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epicspheal · 3 years

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Top three gym leaders of each generation?

Hi there @ladyseychelles! Favorite gym leaders...let's see here Kanto 1. Blue: not much surprise here, Blue's going to end up in my favorites for just about anything he's applicable of. There's something really cool about having a gym leader with no defined type. Not to mention just seeing the demeanor change from Gen 1 to Gen 2 was just so amazing

2. Brock: admittedly this is more from the anime, but I just really loved the big brother mentor vibes he gave to Ash, and then May, Max, and Dawn later on.

3. Blaine: Again this is mainly because of the anime, but his battle with Ash was easily the best of the original series Johto 1. Jasmine: If there was a gym leader I would love to emulate, it'd be Jasmine. I really love the "silk hiding steel" personality of hers

2. Morty: So um...I'm a Morty simp. He was one of my first anime crushes like ever. Also, he trains ghost types which is one of my favorite types so I have to stan.

3. Clair: She's a badass dragon tamer with a Kingdra. That's all I have to say.

Hoenn: 1. Norman: So the gen 3 games were the first mainline Pokemon games that I ever got a chance to play and Norman was absolutely so hard for me to overcome. It took me so many tries (because I was a noob who didn't know what she was doing). Also, there's just something really cool about having to defeat your own parent for a gym badge. And he's a top tier dad in the anime (we don't talk about Pokespe!Norman...fuck Pokespe!Norman)

2. Tate and Liza: This is pretty much mainly because I really enjoy double battles a lot and getting to have double battles against two gym leaders was just super cool

3. Flannery: I adore her so much. She's just a new gym leader trying her best! That and as a kid, I just adored her outfit (I still do honestly) and wanted to dress up as her

Sinnoh 1. Roark: He's an adorable rock nerd. I like rock nerds, I like guys that look good in glasses. Plus seeing baby Roark as a kid in the anime melted my heart but also his story with feeling like he couldn't get his dad's respect

2. Maylene: This is from the anime but I absolutely adored her arc about learning to regain self-confidence especially after what Paul said to her. Plus her bonding with Dawn over their shared issues was really sweet

3. Volkner: I really adore his relationship with Flint (especially in the anime) but also I can relate to him being burnt out and bored of life. And also he has a Luxray. I have to stan anyone with a Luxray. Unova 1. Lenora: One of the toughest battles of Unova but also I just adored her being a badass nerd who runs a museum and is happily married. Minus the whole mammy stereotype controversy with her original design with the apron it just really meant so much to me as a black girl into Pokemon to have someone who looks like she could be in my family. And that outside of the fortunate design she wasn't a walking stereotype. A smart bookworm who had a loving husband and was tough? I adore Lenora a lot. 2. Clay: Part of this is because he is a ground-type gym leader and there just aren't a lot of ground-type specialists in Pokemon. But also I like his gruff but still, kind personality and the fact that the English localization gives him somewhat of a southern accent makes me happy since I'm from the Southeastern United States 3. Elesa: I really appreciated not only her toughness in battle but also how she tried to help Bianca out when her dad tried to force her to come home. That and also I really loved both of her gym designs. Kalos 1. Grant: he was honestly the toughest fight for me in XY. HIs gym is also one of the most creative I've seen in the franchise

2. Clemont: This was mainly due to the anime but I just really adored this little nerd so much

3. Ramos: He's a funny cute old man and I really liked his gym Alola (I know there are no gym leaders but I'll do the trial captains) 1. Kiawe: I thought his little challenge with the dancing Alolan Marowak was super cute. But also in the games, I just really felt for him trying to make his dream of dancing come true and getting fired from the supermarket...ouch. And then his relationship with his baby sister in the anime is just the cutest

2. Mallow: I enjoyed her difficult Totem Lurantis trial but her anime depiction was what really sold me on her. Between her mom's death and her dream to open up a restaurant she just really endeared herself to me

3. Mina: I just really enjoyed her "chill go with the flow, low key kind of stoned" vibe. Galar (probably the hardest one to choose since I genuinely love all of the gym leaders there) 1. Kabu: I really loved his catching gym challenge, the fact that the inner part of his gym has a whole track (I'm a former track andfield athlete). Plus he's from Hoenn and I love the Hoenn region. Also I really just enjoyed hearing his of stories him just always trying new things and that even though he has yet to become champion, he's still really respected and seen as the first major roadblock in the league

2. Raihan: Again I'm a sucker for double battles, so getting a chance to do those for the entire gym was cool. Plus I just enjoy his character of being fierce on the pitch but gentlemanly history nerd outside of it all. Plus he's a dragon tamer and I'm just a sucker for dragon tamers

3. Opal: Oh my I adore granny Opal. I said this on Twitter but she's in my opinion of the best well written female characters in the series. She's a strong gym leader to have held the position for 70 years, she's funny and extremely insightful and I enjoyed the quiz format she had for her gym since there were consequences to getting questions wrong.

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petaldancing · 6 years

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fic: all we shouldn’t regret

fandom: pokemon characters: flannery/roxanne prompt: things you said after you kissed me notes: another prompt from twitter!

“You should really watch where you’re going,” was the first thing she ever said to Flannery. It hadn’t been a very good first impression. Flannery landed on the floor after their unfortunate collision along the hallway. Her hands ached from cushioning her fall, but she was otherwise fine. Unlike her, the brunette didn’t lose her footing, as if she held a firmness in every step she took. Instead of feeling embarrassed or upset, Flannery found herself staring up in slight awe at this young woman with a big red bow in her hair.

Despite her clipped remark, the woman bent over and helped Flannery to pick up the files that had tumbled out of her arms. She glanced at the label of one of the folders, and said, “I see you’re applying to become a gym leader as well.”

“Yeah, I am!” Flannery answered, a little too eagerly, and felt her ears grow hot. “I mean, I’ve wanted to every since I was a kid. But there’s a ton of paperwork to submit and I got kinda overwhelmed… I’m sorry!”

The woman managed to collect all the files into a neat stack in one arm. As she rose to her full height, she offered her empty hand to Flannery. Flannery took it and was hoisted up, surprised again by the woman’s strength in spite of her smallish frame.

“It’s alright. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said, passing the files back to Flannery. “I understand the nervous jitters about applying for the position, in any case. I’m Roxanne. I suppose we’ll be in the same course come spring.”

“Yes, we will! I’m Flannery!” she said, again too quickly, but Roxanne did not mind it. Instead, she nodded politely and carried on walking down the hallway.

Flannery resisted the urge to turn and stare. She could still hear the faint tap of Roxanne’s shoes against the tiled floor, growing softer. Stepping forward, she reminded herself why she was here in the first place. At least this trip to the Pokemon Association wasn’t as boring as she thought it was going to be.

“You should straighten your posture. Pokemon imitate their trainer. They’ll have a better fighting stance if you do, too.”

Flannery felt something crack in her lower back as she relaxed her shoulders and raised her head, feeling her back tighten. This was going to take some getting used to. She laughed as she said, “Thanks for taking time out to help me with training, Roxanne.”

“You’re welcome. This helps me apply my lessons from the Trainer's School, so it’s a win-win for both of us,” Roxanne spoke from the other side of the training arena. Nosepass was out of its pokeball, waiting for the match to start. Flannery knew that to become a gym leader, she needed to be good enough to test any challenger, including those who had pokemon with type advantages against hers. She’d beat Roxanne’s winning streak soon enough.

“Go, Numel!”

Her partner sprung into the fray in a brilliant flash of red, not even waiting for the signal that the battle had begun as he charged towards his opponent. Nosepass and Roxanne were ready for it. “Double Team!” she ordered, folding her arms in front of herself as Nosepass’ doubles made Numel’s eyes spin. “First, you reduce accuracy, which lowers the probability of a successful attack!” she explained. Flannery had heard this before—Roxanne had an awfully cute habit of showing off her knowledge of pokemon.

“Sunny Day!” Flanner jabbed her finger into the sky as Numel lifted his head, a plume of smoke trailing out from the hole on his hump. The sun’s rays intensified at Numel’s call, and Roxanne had to hold her arm over her eyes.

“You should know better by now. Fire-type attacks, even if multiplied by terrain effects, are still ineffective against my lovely rock hard pokemon!” Roxanne tutted. Still covering her eyes, she raised her other hand in a graceful arc, skirt bouncing with her movements. “Nosepass, use Rock Slide!”

The compass pokemon and its three mirror images leapt up and struck the ground simultaneously with their arms, causing it to crack and split. The resulting debris tumbled towards Numel, who had no opening to dodge the onslaught of rocks. Flannery winced as her pokemon took a hit to the body and skidded back to her side of the arena.

“Once more, Nosepass!”

“Numel, use Magnitude!” Flannery called out as Nosepass jumped into the air.

Numel growled and rammed its front feet into the earth, sending a shockwave through the earth in the same moment Nosepass made contact, catching it completely off guard. Flannery wobbled on her feet as the whole arena rumbled, smiling to herself as Nosepass’ doubles disappeared. When the dust cleared, it was only Numel and an unconscious Nosepass left in the middle of the worn down field.

“How is that possible! Your pokemon…”

“My pokemon can learn moves that aren’t fire-type,” Flannery finished the sentence for her. If Roxanne went by the book, Flannery was the complete opposite—she was driven only by her intuition, and the memory of her grandfather’s battles, how unpredictable and exhilarating they always were.

“It seems I still have much to learn myself,” Roxanne said, removing her hand from her face. “But don’t go lowering your guard, Flannery. I intend to think of a way to counter this.”

Underneath the glaring sunlight, if Flannery squinted her eyes, she could make out Roxanne’s smile, and the thought that she had coaxed it out made her heart flutter.

“You shouldn’t let these things get to you, Flannery. You’re a Gym Leader now.”

Flannery didn’t look up from her crumpled dress. She brought her knees closer to her chest, watching the material crease even more. Her feet were aching from walking around in her mother’s heels. The only reason she hadn’t kicked them off was because she knew she’d have to go back in eventually and pretend that she knew exactly what she was doing. “What does that even mean, Roxanne?”

“A Gym Leader’s duty is to test trainers, and to present them a Pokemon League badge if they prove themselves capable,” Roxanne said with with ease. It was one of the many bits of guidelines and fineprint she’d memorised from the handbook given to them at the start of the training course. Flannery hadn’t even read past the introduction.

“That’s what it means technically, but what does it mean to you?” Flannery asked, her cheeks flushing when she noticed that Roxanne was squatting next to her now. “What are you going to say when they force you go up and make that speech?” she continued, her voice softer this time.

Why did every gym leader have to go up and make an acceptance speech, anyway? Wasn’t proving that she was a good battler enough? She should have known that the Pokemon Association was going to test them sooner or later. She just hadn’t expected the test to be on the night of the appointment ceremony. They were going to see how the new leaders would carry themselves in front of the media, whether they were a good face for the League. No wonder grandfather never liked going for official Association meetings.

“That I graduated from the Pokemon Trainer’s School, that I will be Rustboro’s new gym leader, and that I intend to use my time as gym leader to better myself and to perfect the teachings of the school.”

“A model answer from a model student.” Flannery couldn’t help but say.

Instead of scolding her for taking that tone, Roxanne inched closer so that their arms were touching. Both of them were wearing sleeveless dresses, and the contact made Flannery both confused and comforted.

“What’s wrong, Flannery?”

“I just…” She bit her lip. “I just don’t know what kind of gym leader I should be. Should I pretend to be cool and composed so people take me seriously? Should I act friendly so that everyone’ll get along? Should I say that I’ll be a great gym leader, even though I know I’m not?”

Roxanne did not reply straightaway. Instead, she stood up and took a few steps forward, into the moonlight casting through the tall glass windows. Her skin glowed under the light as she closed her eyes tentatively. It became so quiet that they could hear the party and the chatter from down the hallway. It took a moment for Flannery to realise that her friend was giving her time to breathe and slow her thoughts.

"That's not like you at all." When Roxanne finally spoke, her words had a teasing lilt in them. "Weren't you the one who always bulldozed herself forward and never let anything stop her?"

"It was just that one time, Roxanne. And I was the one who fell down," Flannery said with a chuckle. Yes, she always did have a knack for getting herself into situations because of her one track mind.

“What I'm trying to say is that you’ll figure that out along the way, won’t you? You don’t need to decide what kind of gym leader you’ll become right now. I believe we all find ourselves during our tenure." Roxanne walked back, extending her hand out once again. “What I do know is that you’ll be a fantastic gym leader as long as you don’t get distracted, and you improve your posture.”

“Is it still that bad?” Flannery asked, her cheeks red now out of embarrassment. She didn't want to let go of Roxanne's hand just yet, but there was no reason left to hold it now that she was up on her feet.

"Of course it is. Here." Roxanne pressed her fingers into the small of her back, eyes widening as she realised that Flannery was wearing a backless dress. Her face immediately turned in a shade that was nearly identical to the fancy ribbons in her hair.

Flannery straightened her spine in the same moment her insides knotted up, and it wasn't an unpleasant thing. "I guess tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," she hummed, and left it at that, because there was enough on both their minds already. Arm in arm, they returned to the ceremony with ten minutes to spare.

Panicked screams and frantic shouts for loved ones rang through the blazing heat in Lavaridge. She dashed around the streets, Numel by her side, searching for anyone who might need help. Then, Flannery saw her, rising above the people that were finding shelter from the intense heatwave, on the top of Nosepass.

"Roxanne?! What are you doing here? I said I'd be at the Pokemon League once I made sure everyone in Lavaridge was safe." Flannery had to raise her voice above the noise.

Roxanne dismounted gracefully, one hand on Nosepass as she surveyed the surroundings. The streets were busier than usual, with residents rushing to gather supplies and rations from the pokemart and the local provision stores. A lot of them were wearing hats and sunglasses in an attempt to shield themselves from Groudon's Drought.

"I thought you might need help," Roxanne replied, gathering and tucking loose strands of hair behind her ears. She was sweating, something she never allowed herself to do. How far had she and Nosepass travelled? Flannery felt her throat tighten with guilt. She grabbed Roxanne's hand and tugged her in the direction of the hot springs. "Let's get some water—for ourselves, and for anyone who we meet on the way there. Grandpa should've managed to collect some by now."

Flannery instructed whoever she bumped into to quickly go indoors and cool off. The Lavaridge Pokemon Center was now a first aid center for all those in the area who had heat stroke. She didn't want to have to send even more people there, including herself and Roxanne.

The chaos outside was a sharp contrast to the silence that greeted them in the house once Flannery closed the door behind her. Roxanne leaned against the kitchen counter and Flannery sat herself on the table opposite, trying to drink as much water as she could. Grandpa had gone off again, to help the other civilians, almost as if he'd never retired from being Gym Leader. Flannery trusted his pokemon to look after him, and it was only because of this that she allowed herself to focus her attention on Roxanne.

"You didn't need to come all the way out here!" Flannery snapped once she felt her body temperature lowering just a tad, a feat considering how the room was insufferably warm and stuffy. "What's gotten into you?" she asked, feeling like she'd switched places with the woman standing opposite her. The Roxanne she knew would have followed the rules set in place during a regional crisis: all active gym leaders were to assemble at the Pokemon League as soon as possible and be assigned duties to mitigate the crisis, whatever it was.

Roxanne, who'd finished off one bottle of water, took a second to catch her breath. "I couldn't go by myself, not without knowing you'd be there. It's crazy out there, Flannery. Everything's a mess now. There's nothing in the guidebook that can tell us what to do about this. I chose to follow my gut instead." The plastic squeaked in her grip as Roxanne looked at her with clear, uncompromising eyes. "It told me that I had to come to you first."

Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or the fact that the earth was burning, or that they were alone in her house—whatever it was, Flannery bridged the gap between them without pausing. She cupped Roxanne's cheeks between her hands, and when the brunette didn't pull away, leaned in to kiss Roxanne in one brave moment. Both their lips were dry and cracked, but that didn't stop Flannery from knowing instantly that this was the right thing to do.

Instead of saying anything remotely romantic, Roxanne broke the kiss to exclaim, gravely, “You shouldn't have done that!"

Flannery, still cradling Roxanne's face, puffed up her cheeks in response. “Why shouldn't I! I like you, Roxanne! And you like me too, don't you?"

"I..." Roxanne's mouth hung open, and her face grew redder.

Flannery felt strangely empowered, seeing Roxanne tongue-tied for once. "Why else would you be here, you dummy?" she laughed in spite of the situation, feeling the pent-up stress leave her body. "Sorry for getting side-tracked. Let's pack up and leave now. We can talk more after all this is over."

They tossed unopened water bottles into a bagpack and changed into fresh clothes as quickly as they could. Flannery knew that Roxanne would not accept loose jeans, and so she handed her a belt. "Do think think the world is going to end?" Roxanne asked as she wrangled her hair into a more efficient ponytail. Flannery knew that what she really meant to ask was, 'Why did you do that? Why at this very moment?'

"No. It won't." This was one of those times when the only way to get through was to believe in everyone's strength, and to charge forward without any doubts. If that was what she was good at, then she'd have to take the lead. "This just made me realise that I don't want any more regrets from now on," she said, adjusting the straps of her bag and taking Roxanne's hand as they prepared to leave the house. "And... it made me realise what kind of gym leader I want to be."

"What would that be?" Roxanne asked.

Flannery took a deep breath as she opened the front door. "The kind that doesn't run away, even when I'm scared."

She could see Roxanne crack a smile, even under the sun's blazing rays.

"That fits you perfectly."

---

end notes: this is one of those cases where i intended for it to be a 500 word fic and it exploded into a 2,500 word one and i got restless at the end! you can tell!

are roxanne and flannery the reason why numel knows magnitude and nosepass knows protect?? welp thats my headcanon now

lastly, if you want more flannery/roxanne content please check out my friend AQ's lovely fic over here!

#ok that's all the pkmn i have for now #up next will be bnha or hyouka stuff (hopefully)#the only reason i can write so much now is because it's the cny break~#flannery (pokemon)#roxanne (pokemon)#fandom: pokemon

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