Albert

Albert had grown up with a deep adoration of fairy tales. His father told him stories of the heroes of Galar, the wolves of war that stood against the odds. He sat there and listened with all his being, absorbing the legendary past of his home. He gained a fervent desire to join the coveted ranks of those who are spoken about with such reverence.

He began to train, to gain the strength he’d require for his great adventure. He shied away from his peers, preferring to spend his time how he felt it was most worth it. When his father passed so suddenly, it only deepened his desire to be someone great, so that even gone, the man who had given him so much would be remembered. As Albert kneeled on the ground that night, holding his Quilladin in his arms, He glared, hurt and confused, at the fleeing girls.

During his time interning at the Hammerlocke Constabulary, he had heard of the infamous Paldean criminal who had earned the nickname of ‘Ruination’. The boy and his Absol traveled around the region, committing crimes and bringing disaster to entire cities. Albert wondered if he would one day encounter someone of such evil.

The truth was far crueler than the fiction, it turned out.

He definitely overreacted upon seeing the beast in Aquacorde, the horror stories of the Ruination bouncing around in his head. He drew his blade, brandished it against a pokemon. They blew him and Lancette off like they were jokes. When he learned that the tiny girl he had moved forward to save was, in fact, the Absol’s trainer, a deep set guilt formed in Albert’s heart. He found himself bereft of words, unable to find an excuse for his actions. His apology was from his heart, yet he found himself shying away from speaking to her again for a while.

When they ran into each other in Santalune at that diner, he had intended on apologizing again. He ended up biting his own tongue by attempting to begin with an attempt to impress the girl, only for her to flip it back onto him. He ended up staring at his meal for a bit after a small useless response to Blaine, and when he looked back up, She and Sofie had just left without a word.

He made his decision as he walked back to the Pokemon Center that he’d invite the two of them to travel with him across Route Four. He wanted to make his actions up to them, to create a small friendship where they could look back on his tomfoolery as a simple silly mistake.

He sat around waiting for them at the Center, only to step into action when the cries of there being a Pokemon thief began to ring out. That was his moment, the true thing that he strived to prevent. He sent Lancette into the air, to track and slow down so that he could intercept. They had practiced it a lot in Galar, a pincer formation that was even more effective now that Bedive was on their team.

Then he stepped into that alleyway, and his world flipped.

That supervillain, the one he had daydreamed of bringing to justice, was no more than a small, quiet girl. Not a gigantic man in a dark metal plate, or a scruffy vagabond with no consciousness. Just a tiny trainer who he had unintentionally wronged, intended on bringing into his circle as an apology. Just earlier that day, she had congratulated him on his success, his growth.

She was Morgan, but she was also the Ruination.

His mind reeling, he barely paid attention to what was happening as he collected his hurt pokemon and locked himself in his hotel room. He didn’t even move to his bed, instead opting to flop down in the cheap office chair that always seemed to be in a Pokemon Center room. He dropped his head into his hands, and thought. A lot.

What kind of hero did he wish to be?

His mental image of the world had blurred so much that night, simple blacks and whites washing together into a gray that he wasn’t sure he liked. He simply didn’t know what to think. He had been so obsessed with the notion of those pages filled with pastel watercolors that he hadn’t noticed the true nature of, well, really anything. The stories he was told, of villains and heroes, justice and evil, combusted in his mind to a fine ash. Albert didn’t know what a hero was anymore, what a villain was. He couldn’t answer that question. So he asked himself a different one.

Who did he want to be?

That one was easier. He wanted to protect what he loved. He wanted to be the strength that allowed people to live as they wanted. He wanted to cement his own justice, to make a world fair to those who were downtrodden. He wanted to be the person that people looked up to as a good man. He wanted to save those walking down the wrong path, granting them the light they had strayed from.

He wanted to find the truth of the world, to find the things he had missed out on.

At that moment, Albert flipped his fairytale to a new page, a place to begin a new story. One where he is more than a caricature, a cliche seeker of justice. He created for himself a new definition of hero, one who didn’t back down from the silent horror of the world. Even though it seemed the same as before, Albert had found a new purpose within the verdant tangle of his heart.

Albert Paddock strove to be a hero.

Celine

Standing in the shower, Celine trembles beneath scalding streams. Her emotions were in a fritz. She was infuriated at herself, for not noticing the malcontent when it was right in front of her. She was infuriated at Sofie, for not noticing the evil in Morgan, despite the extended time Sofie had spent with her. She was infuriated at Morgan, for leading her best friend down a path she wouldn’t be able to come back from.

But most of all, she was broken-hearted at the fact that she was unable to prevent herself from having those thoughts. She knew the pair wasn’t bad, that they weren’t deserving of hatred. They were just girls like her, happy to be on their first journey, to experience the gym circuit in its entirety.

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She’d been furious at the moment she saw them standing in that alley, unable to stop her rage from leaking out. She had been ridiculous, her tongue moving before her mind as it always did. She had meant it, too. Blaine was someone Celine knew she could trust, someone with whom she shared a connection deeper than she’d likely ever have with someone else. She got her, understood the things that made her who she was, more than Sofie ever could.

Yet it still burned.

Her heart, her soul screamed in agony at the likely loss of her best friend. Sofie’s words, that deeply vitriolic dismission of her worries, ate away at Celine. It dominated all else in her mind, how Sofie had simply left with Morgan without even a goodbye. She wasn’t even worthy of that.

What exactly made that girl better than her, anyway?

She had said it herself, she was a criminal! The Ruination had used Sofie’s skills to gain a new identity, a new self to continue her rampage across Kalos. How could you possibly trust her words after she literally admitted to being someone who committed evil? Why throw away their years of trust, friendship, just for a girl you met not even a whole week ago? Celine was the one who brought Sofie out of the depths of despair, dragging her into the light as she screamed to be left alone. Was that connection weak enough to have been tainted so fast?

Celine’s legs give out beneath her, and her burning rage fades, leaving only frigid sorrow behind. She sobs, her mind filled with dark intrusions, ones that she wouldn’t dare to speak of to another person. She was strong enough to work through them, to not commit to something she couldn’t take back, but it didn’t mean it didn’t deeply hurt in the moment. Celine’s tears mixed with the far too warm water, forming into a mixture that made her skin feel tender and fragile.

Was she truly just weak, when all was said and done? She had won every battle she had taken, rising above the odds to take victory. Yet, when they stood in that alley, Morgan was able to destroy them like they barely even existed. Arceus, they even had a pro-ranger helping them, and they didn’t even hit that Absol once. Was she lacking in strength, in skill, in heart?

No.

Taking a deep breath Celine shakily stands, wiping away a tear. She wasn’t someone who would fall to despair. This was a setback, something she would look back on bitterly, yet would serve as a stepping stone for her rise. She’d become strong enough to eventually fight against Morgan and prove herself. She’d convince Sofie she was still worth her time, even if it meant coping with Morgan’s presence. She’d take back control of her life, one battle at a time. Celine turns the water off, a chill immediately falling over her. She doesn’t shiver.

Celine steps out into her hotel room, drying herself off as she falls into her bed. Her Pokemon were hurt, but that didn’t bother her much. They were stronger than she was, her greatest supporters. She knew implicitly they’d support the purpose she had found without question, the new torrent within her heart.

Celine Ducasse strove to be an Avenger.

Blaine

Sitting in the darkened streets of Santalune, Blaine’s hand illuminated the night as she held it onto Tart’s wound. The damage slowly receded, yet it wasn’t fast enough for Blaine. She grimaces, biting her lip as she hugs her butterfly close. Tart didn’t blame her, yet she still felt a deep guilt over the damage her friends had taken tonight.

Everything was her own fault.

She had known, back when she left the forest with Evangeline in tow, that Morgan was likely someone that the Pro Ranger would want to meet. The woman had shown up back when she was leaving the deepest area of the forest, inquiring why and how she had been back there. The simplest response she had been able to give was that she didn’t know. That seemed to be enough for her to lay off the subject, but something about Evangeline irked her, so Blaine didn’t say anything about Morgan at the time.

She wished she did.

Perhaps all this needless harm could have been avoided if she had. Morgan and Sofie already were suspicious of her identity during the trek into the forest, so she was forced to deflect their attempt at learning more about her with a bit of a mean trick. Morgan was obviously unstable, but the girl just seemed to be traumatized as far as Blaine could tell at the time. She knew that they’d drop the subject if she inquired more, and they did.

Maybe she should’ve forced that trade.

So many Pokemon had been hurt tonight, all because one girl had refused to accept her fate. Blaine sympathized with Morgan, she truly did. She’d likely have done the same thing in that situation, to fight for the right to live how she pleased. Yet, she wasn’t that girl. She wasn’t the Ruination.

Blaine’s purpose was firm, the thing she strived for set in stone. She wished to keep her friends, all Pokemon safe. It slightly hurt to do battle with them, but she knew that it was for an important cause. To fight is to gain strength, the thing that she’d need to protect everyone.

It’s why it hurt so bad to lose like they did.

What experience could she possibly gain from a battle so one sided? The knowledge that she was incapable of contesting Morgan in the future even if she tried? That wasn’t true, and she knew it. If she worked hard enough, Morgan would be just another roadblock in her quest to gain the power she needed.

Blaine worried she gained nothing from the pain she had recklessly brought on. All those pokemon injured, entire lives turned upside down. Albert had been lost in himself, his worldview shattered. Celine was completely caught up in her lost friend, and Blaine worried she wouldn’t be able to help her recover from that kind of loss.

Yet most of all, Morgan.

Perhaps it was foolish to feel so much pity for a criminal. Yet Blaine still wished she could help the girl. She had probably suffered so much after she lost her place, Morgan’s only solace the pokemon standing beside her. What trauma did she go through, to have panic attacks at the slightest touch of a bug, the sight of a ranger?

Blaine was curious, yet not enough to truly look into it. She had more important things to worry about, and if she was right, she’d probably run into the girl again in the future. They may not trust her, but that was fine. She’d get the info she wanted regardless.

Recalling Tart, Blaine takes a deep breath as she stands up. She’d be setting off to route four in the morning, hopefully with Celine beside her. That issue was the one most pressing to Blaine, considering the amount of damage it could possibly cause to the girl. She wanted to be important to Celine, and it might be a bit dirty, but this was the perfect chance to spend some time with her.

After Lumiose was the long trek west down the highway on route five to reach Camphrier town. It was the perfect place for her to help her friends get strong, with route six and the Battle Chateau in such close proximity. She might even try to convince Celine and Albert to go through Connecting Cave to stop in Ambrette town. She was going that way regardless, so she could revive a Tyrunt for her team, but the prospect of company was rather heartwarming.

Slipping into the Center is rather fast and painless, though the sight of a collapsed wall irks Blaine a bit. She shakes it off as she slipped into her room, finding a fast asleep, still wet Celine sleeping on Blaine’s bed. She chuckles, pulling a blanket over her before lying down on Celine’s bed herself. The girl would be so embarrassed in the morning, it’d be adorable.

Blaine sighs, looking at the girl as she sleeps, watching her chest slowly move up and down. Celine was a bit of an anomaly in Blaine’s life. She hadn’t expected to find anyone, yet here this utterly beautiful girl was, effortlessly entrenching herself into a position of importance for Blaine. Blaine closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath, the calm blaze inside of her faltering just a tad, her purpose connecting to someone new.

Blaine Weald strove to be a Defender.