeball out from his pocket.

"Oh! The masked royal!" A voice called from far away. I turned and saw Hau standing on the second floor, jumping up and down in excitement.

"You join too, boy," the masked royal ordered. "And now we have our foursome."

"Professor, I'm not sure if that's a good choice of wor-"

"Let's get on with the battle!"

---

"Agh!" Hau cried in frustration as the four of us exited the battle room. "(Y/n) is just too strong, I tell you!"

"She did manage to win," Gladion admitted. "Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself."

"T-thank you," I turned to him and smiled, my face turning red.

"It's now time for the masked royal to leave!" The man exclaimed, suddenly vanishing out of existence. Just who was that guy, anyhow?

"Hmph," Gladion shrugged. "You have to do Kiawe's trial next, don't you, (y/n)?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. "Wait, you didn't answer my question from before. What was this flower that you gave me?"

"It's a Gracidea," he explained. "It makes a certain Pokémon change form."

"Are you sure that's it?" I asked, but it was too late. He had already seemed to disappear out of thin air, leaving me and Hau alone.

"Good luck on your trial, (y/n)!" Hau exclaimed before he dashed off as well. I was alone, but also not alone. Just what was this Pokémon that needed this flower for? Did it even live in Alola? And why did Gladion give it to me?

I ran off to the Pokémon center PC and quickly looked up the words Gracidea Flower. Suddenly, a web page came up giving me all of the information that I needed to know.

The Gracidea flower is a small pink flower native to the Sinnoh region. When used on the legendary Pokémon Shaymin, it grants it the ability to change form and fly. It is traditionally given in bouquets among Sinnoh natives as a token of gratitude.

I shut down the PC as quickly as I could and sat down in a chair, trying to make sense of the situation. Why did Gladion give me this flower? Could there be a way for me to find this Pokémon? Thoughts swirled in my head like a big jumble.

One thing was for certain.

Gladion was grateful for me.