[ON INDEFINITE HIATUS] Alolan Adventures: An Original Pokémon Story

4. Meeting

Gladion's POV

     The forest was dark and damp, filled with the sounds of wild Pokémon. Gladion was alone with his Midnight Form Lycanroc, and his other partner, Umbreon. It was okay living alone, ever since he chickened out from going to Aether Paradise. He had a motel room, sure, but out here he could be alone with his thoughts, his Pokémon, and nature.

     Suddenly, muttered curses broke the silence. Gladion stood up, ready to defend him and his Pokémon. It turned out it was only a girl, with what looked like to be a Glaceon and another Pokémon on her shoulder, which looked somewhat liked a bird. The shadows of the forest obscured its true detail. When he realized it was nothing to worry about, something whizzed over his shoulder, pinning his hoodie to a tree. When the girl emerged, he realized it was Mysterious Girl from the plane.

     "Oh my goodness," she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were one of those stupid Team Skull goons that were chasing me." She walked forward and yanked the object from his hoodie. The moonlight glinted on the object, and Gladion saw that it was a knife.

     Mysterious Girl slid the knife into her belt, and held out her hand. "Who are you? All alone out in the forest. My name's Snow, by the way." When Gladion took her hand to shake it, he noticed the Pokémon on her shoulder.

     "Is that...the legendary Pokémon Articuno?" he asked. Snow smirked and stepped back into the shadows before he could confirm it. 

     "Tell me your name and I'll show you," she said, a laugh in her voice. Gladion smiled.

     "Fine. It's Gladion." he said. Snow stepped into the moonlight again, revealing her partners: a Glaceon and an Articuno, perched on her shoulder, which was covered with the hood of a light blue sweatshirt. Suddenly, he remembered seeing her face on the news channel the day before, with Mysterious Boy. So that means that her brother was the one who sent Team Skull flying. He shook himself out of his thoughts and focused at the task at hand. Because, of course, the sky rumbled with thunder. Fat raindrops fell onto his hair. 

     Snow covered Articuno with her arm, and held her Glaceon close to her. Seeking shelter under a tree, she beckoned Gladion forward.

     "Get over here. If you don't get out of the rain, you'll catch a cold or something like that." she said. Gladion sighed and ran under the protective cover of the leaves, uncomfortably pressed up to Snow, back-to-back. After a couple minutes of this, Gladion couldn't stand it anymore.

     "Snow, do you want to come to my motel room? It'll be drier, and I don't think this storm is going to let out anytime soon," he offered. Snow nodded.

     "I'd invite you to my place, but it's on the other side of the island. Better go to yours," she replied. Soon, Gladion was leading her out of the forest, their hoodies propped up over their heads in an attempt to cover themselves from the deluge. 

    Fifteen minutes later, they finally arrived at Gladion's motel room. The bedspread was a shade of blue and green, and there was a couch against the wall. The room shook with the thunder, and the windows flashed with lightning outside in the storm. Snow sent a message to her brother through her Rotom Phone, telling him that she was going to be staying with a friend for the night. Axol immediately called her.

     "Hello?" Snow said into the phone.

    "Who's this friend of yours? Is he your boyfriend?" he said without skipping a beat.

     "How did you even know he was a boy? I didn't even say anything about him. Also, he's not my boyfriend, you dummy," Snow said back, her face red.

     "Just had a feeling," he replied. "Don't get too frisky, all right?" 

     "What?! I barely know him! How could you say such a dumb-" Snow was cut off by the tone that signaled to her that Axol hung up. She sighed and put her phone away. Gladion smiled to himself, and then looked outside. The storm was only getting more powerful.

     "Looks like it's not letting up at all," he said quietly. Snow, whose face had turned back to its normal color, nodded. "I can sleep on the couch, if you want." 

     Snow shook her head. "Absolutely not. You're being too kind already. This is your motel room anyways, so you should get the bed. I'll be fine on the couch." she said defiantly. Gladion looked away, and finally nodded. The ice-type Trainer smiled winningly and flopped on the couch, the TV remote in her hand. Just as Gladion saw her choose a channel, he heard knocks on the door.

     "I'll get that," he said. When he opened the door, he saw a giant orange face with green eyes. Shocked, he stumbled backwards.

     "Hey, Dragonite, don't scare the guy like that," Axol grinned. Snow leapt up from the couch, her face red.

     "AXOL?! How did you get here? I didn't even give you my location," she exclaimed.

     "Oh, you did though. I tracked your Rotom Phone pings and bam, here you are." he replied with a grin. Then his face contorted into what only could be the expression a Mr. Mime gets when it has a plan. "So, he is your boyfriend! You guys are watching a movie together."

     Now it was Gladion's turn to get a red face. "Hey! She was using the TV herself. We are absolutely not dating!" he said. Axol shrugged, letting the subject hang in the air. Finally, he broke the awkward silence.

     "Well, Snow, now that I've found you, we can go home. Dragonite brought a bunch of umbrellas." he said. Dragonite reached into his bag and pulled out what looked to be at least three dozen patterned umbrellas. Gladion looked at Snow. Even though he had only known her for an hour or so, he wanted to know her more. He wanted to ask her about her history, her family, and where her parents were. He waited for her to reply.

     "Actually, Axol...I think I might stay here for now." she said. 

     "Oh, so you want to stay with your boyfriend, right?" he said in a jocular tone. Snow, whose face was rapidly turning a shade of purple, shook her head violently.

    "Hey, shut up!" she said. "I already told you, he's NOT my boyfriend! I just want to stay for...personal reasons." Axol smiled.

     "You mean smooching with your boyfriend, right?" he laughed. Snow groaned. 

     "Okay, get out of here. See you tomorrow," she said with a smile, and pushed him into the rain, and closed the door.

     Gladion was perplexed by this strange interlude. Who knew Snow had a brother like that? And even though she was annoyed by her brother's comments, she shook it off like it was nothing and continued to joke around with him. If Gladion had been in her shoes, he would've exploded with anger. But it seemed like Snow and Axol shared a bond that couldn't be broken by just teasing. 

     He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. It wasn't polite to be analyzing someone he barely knew just like that. When he looked back at Snow, she was looking through the set of DVDs offered by the hotel.

     "Hey, Gladion, what kinds of movies do you like?" she asked. Gladion shrugged.

     "Horror movies, mostly. But I don't watch movies that often anymor-" He was cut off by the sound of Snow slipping a disk into the TV reader. From the opening credits, he recognized it as one of his old favorite movies. Gladion relaxed a bit, lowering his guard, and sat on the couch where Snow was already.

     At a particularly scary part, Snow grabbed onto Gladion's arm. Gladion, who wasn't used to physical contact as much, stiffened, causing Snow to let go and apologize.

     "Sorry," she said quietly. Gladion shook his head, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

     "It's okay. I'm just not used to being touched that often anymore, after leaving my family for so long," he replied. Snow looked at him, her face illuminated by the light of the TV screen.

     "You left your family?" she asked.

     I think I should tell her the truth now.