Here for You - IgnitionShipping (Flint x Volkner / オデン / デンオ)

Oneshot

(Fluff, Slice of Life, SFW) After Flint had returned home following the end of his training to place himself on a higher pedestal in the world of Pokémon battle as a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four, his best friend, Sunyshore Gym Leader Volkner - the person who he loved the most - for seemingly unexplained reason, fell into depression, causing him to disregard his passion for Pokémon battle & unhealthily emerge himself in his engineering work. Thankfully however, a young traveler, Ash, had come to Sunyshore to take his badge as a competitor at the Sunyshore Gym, eventually leading to Flint & Ash helping Volkner out of his depressive episode. Though both Flint & Volkner were now happy and had gone back to feeling the passion they had for both each other and their dreams, Flint could not brush off the whole situation & could not resist confronting Volkner on what had really happened. He felt as if not everything that could be said was said, and that unresolved feelings remained between them.

(BASED ON EPISODES CONTAINING FLINT & VOLKNER'S APPEARANCES IN THE DIAMOND & PEARL ANIME – story may be inconsistent with official game universe & Manga universe. Watching the episodes in Japanese is recommended for clarity. Follows headcanons stated in my headcanon dump which can be found on my profile.)

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RECOMMENDED LISTENING WHILE READING:

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Flint had woken up to the sound of his phone alarm stinging his ears at 6 AM. It was a day off for both himself & Volkner, but he had forgotten to adjust his alarm accordingly. He realized that he fell asleep in his daytime clothes, surrounded by both his & Volkner's Pokémon on the living-room couch. He glanced around the room, noticing Volkner was asleep in his bedroom with the door locked. Groggily, he asked Volkner's Luxray to move aside so that he could make his way to the bathroom. Freshening himself up, he smiled at himself in the mirror, thanking the alarm for waking him up so early, which he now saw as a good thing.

"Glad I got time to think things out. I don' wanna cause any disruption between us again, things gotta go smoothly. But I have to bring it up, I know it's been over 7 months now but it's been buggin' me a great deal since I got back home." Thinking to himself, he sat back down on a different couch as to not bother all the cozy Pokémon sleeping on his previous seat. He took out his phone and decided to type down his thoughts on the Notes app, making sure that he knows exactly how to articulate his feelings for when the time comes.

Volkner had woken up quite a few hours later. They had a pleasant morning with a good breakfast they made together & the usual banter & laughter filling the house along with the playful chatter of their Pokémon. Time passed quickly when they were together, & the summer afternoon had already arrived. They took all their Pokémon & some beach gear & headed out to the shore near the lighthouse, where they could enjoy the swift breeze, the crashing of the waves against rocks & boulders formed a thousand years ago & the familiar salty yet fresh smell of the sea that encompassed Sunyshore all ear around, all under the comforting warmth of sun. It was Flint's idea, of course, to have a day out where they could just relax beneath umbrellas & the blue sky. This shore held so many memories between the two men with them having spent countless hours bickering, playing, battling & making memories since they were children, right where they stood today.

Cheering & tomfoolery could be heard from their Pokémon who were out & about, playing with each other in the sparkling water, around the rocky hills & among the coarse sand. The two men had laid down their beach towels and sat down besides each other, separated by an insulating container filled with drinks & chilled snacks. "Catch!" Flint threw a can of Volkner's favorite drink his way, with a bright smile on his face that was made all the more warm by the shine of the sun. Volkner caught it, smiling timidly at Flint & popping open the can with a light fizz.