I don't know if any of you were aware, but I'm a pretty huge Pokemon Fan.

This is pretty common in the modern world, but hear me out.

Pokemon Sapphire for the Gameboy Advance was the very first game I ever played. I have a Sceptile, who I named Lucas, (I was like 5 give me a break) that has literally been with me ever since said game on Gameboy, the first Pokemon I raised to level 100, and I remember when I brought him from the 2D Games to Y on the 3DS and into Pokemon Amie...

His eyes widened and he smiled at me.

I literally cried, I ain't even going to lie.

Needless to say, Pokemon has a very special place in my heart, an irreplaceable place in my heart.

So what better way to show that than with a heartbreaking one shot?
How good of a sad it's gonna be, idk. I don't even know if I'm gonna get Gladion's character right, but just bear with me please, it's 1 AM, I'm trying here.

If you guys would like me to delve deeper into the world of the Pokeguys, do let me know. I just may pull a Fire Emblem and make a book out of it.

Just let me know.

ALSO, I know in the game it assumes your character and their friends are around 11, but FUCK THAT. I'm not making a one shot about some damned tweens. You all are going to be around 17-20, with Gladion being 19.

Also, spoilers for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Idk about Sun and Moon, since I've never played those, but while plot will be altered to fit with MY story, there are some scenes that happen in-game that appear in this one shot. You've been warned.

=====================================================

Something about her definitely intruigued Gladion the moment he set eyes on her.

Maybe it was that Dartrix at her side that looked at her with so much affection in its eyes, that it nearly overflowed.

Maybe it was her (h/l), (h/c) hair that was held back by just a few pins and left unrestricted by the lack of a hat, which a lot of new trainers wore, Gladion noticed.

Maybe it was those reflective (e/c) eyes that took his breath away as soon as they made contact with his, shining with curiosity as she asked for his name.

He didn't know, but something about her made him weak in the knees, a feeling he definitely wasn't used to.

When he first battled her, he wasn't expecting to be defeated by her so easily... Her and her Hariyama didn't even break a sweat against his team, and it left him with wide eyes and a gaping jaw.

"That was so exhilarating! You have to battle me again sometime! C'mon, it's great exercise for my Pokemon!"

Dartrix next to her trilled in curiosity.

"What?"

"C'mon, you HAVE to! Pleeease?"

Gulping away a lump in his throat, he just backed up, feeling a thin layer of sweat form on his face. What even was he supposed to say to someone who wanted to see him and battle him again?

She put her hands on her hips, biting her lip as she waited for his answer...

"Fine! Will you just stop staring at me like that?!"

Her eyes visibly lit up as she nodded in approval.

"Great! Then I'll see you around!"

All Gladion could do after that was wonder while she walked away...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few months after that, and Gladion was still confused. She still wanted to see him, still wanted to spend time with him, still wanted to help him improve. It... It didn't make any sense. Gladion wasn't used to this. He hadn't experienced something like this in literal years, since he was at least 12 or 13 when he ran away from home, stealing Type: Null away from his Mother and her Scientists in the process. His mother and sister showed him love and affection, sure, but his mother had selfish intentions, intentions he wanted no part of. It... It did pain him to leave Lillie behind like he did, but he didn't have a choice. He didn't want to drag her down this infinite hole with him too, she didn't deserve that at all.

"I wanna learn more about you, Gladion."

"Hmm?"

"I want to learn more about Gladion and his mysterious Type: Null. If he'll permit me to know, that is."

Gladion slowly lowered his head, his eyes fixating on his clasped hands instead of the world around him.

"... Hmpf. There isn't much to tell. I'm just a troubled late teen who has close to no place in this world, with a Pokemon who has an equal place as I do."

"Gladion..."

"No 'Gladion '. That's it. That's all there is to me. No sugar coating or anything."

She went silent for a few minutes after that... Her gaze directed to the open ocean before her, the breeze ruffling both of their hair and their clothes.

"... I envy you, you know."

This shocked Gladion.

"Huh?" His eyes widening a bit, he turned to her, blinking a few times while he waited for her to respond.

"Everything about you is... Normal. Well, maybe not to the eyes of others, but you are normal. Just a guy with his Pokemon, trying to achieve his own goals. No... Special Blood, no Unwanted Abilities... Nothing like that..."

Gladion stayed silent for just a moment...

"... (Y/n), what are you saying?"

"There's something wrong with me, Gladion." She answered without skipping a beat. "Something that always keeps me on the move, something that refuses to let me live a normal life like you do. Something..."

She sighed.

"Nevermind, I've said too much."

Before Gladion could even think of a response, she quickly stood up and brushed herself off, nodding curtly in Gladion's direction.

"I'll see you later, Gladion."

She quickly walked off, leaving Gladion to just sit there as the waves of the Alolan Sea grew progressively more violent due to the coming storm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks later, the two of you were, once again, out while you dragged Gladion around to your favorite spots in all of Alola, yet Gladion shockingly didn't mind. He just obediently followed, replying or putting his word in whenever necessary. He didn't know it was possible for someone to keep a conversation going entirely on their own for such a long period of time, but he supposed you were passionate over whatever conversation you ever had, so he understood it... In a way.

A tiny drop of something wet landed right in the middle of his nose, causing him to flinch in surprise.

"Oh!" You had exclaimed in surprise and looked up towards the Grey Skies, watching as an onslaught of rain began to steadily fall upon the two of you.

Hissing in agitation and annoyance, Gladion quickly grabbed the hood of his jacket and pulled it over his head, shielding his head from the downpour before grabbing your wrist, and without permission, began running and dragging you along somewhere you didn't know. The only thing he got out of you was a squeak of surprise, but nothing involving a protest of any kind, so Gladion just continued to drag you somewhere.

About 15 minutes of running and occasional stopping as Gladion gained his bearings later, the two of you came upon a cave-in that was carved into the bottom of a mountainside. Not large enough to quite be called a cave, but it was enough shelter for the two of you to share until this rain let up.

"Y-you know..." You began, a violent shiver making its way through your body, causing Gladion to look over at you with concern. "I've always l-loved the r-rain. It's always... s-so peaceful and s-serene..."

It was obvious to anyone with at least half a brain that you were shivering and cold because of this sudden rainfall.

Gladion... He didn't exactly know what went through his head at this moment to cause his next action. But he shoved his hands into the pockets of his deep red over jacket that he decided to bring today, before opening his arms and quickly enveloping you in his warmth, and unknowingly, his scent.

The action plus the scent sent your face aflame in a fiery red blush. Not only was he exceptionally warm and just what you needed to chase off your shivers from earlier, but dear Arceus, did he smell fantastic. He smelled like a mixture of pine trees and fresh rain, and it was heavenly to be enveloped by.

Everything about this made you feel safe, and even a little woozy. So woozy, that you couldn't even think of controlling your actions.

Humming in obvious sleepy content, you began peppering Gladion's cheek with kisses, which caused him to stop breathing entirely as his face went redder than a Cheri Berry.

However, he wasn't protesting. He WANTED this, and it confused the hell out of him.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he lowered his head slightly and made eye contact with you. Your face was just as red, if not redder than his was, and your eyes were glossed over with exhaustion.

Yet, you pushed yourself up to your tiptoes and gently pressed your lips to Gladion's, and it caused his heart to skip several beats.

Yes, all of this was new to him, but who's to say he didn't enjoy it?

Although the kiss was sweet and Gladion made sure to kiss back with all he had, it was short-lived as you slowly went limp against the blonde as a sigh escaped your lips, your eyes closed in pure bliss.

While you didn't mean it, you had fallen asleep against him.

Everything felt floaty for the angsty young adult, and he was having a hard time remembering where he was, or even who he was as he stood there, holding you tightly and ensuring you didn't fall to the ground in your doze. Finally, he did remember that sleeping standing up wasn't the comfiest thing in the world, so he carefully and quietly made his way to the rocky wall behind him before pressing his back against it and slowly sliding his way down to the dirt floor. Looking down at your face once he was done moving, he mentally sighed in relief before frowning slightly.

".... Hmpf."

A slight grunt was all he had to say about the scenario as he brushed a strand of hair out of your face...

"M... Mimi... Mimikyuuuuu..."

Gladion's head snapped up, his eyes meeting with the deceptive Ghost Type, Mimikyu, one who was so desperate to be loved, that it changed its shape to a Pikachu to gain that adoration... yet still received none.

"Kyuuuu......"

It always sounded so sad and heartbroken, Gladion couldn't help but feel bad for the poor thing. Yet still, his frown stayed.

Bringing his Index Finger to his lips, he tapped his finger against his lips several times, indicating a 'shush' motion, a motion that made Mimikyu's head tilt curiously.

"Mimi?"

Gladion pointed down to you, then made the shush motion again with his fingers.

It took Mimikyu a moment, but it finally gasped and let out a cry of understanding.

"Kyuuuuu~!"

What Gladion didn't expect was for the Mimikyu to waddle over to you and him and curl up into his side, letting out its own version of a purr as it too fell asleep with him.

The rain was showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. All Gladion could do was sigh and bury his nose into your hair, which smelled like coconuts and rain...

This wasn't like him at all. He knew that. He wasn't cuddles and affection, it didn't suit him in the slightest.

... But it never hurt to go against his own code every now and again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after this experience with the rain, you had finally told Gladion what you had that made you 'not normal'.

You had an extremely unique, but also very dangerous ability. It was an ability, that when you told it to Gladion, it made his heart stop.

"I..." You began to describe, looking uncertain all the while. "... I can create cracks in the skies. In the air around me. Cracks that lead to different worlds... Different worlds with these... these things. They aren't Pokemon, but they are alive, Gladion! And... they're dangerous, deadly... Monsterous. I... I used to be able to create these cracks for fun, back when I was a child. But now..."

You pulled the sleeve of your shirt up your arm to your shoulder, revealing almost a spiderweb design look of cracks that spread across your entire arm.

"These cracks form across my skin... And it's extremely frail and weak where these cracks form... It hurts so much whenever I do it now, but... but I can't always control when I do it. Sometimes, it just happens... They'll just form and hurt me anyways. And if any form while I'm nearby, even if I'm not to blame... It still hurts so badly, Gladion. And..."

"... I'm honestly afraid of what will happen to me if these cracks keep forming and if I keep being around for them."

It all sounded too familiar to Gladion.

Cosmog.

Ultra Wormholes.

The Ultra Beasts.

You shared the same ability that Cosmog did... the ability to create the Wormholes and bring the Ultra Beasts through.

His Mother couldn't know.

NO ONE. Could know.

This.... (Y/n) was like a treasure to him.

And just like any greedy soul, he would do anything to keep that treasure safe and in arms reach at all times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He pressed his fingers to his forehead, his heart beating a million miles an hour as stress and worry overwhelmed his being.

"If we can't go down..." Sun began, his black hair looking silky under his blue and black hat, the hat matching the rest of his blue and white attire.

"Then where can we go?" Moon finished for her brother, her eyes widened with worry. Her red hat showed off her silver eyes well, the yellow and white clothes she wore only helping add to that feature.

"... Up, I guess." Gladion stated bluntly, trying not to sound panicked.

"And we're following this guy?! He doesn't even know where he's going!" Hau exclaimed, sounding nervous and angry all at the same time.

"Hau, hush," Sun stated sternly.

"C'mon Hau, it's OK!" Moon stated confidently, grabbing one of Hau's Hands tightly in her own. "Remember, we're doing this for Lillie, Cosmog, and (Y/n)! They all are waiting and depending on us in there, and we can't be losing our composure now!"

Gladion shivered at the mention of you and his sister's name. He felt so damned useless, like a failure...

A Hand fell on his shoulder, making him flinch.

"Hey..." Sun spoke out, out of ears reach of Moon and Hau. "I'm sure they're fine. They aren't ones to go down easily. Just hang in there, Gladion."

Those words weren't encouraging at the moment, but he knew they were meant to be.

"...... Hmpf." Gladion shook off Sun's Hand and walked forward towards the elevator console command.

"You could say something else other than 'hmpf' one day, Gladion." Hau stated.

Gladion stayed silent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You can't do this! Mother, please!"

Lusamine, the beautiful and gentle President of the Aether Foundation, just scoffed.

"My sweet little girl... This must be done. For your sake, and for the sake of our dear Pokemon, too."

"NO, you can't!!!"

"Hmm?" Both Lusamine and Lillie turned towards the warp pad to Lusamine's Study, where the warp pad whirred with use as Gladion and Hau ran in, Sun and Moon having got there before they could, having confronted Lusamine already.

"You don't understand what you're doing! You have no idea how dangerous this is to you and everyone else!" Gladion exclaimed before he even came to a stop in front of the president, his eyes wide and his face drenched in sweat.

Lusamine sighed.

"You too, Gladion? I would've thought that Sun and Moon had better standards and judgment of people than that."

The words stung, but he couldn't let this get to him.

"Mother, you don't understand. This could kill millions! Millions of People and Pokemon! I've SEEN them! I've seen the Ultra Beasts and what they can do! They--"

"As have I, my son. And they are in desperate pain. They suffer under Necrozma, the Blinding One, as the Ultra Recon Squad calls it. And if I have to sacrifice myself and a few others to keep you and the rest of the world safe..."

Gladion's eyes widened as he saw you, bound in thick ropes around your arms and legs, blindfolded and laying on your side, with a diamond-shaped glowing black and blue box next to you, a golden handle fit atop it for easy transportation.

"My, do tell me Gladion... Wherever did you find such a magnificent girl? She certainly is wonderous and unique... You could've invited her to dinner, you know. I would've gladly had something delicious made up for her. And I'm absolutely positive that her and I would've gotten along... What a shame." Lusamine knelt down and ran her fingers through your hair, a violent flinch erupting from you as she did so, showing Gladion that you were alive and conscious.

"(Y/n)..." Gladion began, taking a few steps forward. "... Listen to me. It's OK. I'm right here. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, do you hear me?"

You whimpered out in clear, obvious fear. "Y... Yes, I hear you, Gladion..."

"How sweet." Guzma chimed in dryly from the side.

"Enough with these bittersweet moments," Lusamine said, sounding unamused as she turned around and headed for the computer that the crate and (Y/n) were next to.

"Guzma. To me."

"Yes, ma'am..."

Pressing a button on the computer, the cage that Nebby was clearly in began to glow, and your eyes screwed shut as you began to whimper in pain.

"Mother, please!" Lillie cried out.

"Mother, NO!" Gladion exclaimed.

..... Yet nothing happened. Everything stayed still and quiet as the only noises to be heard were the whirring of Lusamine's Computer Setup.

"Hmm." Lusamine hummed. "So, the two of you resist. Cosmog, you seem to care for Lillie, holding on for her... While you, (Y/n), have fallen for my son, Gladion... And you resist for him."

"P... Pew......." Nebby weakly cried out, causing Lillie to fall to her knees and cry.

"Y...ou...re... a... monst...er..." (Y/n) whispered out, lying completely limp against the marble flooring.

Without any warning, tears fell from Gladion's eyes, his throat closing as he fought the urge to sob.

"Call me what you will," Lusamine stated blandly. "But you'll not resist any longer."

She grabbed Cosmog's Cage, picking him up an standing right next to (Y/n) as she raised his cage up above her line of sight, almost in a ritualistic manner, causing the cage to shine blindingly.

You let out an ear piercing scream as you began to glow as well.

A crack, the Ultra Wormhole, larger than any other that has been seen, formed in the middle of the room... Blue and white lines pouring out of it.

"MOTHER, STOP IT!!!" Gladion cried out, bolting forward.

"Guzma! Grab (Y/n)! We'll need her to leave these plains!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

(Y/n), with no struggle on her end, was hoisted over Guzma's shoulder as if she didn't weigh anything to him. Cosmog was forgotten as they both jumped into the Wormhole, with Gladion doing whatever he could to catch up.

"G... Gla... G-Gladion!!!" You finally managed to cry out as you were being warped away.

Just barely, Gladion skimmed through the Wormhole, without a care for himself or even hearing Sun behind him as he ran, calling out for him to stop, he made it through the wormhole just as it closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lusamine and Guzma laid unconscious nearby, the wild Necrozma roaring in rage and hunger nearby.

The skies raged. The ground shook. Everything was falling apart due to Necrozma's Anger.

Cracks were scattered all across your body.

Your breathing was light and distant.

Anyone with a brain could see that you were dying because your Powers.

Yet still, Gladion stayed at your side, holding you to his chest and crying harder than he did when he learned of his Father's disappearance.

"(Y-Y/n)... It's going to be OK... We'll find another way out of here, another way that won't involve your powers, I promise."

"I... I dare you... to find a different... a different way......" You were barely able to whisper out.

"The Ultra Beasts." He began. "They can make a Wormhole out of here. Necrozma! We could trick it, control it to--"

"Gladion... Even if.... Even if I don't make the Wormhole out of here.... I'm going to die... It's... It's inevitable, sweetheart..."

Gladion just cried harder.

"It's like you... said... back at Aether..." You began, looking frailer than you ever did before. "Everything.... It's all going to be OK. Even if you can't keep me safe.... I'll keep you safe, Gladion."

"(Y/n), please, no!"

"I'll see you later, Gladion..." You whispered out, looking up to the blonde and sending him a wink. "Keep... Keep an eye on Decidueye and Mimikyu for me, alright? You know.... they're quite the troublemakers..."

"I..." Gladion couldn't even speak.

You said no more. Slowly, you shakily raised a hand of yours, pointing towards where Lusamine and Guzma laid.

An Ultra Wormhole, a weak and small one, appeared, showing the skies above the Poni Altar on the other side.

"Y-y-you need to hurry, G-Gladion...! I... I can't keep it open... forever..."

Gladion's breath hitched. This... none of this could be happening right now...

But... He didn't have a choice. (Y/n)... She was beyond saving.

Laying her down as gently as he could, he placed just one kiss on her forehead... before leaping to action.

Guzma was first to go through. He was a heavy bastard, but with Gladion's Adrenaline Rush, it didn't take him more than a minute to get him through.

Lusamine, his Mother, was light and easy compared to Guzma. In 10 seconds flat, she was safely back in Alolan Territory.

Gladion turned back towards her... towards (Y/n).

She was just laying there... looking at Gladion with those kind, wonderous eyes... sending a charming smile his way.

"Gladion... Goodbye..."

Her entire being flashed white, and like a valuable vase, she just shattered into a million pieces.

Gladion... He didn't have time to mourn. Not here.

Turning towards the Wormhole that (Y/n) sacrificed herself to make, he jumped through with no hesitation....

Landing on the Sacraficial Stone Walkway that was the Altar of the Moone in Poni Island.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Type: Null had grown since that time. With Gladion's Help, he broke free of that horrid cage that restrained him, now with his full power, Gladion had given him the name of Silvally. It just... seemed to suit him much more.

Decidueye was just as mischevious as ever and still acting as a brother towards Mimikyu, though now he was always quiet and sad-looking, now that his master was gone. It was the same with Mimikyu, and Gladion could only hope that he was caring for them as much as they deserved, and that they were at least a little happy with him...

Hau... Hau had asked Sun eagerly if he could be with Moon.

Not like he'd object. Sun and Hau were extremely close and Sun trusted the kid with anything, after all. Moon at least seemed happy with him.

Sun had "taken Lillie off of Gladion's hands", as Lillie puts it, although Gladion knew better. She loved Sun, and she wanted nothing else other than his happiness, and was also more than willing to follow him on his travels.

... Gladion did miss his sister sometimes, though.

"Smile, love. That frown doesn't suit you."

What?!

Gladion's head bolted up, although the Pokemon next to him didn't even seem disturbed by (Y/n)'s sudden appearance in front of him.

"(Y-y-y-y/n)!!!" Gladion shouted eagerly, literally hopping to his feet and engulfing her in the tightest hug he'd ever given anyone, and kissing her like it was the only way he'd live.

She smiled, and it took his breath away. "Hello, sweetheart~"

"Tell me, what's got you down?"

"It's.... nothing."

"Pfft, 'nothing'. Yeah, and I'm Champion of Kanto."

Gladion did chuckle a little at that.

"I just... I miss Lillie and the others sometimes, that's all... And you... I've been missing you so much..."

A look of sympathy washed over her face, and she smiled sweetly. "Now now, that's no reason to be down. You'll see everyone again soon, I swear it. They could never stay away from their favorite grunge."

"Hey."

"Heh... Sorry, hun. Had to at least once."

"But you won't... You won't come back..."

Her smile fell.

"... No. You're right, I won't. And I apologize severely for that. But don't you ever think for a moment that I'm not right here, next to you. Even if you can't see me, or hear me, just know... I'm always right here for you, Gladion. And not even Arceus himself can change that."

Gladion just looked down to the ground....

... But her cold hand brought his gaze back up again.

"... Smile, love. That frown doesn't suit you."

And in a flash... she was gone.

Gladion inhaled deeply....

Then fell to his knees and began to shake as he sobbed loudly.

Mimikyu, who was next to him, woke up, humming in curiosity as she looked over at Gladion. Seeing his distress, she gasped, waddling over to him as fast as she could and hopping into his lap, wrapping her ghost arms around him as a means of comfort.

Gladion took the little Pokemon into his arms and hugged her tightly... Mimikyu squealing in delight at the action.

"(Y/n)..." Gladion began, the Pokemon around him being his only ears to this conversation.

"... Unfair... You're so unfair... I can't even keep you... I can't even be with you... Unfair, Unfair, you're so unfair..."

Gladion sobbed again as his head lowered.

"So Unfair..."

=================================================================

~END~