Pokémon Fortune

_Author's Note: This one-shot is completely AU from Timeless and was inspired by three of the Fortune Battles in the Neon Colosseum in Pokémon Battle Revolution that happened to me when I was playing the game Sunday. I absolutely despise that part of the game, and critical hits suck. This one-shot is also a vent, because hardly anything went right for me that day or yesterday... This is written in first-person from Dialga's point of view and contains TimeAurashipping (Dialga x Lucario). Also, tense changes near the end of this. Also, since this is from a first-person POV, I should mention that in this one-shot, Dialga is male, and the Lucario he thinks about and later speaks to is female. I know it took me a while to finally realize that I'd forgotten to address this, but I'm not really the brightest star in the sky when it comes to quickly realizing these things..._

_Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for._

_Once again, Pokémon is © to that wonderful mastermind, Satoshi Tajiri._

* * *

I did not mean to let my temper get the best of me. I did not mean to follow the commands of a stranger, even though something..._ forced_... me to do so... I did not want to hurt you, to go against my vow to protect you... and it was not until this afternoon that I realized that, despite your Steel sub-typing, you were more fragile than you would ever let on -- both mentally and physically.

That area humans call the 'Neon Colosseum' is a terrible place. Teams are torn apart, friends are pitted against friends, family against family, lovers against lovers. You and I were fortunate to battle side by side many times under Shera's command... until we neared the end.

Then our fortune ran out. Growling softly, I grit my teeth, my eyes shutting tightly as I remember the events that followed...

You were picked by our opponent, while I had the fortune to remain under Shera's command. And, as I feared, we were pitted against one another...

Shera ordered me to use Fire Blast against you. Fire... your enemy... an element your main Fighting-typing couldn't fully protect you against. I remember refusing her order by missing on purpose, because the _last_ thing I wanted to do was hurt you, but then I heard the opponent order you to strike at me with Close Combat, and you... you obeyed...

And it _hurt_... in more ways than one...

I remember silently asking myself why you were doing such a thing - obeying a _complete stranger_ - while I fought to remain in the battle and to recover from the blow which you dealt to me. Shera had once again given the order for me to use Fire Blast against you, and, this time, I went against my feelings for you and obeyed her. I _forced_ myself to hurt you, and I _forced_ myself to endure the pain of having to watch you fall, but I was glad that it had ended quickly for you, so the flames had no chance of marring your beautiful, pale fur...

Then the opponent revealed that she had also had the fortune of picking your best friend, that Honchkrow called Isto, in that damn game of chance that takes place before every battle in this horrid place. And it was she who dealt the blow that finally managed to fell me, in the form of an Aerial Ace attack. How damn ironic that I survive against you, only to be knocked out by your best friend. Even with my defeat, however, Shera managed to persevere and win, as I always knew she could.

Then came the second bout against a human man. This time, however, I ended up being picked by the opponent, while Shera was able to keep you, and, again, we were forced to battle...

I was ordered to use Fire Blast against you while Shera ordered you to go all out and use Close Combat. Your Quick Claw happened to give you the burst of speed you needed to strike first, and you ended up landing some pretty hard hits upon me... Enough to render me unconscious, but that is not what hurt me the most. No, it was the look in your eyes that tore my heart to pieces. It was then that I knew you were upset with me for what I had been forced to do to you, and, in turn, that knowledge made me angry. Even when I learned that Shera had defeated this opponent as well, and that there was only the leader left, my anger still burned.

Then came the final battle...

_Yet again_, I was picked by the opponent, while you and Tanaka had the fortune of remaining with Shera. And, _yet again_, it started with you and some Roselia against me and a Bellossom.

Déjà vu...

However, that ended when you did not catch the lucky break you had before. Your Quick Claw failed you, and so I took my chance and lunged. Without a mite of hesitation, I used that damn Fire Blast of mine on you. I watched you fall, my anger drowning out all sense of sympathy for you... even when you looked up at me with those wine-red eyes of yours before you fell unconscious... and this time I saw fear and pain within them instead of anger and upset. Even after you were long absent from the field of battle, my anger remained strong, though that little Roselia partner of yours had managed to paralyze me with a Tri Attack which had been generated by Nature Power before I took him out. Hrmph...

Even so, I went on to decimate the rest of the pathetic team Shera had ended up with because of that thrice damned wheel... until Tanaka and I were left. That Luxray put up a good battle with Spark after Spark after Spark, and that paralysis kept bugging me, reminding me of when you and I had first met back upon the Spear Pillar... when that Force Palm attack of yours had also done _this same damn effect _to me, allowing Shera to capture me...

Despite his best efforts, Tanaka finally fell when I was able to strike him with a Roar of Time attack, and Shera ended up losing. That girl never quits, however, which makes me wonder if that is where you got your 'never give up' attitude from. Like Pokémon like trainer, right? Yes, of course. You are Shera's most-used 'mon out of all six of us. The one always there by her side.

Again, Shera challenged that 'Rosie' human, and this time luck was with us. Under Shera's command, you and I fought together, and we won. But victory was only bittersweet for me, do you know that? You... you refused to even _look _at me... were you still angry with me...? Or were you... afraid... that I would hurt you...?

You were the one I knew I could always go to whenever something bothered me. You were the one who would always reassure me that things would turn out for the better in the end. When you would say these things, you would always smile at me in such a way that it caused my heart to skip a few beats... We always got along so well once we became friends... Was that... was that over between us...? And then I had been given a message from you through Isto, requesting that I meet with you close to the lakeshore later this evening... and I can't help but feel insulted that you didn't even choose to relay the message to me yourself...

Here I stand now, watching you, hoping that you will notice me, and yet dreading that as well. How can I tell you how I truly feel about you? My little warrior... how can I tell you that I love you when you refuse to even acknowledge my presence...? Of course, that is when you just happen to notice that you are no longer alone here by the lakeshore, when I start having such personal thoughts. I feel myself stiffen when you turn your head towards me, expecting you to only glance at me with indifference and once again turn away. But then you move to stand, pausing only to brush stray bits of grass from your shorts before you take a single (though cautious) step towards me.

"Lord Dialga..." you say, always so formal, and I detect the waver of nervousness within your voice, see your ears slick back for a second in uncertainty. "I didn't think you'd show up."

"Why not?" I reply, having to remember to lower my voice since at full volume it hurts your ears. "But you could have asked for me yourself, you know.."

"I know." Your voice is soft, and it is then I realize that you have been crying. "It's just that I was afraid you were still angry with me, and I wanted time to find the best way to tell you that I'm sorry for what I had to do... I didn't want to hurt you, but I _had_ to do so in order for Shera to advance, so we could get out of that terrible place... I'm so, so sorry..."

"So am I, Shan, but look at it this way: it is over. We never have to face each other in battle again." I step closer, hearing the grass rustle underneath my claws, when I see you fall to your knees, your gaze fixed upon the ground. I move to incline my head forward, judging the distance between us before, being so very careful, I gently rest my head against you. There are moments when I wish that I was closer to your size so I could hold you whenever you were hurt or upset. I get so _frustrated_ because I could hurt you if I were to make even the _slightest_ error. It is like trying to handle a butterfly while wearing a pair of iron mittens.

I keep the contact brief, and I move to lay down upon the cool grass when I see you raise your head to look at me. You kneel there, unsure of what to do, before you finally rise and close the distance between us, moving to curl up between my forelegs, against my chest and close to my heart... where I feel that you belong.


End file.

Pokémon, Angst, Romance