Archive of Our Own ^beta

Liko exhaled calmly as she put in her earbuds, thinking it was going to be a normal day.

The iconic opening music of her favorite Nidothing video began playing as her Rotom phone hovered in the air. Nidothing herself popped up on the screen with Quaxwell at her side, beaming with enthusiasm as she greeted her audience. Liko opened her sketchbook to a new page and set it on her desk, readying her pencil. But, she was met with no ideas.

She twisted her head around, looking about her room for any kind of inspiration. Her eyes landed on her bed, where Floragato, Hattrem, and Terapagos were sleeping soundly in a pile. Smiling subtly, she turned her swivel chair to face them, placing the sketchbook on her lap. Picturing the drawing of her sleeping Pokemon, her pencil was just centimeters away from touching the paper. But was interrupted by the awfully loud knocking on her door. Floragato, Hattrem, and Terapagos were abruptly awoken as they tumbled to the floor in a tangled heap.

“Liko?” said Roy’s voice from outside. “Can I come in?”

Liko paused the Nidothing video and took out her earbuds. She was mildly annoyed, but did her best to remain polite. “Yeah, come in.”

Roy pushed the door open, and his partner Crocalor aimlessly waddled into the room. The fire croc Pokemon greeted Floragato, who still seemed to be half asleep.

“We’re landing in Levincia, and Friede gave me a shopping list for the ship,” Roy explained. “Do you wanna come too?”

Liko hesitated, unsure of what to say. Levincia was quite the overwhelming place. It was crowded, beams of light shone all the time, and there was a giant screen with an ad everywhere you looked.

But she couldn’t just say no to her friend. She didn’t want to give Roy the idea that she was mad, or anything like that. It would make her feel guilty to decline his offer. So, she gave in.

“Sure,” Liko said finally.

“Great! I’ll give you time to get ready,” Roy and Crocalor were gone almost as fast as they arrived.

Liko sighed as she closed her sketchbook and put away her Rotom phone. What was wrong with her? Why was she so apprehensive? It was just a shopping trip with Roy, nothing to worry about. Sure, Levincia was a bit much, but it couldn’t be that bad. Maybe she would feel better once she was actually out and about.

Liko stood up, putting on her teal jacket and slinging her yellow bag over her shoulder. As she crouched down to put on her shoes, she glanced at her earbuds sitting on her desk. And, as if without thinking, she grabbed them and dropped them in her pocket with her Rotom phone.

“Alright, you ready to go, Floragato?”

Floragato was giving her trainer a look that could only be described as, something’s wrong with you and I know it.

Floragato was always somewhat perceptive to how Liko was feeling, and this was one of those times. Although, Liko wasn’t quite sure why Floragato was giving her that same look. She felt perfectly fine. If something was wrong, Hattrem would’ve pummeled her in the face by now. It was a Pokemon known for being sensitive to emotions, after all.

“I know what you’re thinking, Floragato, but…” Liko stroked Floragato’s head. “I’m fine. I promise.”

Floragato meowed indifferently.

“Hattrem, Pagogo, We’ll be back, okay?”

Terapagos exclaimed cheerfully in reply, but Hattrem had a similar expression to Floragato. Being a psychic type Pokemon, she looked to also know that something was wrong with Liko.

She tried to brush it off, and Floragato followed her into the hallway to catch up with Roy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, which Liko assumed was the shopping list.

“Let’s see…” Roy began reading off the items on the list. “We need to get a few potions for Mollie, fuel for Orla to refuel the ship, food groceries for Murdock, and Ludlow needs some new fishing bait. Think we could knock it out today?”

Liko winced. That sounded like they would be out for a long time.

“Uh huh, we could do that,” she said half-heartedly.

Roy paused, a bit put off by Liko’s lack of enthusiasm. “By the way, I invited Dot, since I guessed you would want her to come, too.”

Liko’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Dot’s name. It was only recently that she realized she had feelings for Dot, so it was still a lot to process. And what did Roy mean by that? He knew Liko would want Dot to come with them? Did he know? Was Liko that obvious?

She glanced at Roy’s oblivious expression. No, she was overthinking it. Roy just knew that she and Dot were good friends, that’s all.

But even with that, Liko didn’t really want to be around Dot right now. Not when she was in a bad mood like this. Being quiet and standoffish around her newly-discovered crush wasn’t exactly a good idea.

“Um… cool. That’s cool.” Liko replied awkwardly.

Roy seemed to non-verbally brush off Liko’s strange mood again. The two of them met up with Dot and Quaxwell outside of the Brave Olivine, and started on their way to Levincia.

While walking there, Liko calmed down a little bit. It was a beautiful sunny day, and was quiet and serene. Flocks of Hoppip fluttered in the breeze, Pawmi and Pawmo scampered about in the grass, and the large silhouette of a Kilowattrel soared high in the sky. And not to mention, Dot was there. Maybe this shopping trip wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

But that all quickly changed once they reached Levincia.

It was even more lively and noisy than usual. The streets were bustling with shoppers, there were all different kinds of Pokemon around every corner, and the large screens were playing bright and flashy ads. The mixed sounds of various conversations, Pokemon cries, and children squeals rattled inside Liko’s head, and she felt her breath racing. The sun seemed to shine brighter, and the heat beat down on Liko’s face, making her sweat.

Roy glanced at the wrinkled paper in his hands as the trio squeezed through the crowd. “Right, first thing on the list. We need to buy some potions for Mollie.”

Dot’s Rotom phone hovered out of her pocket, and she opened the map on its screen. “We’ll find that at the Poke mart. Should be… that way, I think.”

Roy and Dot started in the direction of the mart, but Dot glanced back at Liko.

“Liko?” she said. “You okay?”

“Huh?” Liko was distracted by the video of a Sprigatito advertising some sort of soda drink on one of the massive screens. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

Liko followed behind her two friends, her fists squeezed tightly at her sides. Her fingernails dig into her skin as her knuckles turned white, and she quickly shoved them in her pockets to hide them. She didn’t want to give her friends the impression that she was mad or upset. That would inconvenience them. Surely they didn’t want to be bothered by her problems.

Floragato gazed up at Liko and meowed concernedly, her pointy green ears tilted down.

“I’m fine, Floragato,” Liko tried her best to hold back the hostility in her voice. “Really, I am.”

The three of them finally arrived at the Poke mart, and the automatic doors slid open. They stepped inside, and Liko felt a sense of relief as the outside world’s noises were cut off. The store’s air conditioning washed over her, and the blazing hot sun didn’t seem to reach her anymore. It was still a bit busy, but not as many people as the streets. But the ceiling lights were blindingly bright, and Liko blinked rapidly, as if trying to drown them out.

Roy and Dot walked down the aisles with their partners, and Liko and Floragato trailed behind them.

“We need five Hyper Potions and five Full Restores,” Roy read off the shopping list. “See any of those anywhere?”

Dot glanced around the shelves, which were lined with all sorts of supplies for trainers. “Here, Hyper Potions.”

Dot pulled five of the bottles off the shelf, but staggered a bit under their weight. She looked at Quaxwell.

“Quaxwell, will you hold these for us?”

Quaxwell, who was smoothing out his blue hair, gave Dot a look. He shook his head, too absorbed in fixing his appearance.

Dot seemed to roll her eyes behind her purple bangs. “How about you, Liko?”

“Oh, uh…” Liko stammered. As much as she didn’t want to, she couldn’t manage to decline Dot’s request. “Sure, I can hold them.”

Liko pulled her hands out of her pockets, and Dot dropped the Hyper Potions into her arms. Liko also stumbled under their weight, though not as much. The potions were unusually heavy, and their bold pink color seemed even brighter than what Liko remembered. They were hard and cold against her skin.

“And we also need Full Restores,” Roy reminded.

The trio walked throughout the tiny store, scanning the isles for the boxy green bottles. The Hyper Potions clinked against each other noisily that made Liko wince every time.
Her arms were starting to get tired from holding them, but again, she didn’t want to inconvenience her friends. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.

Roy scratched his head. “I don’t see ‘em anywhere.”

“We should ask the front desk,” Dot suggested.

They approached the desk, where a tall and burly man stood with a sharp-eyed Kingambit at his side.

“Welcome! Can I help you?” The man asked enthusiastically, and a bit too loudly.

“Yeah, do you have any Full Restores?” Roy asked. “We need five.”

The man stroked his chin. “Hmm… Full Restores… We might have some in the back. Kingambit, would you grab five Full Restores for these wonderful customers?”

Kingambit let out a proud bellow that echoed throughout the little store and pierced Liko’s ears. It hovered into the back, and Liko exhaled, relieved that its shouting was over.

Only, it was torture waiting for it to return.

Liko shifted on her feet uneasily. She couldn’t seem to find a comfortable way to stand. Her arms were starting to ache from holding the Hyper Potions, and were going numb from how cold they were. The conversations of the people in the store bounced around in her mind, although she didn’t process what anyone was saying. It was weird, the way her clothes felt on her skin. And her hair tickled her neck in a sense that was infuriating. More people were starting to enter the store, each person louder than the last. The ceiling lights were blazing, everything smelled strange, and there were just too many things going on.

Her whole body tensed, and she could feel a lump starting to form in her throat. She rocked back and forth on her heels, but tried to hide it. Her breath began racing, and she tried to hide that, too. Tears were welling up in Liko’s eyes, but she quickly tried to blink them away. Why? Why was she crying? And now, of all times? They were just going on a shopping trip. Nothing crazy. It wasn’t like they were encountering the Explorers or anything. Everything was fine. Everything was okay. She was okay.

Absolutely nothing was wrong.

It was when the Kingambit returned with a shout that Liko practically dropped the Hyper Potions on the floor.

Just about the entire store stopped and turned when she let out a shriek of distress. Liko stumbled back, clutching her scalp as she began sobbing uncontrollably. Tears were streaming down her face as she paced in short, fast circles. Her breaths were heavy and hitched as she heard the voices of her friends.

“Liko!” Roy cried.

“Liko, what’s wrong?!” Dot followed up with.

She barely glanced at them for a second when she darted out of the store, pulling the hood of her jacket over her head. Pushing through the crowd of Levincia, she tried her best to hide her miserable expression and quiet down her sobs. The faces of the people she passed ranged from concerned to alarmed to mildly annoyed.

Liko eventually found a cool, dark, quiet alley away from all the sights and sounds. She plopped down on the cold concrete and hugged her knees, continuing to sob. Her face was burning and scrunched up, and she repeatedly wiped her nose and eyes. Rocking back and forth, her back lightly slammed against the wall of the building behind her.

Her cries had calmed down a bit when she heard Dot’s voice.

“Liko?”

Liko glanced up and saw the vague shape of Dot crouched down in front of her through a blur of tears. Quaxwell and Floragato were there, too, and were equally as concerned. Liko wiped her face in order to see better, and saw that Dot’s face was a mix of compassion and worry.

Liko avoided eye contact. “I-I’m sorry, Dot, I just-”

“Hold on,” Dot cut her off. “Don’t apologize yet.”

Liko didn’t say anything. She continued to stare at the ground shamefully.

Dot sighed. “I would’ve come sooner, but… you seemed like you needed some time.”

Liko sniffled. “Where’s Roy?”

“I told him to continue shopping, we’ll catch up with him later,” Dot replied. “He wants to check on you, too, but I thought I’d make sure you were okay first.”

Dot awkwardly sat down next to Liko, hesitating.

“What’s wrong?” she said finally.

“I-I’m not entirely sure,” Liko stammered, still occasionally letting out a sob. “It was… everything was so loud and bright, and it overwhelmed me. It was just too much.”

Dot nodded. “I know that feeling.”

“And…” Liko continued. “I didn’t want to tell you guys because I didn’t want to bother you. And I also didn’t want to feel like I was overreacting.”

Dot looked at Liko, confused and concerned.

“Liko…” she said softly. “It’s okay if you were uncomfortable at all. You just had to tell us, and it would be just fine.”

Liko paused. “Really?”

“Yeah. It wouldn’t have been a problem if we had to go back early because you weren’t feeling okay. Your well-being is more important to us than finishing some stupid shopping trip.”

Liko felt her heart flutter at what Dot said, but it almost immediately turned into guilt. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“It’s okay,” Dot assured, and she fidgeted with her hair nervously. “Do you… need a hug or something?”

Liko smiled happily. “Yes, that would be great.”

The two of them opened their arms and pulled each other into a tight embrace. Liko closed her eyes and exhaled calmly, feeling all her worries melt away in Dot’s hold. When she pulled away, Dot still held Liko’s hands in her own, squeezing them affectionately.

“Would a Nidothing video help calm you down?” Dot asked. She seemed a bit more anxious while holding Liko’s hands, her eyes darting around restlessly.

Liko nodded.

She pulled out her Rotom phone and put in one earbud, offering the other to Dot. Dot put in the other earbud and shyly scooted closer to Liko, both their shoulders touching. Quaxwell and Floragato sat down next to their trainers as Liko tapped the Nidothing video she was watching earlier, and it picked up where she left off.

It wasn’t exactly a normal day like Liko thought, but she didn’t mind. Not every day was going to be normal, and that was okay.