love ball | pokemon sword and shield

thirteen.

(unedited)

hewwo readers! i have officially decided that love ball will have sixteen chapters, and i hope in these last few chapters you will enjoy them all! now, enjoy reading!!

you watched him. hop. the one you thought was your favorite. the one? the love ball in your bag that was different than all the normal ones. you thought different of hop. but simply one sight can change everything. hop looked up at the girl like the happiest guy alive, definitely showing that he liked being with her. but they didn't really seem to talk. hop held the love ball with two hands behind his back, rocking back and fourth on his feet.

"ah.. so...." hop muttered, watching the girl stare at her shoes awkwardly. her two pigtails hung and didn't seem to shake any movement her head made. her green eyes sparkled as she kept her eyes glued on her toes. 

"what did you need me for?" the girl asked, finally looking up and locking eyes with hop's. hop chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head with a hand that was holding the love ball.

"oh.. i just wanted to tell you something." hop said. hop kicked the ground, closing his eyes after and sighing. 

"what did you need to say?" the girl asked. "you know piers will get mad at me if i'm home late."

"s-sorry..." hop mumbled. the girl's pokemon sat behind her as it ate a berry. its perfectly round shape leaned against the leg of a bench, berry juice splattered all over its mouth. the girl folded her hands, patiently waiting for a response from hop. you watched breathlessly, waiting for what the two would do. you couldn't look away. you were glued to the scene. 

"um.. here." hop squeaked. he took the love ball and handed it out to the girl. the girl cocked her head.

"what's this for?" she asked, taking it and observing the ball. 

"it's a love ball. it's mostly used to catch pokemon the opposite gender of yours." hop explained to the girl. the girl nodded, turning the ball over.

"uhh... there's already a pokemon inside, by the way." hop quickly added, pointing to the ball. 

"oh.. i see. the ball is pretty," the girl said. "i like it. thanks, hop."

"yeah.. you're welcome, marnie." hop responded, softly smiling the same way his older brother did.

"i couldn't catch an applin, but i found an impidimp. i think dark and fairy types... suit you." he told marnie. you gasped quietly. marnie nodded, pressing the button on the front to let the impidimp out. it jumped out, landing next to her pokemon.

"i love it. thanks..." marnie thanked. "but why would you need an applin?" hop bit his lip, looking down sheepishly.

"you haven't heard?" hop squeaked. even in the moment, hop's squeaks were cute. marnie shook her head, bending down to pet the impidimp. 

"oh... ah... how do i say this..." hop mumbled. he blushed, looking down at his feet. marnie looked at him, chuckling.

"who wouldn't know, hop?" marnie said, getting up and letting the impidimp back in its pokeball. hop looked up, blushing even more. 

"wow, marnie... it's so rare to see you smile." hop said to marnie, fascinated. marnie had started blushing now, starting to look away. 

"aw, wait- don't look away! it's.. cute." hop said, taking marnie's hands. marnie looked up to hop, her eyes widening. a big grin spread on her face. you were so immersed in what was happening, you didn't realize the tears rolling down your face. 

"ninetales, we're leaving." you whispered, gesturing it to follow you to the front of the battle cafe. it followed, whimpering as it looked back repeatedly. you sniffed, heading to the front of the cafe and watching the sun shine in the sky. everything seemed fine whenever the sun was up shining in the clouds, but not now. you closed your eyes and shook your head, walking back home with your ninetales.

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you sat on your bed, sighing and rubbing your eyes. they were all red and swollen from crying. you knew things like this happened all of the time, but now seeing how it felt was terrible. the feeling was stabbing you in the stomach, slowly hurting more and more. it was awful. you buried your face into a pillow, sobbing. your ninetales ran up onto your bed and nuzzled the back of your head. 

"i'm sorry ninetales, not now...." you said, your voice muffled from your face inside the pillow. it walked away, jumping off your bed and looking back at you the same way it looked back at hop and marnie. it returned shortly, poking the back of your head again. you looked up at the ninetales carrying your phone, showing a soft and caring look on its face. for the first time in hours, a smile grew on your face. 

"wow... i really knew you were my partner. who knew such a magnificent and bold pokemon could care so much for its... t-trainer..." you mumbled, taking the phone. it looked as if the ninetales were smiling. maybe it was just you. you looked at the screen, seeing the list of contacts waiting for you. 

"do you want me to.. call one of them?" you asked, looking at the list of contacts. the ninetales circled around you, its tails almost brushing against you. you stared at the list, hesitating to pick one person.

"thank you ninetales... i guess." you told the ninetales, hugging it and burying your face in its fur. the ninetales nuzzled your forehead. sometimes you didn't realize how grateful you were for your ninetales.