Unsanctioned (Gladion X Fem! Reader)

The Shady Town

"Woah, where are we?"

After I finished beating Olivia, the second kahuna, Hau and the professor approached me about visiting some place called Aether Paradise. I complied, having been told that they're doing Pokémon research and conservation. I wondered what kind of stuff they would have at their labs, and if they had any information pertaining to the Ultra Beasts.

Hau and I stood together in a greenhouse like room, plants and trees as far as the eyes could see. A few boys and girls wearing matching uniforms were tending to Pokémon. Wicke, the woman who led us up here, told us to go with her to find the president Lusamine.

Suddenly, Hau and I stumbled across a woman standing away from us. She turned around to greet us, her emerald eyes gleaming.

Wait a minute. She was no ordinary woman.

I could see it in her eyes.

I could see him in her eyes.

"Welcome to the Aether Foundation!" She exclaimed, a thin smirk on her face. The resemblance was too uncanny. There was no way it couldn't be true, could it?

She had to have some kind of connection to Gladion. And I could tell that it wasn't a good one. There was something wrong with her. Why else would he run away from home?

---

"(Y/N)!" A voice called, echoing through the empty fields of Tapu Village. I had just arrived, the Ghostium Z I had gotten from Acerola fresh in my pocket. I came to the realization that was almost done with all of my trials, and I could not help but feel slightly anxious. What was I going to do when I was done?

"Huh?" I asked, scanning the nearby grass. Suddenly, no one other than Gladion came rushing towards me, hunching over when he arrived to catch his breath.

"We have to go to Po Town," he insisted, grabbing my hand with both of his in a pleading manner.

"Why? What?" I asked, furrowing my brow slightly.

"We need to take down Team Skull," he insisted.

"What do you mean?!" I shouted, staring at the boy's panicked face. Suddenly, he regained his composure, snapping back into the Gladion I knew. "Aren't you a member of Team Skull?"

"Look, do you want my help or not?" he growled, a sudden frustration in his voice. "If you go alone, you'll surely be killed."

"What even?!" I shouted. "I don't even want to go in the first place! What are you talking about?" He shut his eyes for a minute, trying to regain his thoughts. 

"...let's just go to Po Town together. I need your help," he explained. He turned to start walking down Route 17, but stopped in his tracks. "Can you put that hoodie on for me, by the way? It'll serve as sort of a disguise for you."

"Uh, sure!" I agreed as I pulled it out of my bag. The smell of cologne faded from the fabric, but that's only because I had been wearing it nonstop since he gave it to me. I slipped it on over my T-shirt and ran to catch up with him. Thankfully, I was stocked up on healing items and revives, so I was more than prepared for whatever was afoot.

We stood side by side, double battling pairs of normal trainers in our way. We made an unstoppable duo, Null and Decidueye both absolute beasts when it came to fainting Pokémon.

"Watch out!" Gladion yelled, suddenly pulling me towards him by the arm. A Fearow swooped out of the air, swooping straight where my face was a few moments ago. I buried my face in Gladion's chest for a second, taking comfort in being in his arms.

"Stupid Fearow," he muttered angrily. "It's night time. Why is it even out?"

"I don't know," I responded, looking up at his face as we pulled away.

As we approached the gated town, the rain pouring atop us seemed to pick up more and more. Eventually, the rain was so strong and loud I could barely hear my own thoughts. I wished that I had brought an umbrella.

"You look like a drowned rat," I giggled at Gladion, the hair covering his eye drooping limply.

"Shut up," he scoffed. "Just because I can't say the same to you, doesn't mean that you can say it to me."

"Whatever," I grinned as we stood in front of the tall grey wall separating us from Po Town.

"How are we going to get in?" I asked, watching Gladion pull a small key out of his pocket.

"I'm a 'team skull enforcer'," he stated in a joking tone as the two gates to the town creaked open. In front of us stood two grunts, their eyes full of anger and rage.

"Well, if it isn't the little reject," one grunt laughed, walking up to Gladion. "What are you doing here? Trying to beg your dad Guzma for forgiveness?"

"Absolutely not," Gladion scoffed, looking away from the grunt. He grabbed him by the collar, his face inches away from Gladion's. Despite his sudden movement, Gladion was still unamused. "Your breath stinks so bad."

"What was that, runt?!" The grunt yelled, suddenly nodding to his friend. In a split second, his friend rushed toward me, lifting me up in a chokehold.

"Hey!" Gladion screamed, suddenly socking the grunt in the face. The grunt keeled over and let go of him.  Rushing toward my attacker, Gladion kicked him to the ground all in one swift motion. I dropped down as well, the mud covering half of my body. He carefully quickly scooped me up bridal style, the grunts still lying on the ground. "Don't you dare touch her! Learn how to settle your problems by battling, not pulling this crap!"

Gladion spat on the grunt, proceeding to wipe the mud off of my face and hands with the sleeve of his shirt.

"You good to keep going?" He asked, a sudden softness in his usual stoic expression. I nodded, and he put me back on my feet. "Let's go see old Guzma."