Chapter Text
Of the two of them, Leon always thought he would die first.
It was an admittedly morbid thought, but after the Second Darkest Day, everyone in Galar had been forced to confront the unpleasant reality of their own mortality, none moreso than Leon. Leon, as usual, had run headfirst into danger, foolishly believing he could take down fully-powered Eternatus by himself. He’d thrown himself into several dangerous situations over the years, but none had ever ended as badly as that one. The disaster with Eternatus is what finally made him listen to Raihan, who had told him for years that his bad habit of rushing into things would get him in trouble one day.
Raihan had always been the careful one. Leon had long since learned that, despite the wild glint in his eyes when they battled, all of Raihan’s battle strategies were carefully planned out and masterfully executed. As Leon had gotten to know Raihan better, he had been surprised to find out how cautious Raihan was in the other areas of his life too, contrary to the image he presented to the public.
Raihan had always been the careful one— so why, then, was Raihan the one currently buried under countless tons of charred rubble, while Leon stared hollowly at the wreckage, frozen in place a safe distance away?
~ ~ ~
It was quite unlike Gloria to be late.
In fact, when it came to the Battle Tower, Gloria was almost always earlier than Leon expected, breezing her way through the battles even quicker than Leon might. If this match was taking Gloria so long, Leon figured it must be something to behold. Eager to put aside the dreadfully tedious paperwork that had occupied most of his morning, Leon stepped into the elevator, hoping to at least catch the tail end of the match.
Instead of seeing a heart-pounding battle, though, the elevator doors opened on an empty room. Leon’s initial disappointment was replaced by confusion as he looked around and realized nobody was there. Even in between battles, there were always staff members around on the main battle floor, preparing the arena for the next match, guiding challengers, or excitedly chattering to each other about the battles. For no one to be here, especially on a day when he and Gloria were set to face off, was… unusual, to say the least.
It took a few minutes, but eventually Leon found everyone— or, almost everyone, with one important exception. The staff were all gathered around a single computer screen in the second floor lounge area. Their voices were hushed whispers as they stared at the computer, oblivious to Leon’s approach.
Clearing his throat, Leon said, “Where’s Gloria? She was supposed to be here an hour ago.”
A couple of the staff looked up and glanced at him before turning back to the screen. “She’s in Hammerlocke,” someone finally replied.
Leon blinked. “Hammerlocke? Did she take the wrong train? Or did she take a wrong turn… somewhere…” He trailed off as twenty pairs of eyes gazed at him incredulously. Feeling self-conscious, Leon pulled his cap off and covered the lower half of his face with it. “What?”
“Hammerlocke’s in flames.”
“Wh— what?!” Leon’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. A moment later, a nervous giggle escaped his lips. “You’re joking, right? Hammerlocke’s made of stone, how could it possibly—” Someone switched on one of the wall-mounted TVs, and Leon’s words died on his tongue.
Sure enough, Hammerlocke Stadium was on fire. But it wasn’t the stone building itself on fire, it was the wooden scaffolding surrounding the left wing of the stadium. Leon hadn’t been to Hammerlocke in about two months, but Raihan had told him about the construction—
Raihan. Leon’s blood ran cold. Raihan had left Wyndon yesterday morning, saying there was something he needed to take care of at the gym. Leon was supposed to join Raihan in Hammerlocke tonight for a date, but Raihan was in Hammerlocke right now.
Before Leon’s mind could fully process that, his feet were flying, carrying him down the emergency flight of stairs and out of the Battle Tower. As he reached for his belt, Leon realized he only had his Battle Tower team with him. Briefly, he wondered if he should make a quick stop by his flat to retrieve the rest of his team, but a single glance at the sky made Leon’s thoughts dissolve into panic. A huge pillar of black smoke loomed behind the mountains separating Wyndon from the rest of the Galar region. If the smoke was visible all the way in Wyndon…
“Charizard,” Leon called, sending his partner out of her ball and leaping on her back, “go! Now!”
Sensing the urgency in Leon’s voice, Charizard lifted them into the air and shot towards the black cloud, leaving Leon clinging to her for dear life. He pressed himself as flat as he could against Charizard’s back, tucking his face into her shoulder to protect himself from the harsh winds. In any other circumstance, Leon would enjoy every second of the flight as Charizard would trace out lazy circles in the air, gliding and drifting with the breeze, and Leon would inevitably be disappointed when they would land, feeling as if the flight hand ended far too soon. But this flight, Leon felt, couldn’t end soon enough. As the wind whipped past him, Leon remembered a conversation he’d had with Raihan the last time he was in Hammerlocke.
“Doesn’t it make you nervous?”
“Hm?” Raihan had been in the middle of unlocking his front door when Leon blurted out the question. He turned to face Leon, looking puzzled.
“Living right underneath that,” Leon said, gesturing up to Hammerlocke Stadium’s massive wing.
Raihan glanced upwards, then shrugged. “Not really,” he replied, then turned back to his keys and frowned. “Ugh. I only have two gold keys— the one for here and the one for your flat—”
“ Our flat,” Leon corrected.
“—but somehow I always choose the wrong one,” Raihan continued, shaking his head. Leon watched for a moment as Raihan fiddled with the keys, smiling at the sight of the plastic Goomy and Trapinch charms on the keychain. “There we are,” Raihan said as the wooden door swung open. He stepped back, obviously waiting for Leon to go in before him, but Leon gazed upwards again and frowned.
“You can’t tell me you’ve never thought about that thing falling down on top of your house,” Leon said, crossing his arms. “Aren’t you supposed to be the anxious type?”
“I suppose. Not as much as I used to be, though.”
Leon nodded in agreement. When he and Raihan had started dating, Raihan had recently been prescribed an anti-anxiety medication. Raihan had apparently been on this medication on and off when he was a teenager (which he had only decided to tell Leon about a month after their first date, despite having known him for years. Leon tried not to feel too hurt by this.)
“I might’ve worried about it when I first moved in,” Raihan said after a decent pause, “but that was also when I became the Gym Leader, so I had a lot of other things on my mind. But the Stadium hasn’t collapsed or anything in eight hundred years, innit? It even survived the Second Darkest Day.” Raihan’s eyes got a distant look to them, the way they always did when he talked about that day. “That was four years ago now, yeah?”
“Yeah. It was in finals that year.”
“Funny how that fear never really leaves you.” Leon blinked as Raihan walked inside and settled down on the couch.
Leon stepped inside, making sure to lock the door behind him. He sat down next to Raihan and rested his head on Raihan’s shoulder, sighing contentedly as he felt a hand start stroking his hair. Turning on the TV, Raihan idly flipped through the channels until he found a competitive cooking show that he and Leon liked. A few minutes later, he scoffed. “Get a load of this Pierre guy. Does he honestly think that bland, undercooked ramen is something he can serve to those Hoenn blokes?”
“I never thought about how scared you must’ve been that day,” Leon murmured.
“Pardon?”
“The Second Darkest Day. You must’ve been terrified because Eternatus was going to destroy Hammerlocke, yeah?”
“It would’ve destroyed the whole world,” Raihan said bluntly.
“But it was here, in your hometown, threatening your city. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if something like that happened in Postwick.”
“Yeah, it was rough,” Raihan admitted with a frown, “but I was so focused on getting everyone out that I didn’t have time to be afraid. What really scared me was…” He trailed off, looking everywhere except for at Leon. Finally, Raihan’s eyes focused back on the television. “Ha, I knew it. Pierre’s out.”
“Rai,” Leon said, pulling away from his boyfriend, “what were you going to say?”
Raihan sighed. “It’s not worth getting into right now.”
“No, now you have to tell me.” Leon shifted himself so Raihan was looking right at him, but Raihan turned his head away. “Come on, just tell me!” Leon tried to turn Raihan’s head back towards him, only for Raihan to grumble and roll over so his back was facing Leon. “Come on, Rai, I’ve told you so much about how I felt that day and you’ve always listened so well. I’d be a right awful boyfriend if I didn’t return the favor.”
Raihan sighed loudly, but Leon could tell he was relenting. “Just promise me you won’t feel guilty, yeah?”
It seemed like an odd thing to promise, but Leon nodded anyway.
“I couldn’t really see your battle with Eternatus from down below, but I could sort of get a feel for what was happening, you know? So when I saw the red light dimming, I was real relieved, but then, well… you know what happened next.”
“That was when it Dynamaxed, yeah?” Swallowing hard, Raihan nodded.
“There was this horrid sense of dread I got— not because of the looming apocalypse or whatever, but because I knew deep down that something dreadful happened to you. So Flygon took me up to the tower, and— and the kids were there with the dogs, but you-- you were…” Raihan had been struggling to keep an even tone as he spoke, but now he trailed off completely. He seemed to be mulling something over, so Leon gave him a minute to make up his mind. Finally, Raihan rubbed his face and said, “You were, well… dead.”
Leon blinked. As eloquently as ever, he replied, “Huh.” He was surprised by how unsurprising the news was.
“It wasn’t for all that long, really, but it felt like forever. You were just laying there, all still, and I checked your pulse and there was just— nothing. I looked up for help, but Hop and Gloria were dealing with Eternatus, and Charizard was just sitting there looking at me—” The words were spilling out of Raihan’s mouth now. Quietly, Leon rested his hand over Raihan’s clenched fist, gently rubbing circles on the back of Raihan’s hand with his thumb. “I knew it was up to me, then. I managed to restart your heart, but you were still in really bad shape, so Flygon and I got you to the hospital--”
“You restarted my heart?” Somehow, that was more shocking to Leon than the fact that he had been entirely dead. “Where’d you learn how to do that?”
Raihan stared blankly at Leon for a moment, then said, “All Gym Leaders have to know CPR, in case something goes dreadfully wrong in the Gym Challenge. We’ve got to do a yearly training— that’s what I was a couple weeks ago, remember?”
“You said that was a basic first-aid training,” Leon protested. “Isn’t CPR, you know, kind of beyond that?”
“I suppose,” Raihan said with a shrug. “At this point, it’s pretty basic to me, at least, since I’ve been doing this so long.” His eyes got that distant, haunted look to them again. “It’s a good thing, too, because if I hadn’t known…”
“I should be thanking you, then,” Leon cut in. “I had no idea you were even there, much less that you saved my life.”
Raihan had waved his hand dismissively, then said, “Don’t be thanking me, Lee. It’s nothing you wouldn’t have done for me, yeah?”
“Of course,” Leon said immediately. He shuddered at the thought of Raihan being hurt the way he had been, of Raihan taking a full-force blast from Eternatus, of Raihan lying limp and motionless in his arms—
“Hey,” Raihan said, snapping Leon out of his spiraling thoughts. “You don’t need to think too hard on that, mate. Nothing like that’s ever gonna happen to me. Oh, man, you know how mad Flygon would be if I weren’t around to make him my world-famous treats?”
Leon heard the distinct sound of a Poke Ball bursting open, and less than a second later, a large green and red blur barreled into Raihan, knocking him off the couch. “Argh— Flygon! I didn’t mean— there’s not any treats right now—”
At the sound of the word “treats”, both Charizard and Duraludon broke out of their own Poke Balls, and Raihan groaned loudly.
Leon had thought about that conversation quite a few times since it had happened, and it always had made him feel warm inside. It wasn’t often that Leon needed protecting, but the fact that Raihan had been there in the moment Leon needed him most… it was comforting, in a way that was completely foreign to Leon. With anyone else, being protected made him feel weirdly uncomfortable. It was part of being an older brother, he supposed, but for whatever reason, Leon was perfectly content to allow Raihan to take care of him.
As Charizard flew him to Hammerlocke, however, the memory soured in Leon’s mind, and all he could hear was Raihan’s voice, saying over and over, Nothing like that’s ever gonna happen to me.
~ ~ ~
Of course a massive fire would happen the day Raihan was planning to propose. It was just his luck, wasn’t it?
Above him, Eternatus let out a roar. Raihan knew it was helping to put the fire out, and he had actually grown quite fond of the dragon while helping Gloria train it, but seeing it flying over his city in chaos, surrounded by a black sky… well, brought back memories.
Raihan took a shaky breath and turned his focus back to the task at hand. “Don’t worry, everyone,” he said calmly, despite the anxiety bubbling inside him, “we’re almost to the trucks.” He, Hop, Sonia, and his gym trainers had each chosen a section of the city to evacuate, with Raihan himself choosing the largest. Currently, Raihan was leading what should be the last stragglers in his section away from the inferno to a line of waiting fire trucks, which had been evacuating citizens since the fire’s outbreak.
As Raihan led the group around the last corner, he let out a huff of annoyance. Sometime between now and the last time he’d been through here, one of the buildings had collapsed into the street, leaving a pile of burning rubble completely blocking their path. Hearing some nervous murmuring behind him, Raihan turned to his ragtag group with a smile.
“Right then, I suppose this walk has been a little too easy for us so far, yeah? Don’t worry yourselves none, though— Goodra here will take care of things in a snap.” With a swift, practiced motion, Raihan sent Goodra out of her ball. Goodra surveyed the area around her, then turned to Raihan and nodded in understanding. “Alright, Goodra, clear the way! Use Hydro Pump!”
The powerful burst of water easily quashed the flames, but Raihan noticed that Goodra’s Hydro Pump was far weaker than it should have been. Raihan’s frown deepened as he placed a hand against Goodra’s shoulder. Instead of the healthy layer of goo Raihan had become accustomed to feeling, his hand brushed against dry scales.
“Oh, that’s bad,” Raihan murmured. “Don’t worry, girl, we’ve just got to go a few meters more and then we’ll be done. Can you make it that far, or do you want to go back in your ball?”
Goodra grunted and started to walk towards the rubble, which made Raihan smile a bit. Goodra had always been tough, even back when she was a Goomy. She’d be alright.
As soon as everyone from the group had safely crossed over, Raihan started to climb over the rubble pile. As he did, Raihan thought he saw a shadow move in the corner of his eye. When he turned to look, nothing was there, but Raihan got the distinct sense that someone was still there, in the danger zone.
“Hello?” His question hung in the air, unanswered.
“Raihan?” The voice from behind him made Raihan jump. He whirled around to see Sonia, closely followed by Duraludon. Though Duraludon hadn’t been happy about it, Raihan had sent him off with Sonia to help her evacuate her area. He figured Sonia could use some muscle in case any situations arose, especially since the only Pokemon she had was Yamper. Raihan could tell Duraludon was relieved to see him in one piece, but Sonia still looked worried. “Are you okay? Goodra seems pretty dried out.”
“No, no, I’m fine.” Raihan looked behind him again, and his brow furrowed. “When you were evacuating your section… did you ever feel you were being followed?”
Sonia blinked, evidently puzzled. She repeated, “Followed?”
“Yeah, I dunno, like when you’re out in the Wild Area and a Gastly sneaks up on you? I’ve just gotten that feeling a few times while I’ve been doing this.”
“I reckon it could be someone’s ghost-type Pokemon following you around,” Sonia said thoughtfully. “Unless you think it’s a person?”
“Nah, I think everyone’s out now,” Raihan said, reaching into his pocket. “Still, doesn’t hurt to check, innit? Me and Flygon’ll just do a quick…” Raihan trailed off as he stared at the round, grey Pokemon he’d just released from its ball. “You’re not Flygon.”
The Shelgon that Raihan started training a few months ago stared back up at him with wide yellow eyes. For a few moments, Raihan and Shelgon stared blankly at each other. Raihan was sure he’d put Shelgon in a PC box earlier this morning— had he put Flygon in by mistake? No, wait— it had been yesterday morning he put Shelgon in the PC, and he’d gotten Shelgon back out in the evening for some training. This morning, he’d only grabbed three Poke balls when he left, meaning that Flygon was—
Raihan swore loudly and shoved Shelgon’s ball into Sonia’s hands. After a moment’s hesitation, Raihan also tossed her a small black box containing the matching engagement rings he’d gotten for himself and Leon. Sonia knew about Raihan’s plans to propose tonight, of course— that was why she and Hop were in Hammerlocke in the first place.
“Wha— Raihan!!”
“Keep everyone safe, you hear? I’ll just be a minute.” Raihan flashed a smile at her, then sprinted back through the recently doused pile of rubble, towards the inferno that Hammerlocke had become.
About halfway to his house, a terrible noise came from overhead. Raihan looked up just in time to see Hammerlocke Stadium’s left wing shift dangerously, then settle in a precarious position.
“That won’t hold,” Raihan breathed, then broke into a dead sprint towards his house. For the thousandth time in his mad dash, Raihan cursed himself for leaving Flygon, of all his Pokemon, at home. Any of his other Pokemon (even Gigalith, who at times could be very shy,) would burst out of their ball in a dangerous situation such as a fire, but not Flygon. When Flygon was scared, he would stay curled up in his ball until Raihan was eventually able to coax him out. In the past, Raihan would never force him, but today he might have to.
When Raihan got to his house, he was pleasantly surprised to find it still standing. Since it was right under the left wing of the Stadium, it must have been aflame for a while, but by some miracle it was still standing. In a move that was far more like Leon than himself, Raihan rushed into the burning house without hesitation.
Immediately, Raihan’s eyes started to water and he began to cough at the heavy black smoke hanging in the air. He pulled his shirt up so it covered his mouth and nose and clambered up the stairs, trying to ignore the stifling heat surrounding him.
The wooden door to Raihan’s bedroom was completely gone, but the stone door frame was still standing (for now, at least.) Raihan let out a cry of relief as he noticed Flygon’s Poke Ball on the floor, some distance away from the smoldering remains of his desk.
“Flygon! Are you okay in there?!” An energetic cry came from the Poke Ball, and Raihan felt the knot of anxiety in his chest loosen slightly. “I should’ve known you’d be okay. You’re resistant to fire and you feel most at home in the desert. This might even be comfortable for you, innit?” This time, Flygon replied with an annoyed grunt, and the ball wobbled in Raihan’s hand. “Right, then, let’s get out of—”
Raihan wasn’t entirely sure what happened next. One minute, Raihan was standing on the second floor of his house— the next, he was lying flat on his back on the first floor, pinned to the ground by what had previously been his roof. There was pressure on his chest, but Raihan quickly realized it wasn’t completely crushing him. He tried to push himself out from under the debris, to no avail. Taking a closer look, Raihan saw it was one of the roof’s wooden support beams that was pinning him. It was held slightly off the ground by a piece of one of the walls which otherwise hadn’t survived the roof’s collapse.
“Sorry,” Raihan muttered, then tossed the Poke Ball in his hand upwards, sending Flygon out. At first, Flygon gave his trainer a glare, but his big eyes quickly widened in concern. Flygon trilled in fear as he looked at the beam and back at Raihan.
“It’s okay, I’m not hurt,” Raihan reassured him. “But I’m pinned. Go find help— take your ball with you, too.” Flygon’s head bobbed up and down, and he picked up the Poke Ball in his claws. Then, after a second’s hesitation, Flygon nuzzled his cheek up against Raihan’s before zipping away.
Black spots danced across Raihan’s vision as he watched Flygon disappear into the distance. Above him, Raihan saw the Stadium’s arm shift again, looming dangerously above him. “And please hurry,” he whispered, only heard by himself.
~ ~ ~
The first thing Leon noticed when he reached Hammerlocke was Eternatus. Icy terror shot through him as Leon considered the possibility that Eternatus had started the fire, that it was attacking the city again, that he would have to fight it again—
Charizard huffed at Leon, forcing him back into reality. As the two of them approached, Leon realized that the massive dragon was actually carrying multiple water-type Pokemon on its back. Flying past, Leon heard Gloria’s distinctive yell, and the water-types unleashed a synchronized wall of water on part of the city.
Leon didn’t have much time to appreciate the irony of Eternatus helping to save the city before Charizard was landing, forcing Leon off her back. On the ground, an unexpected duo awaited him.
“Lee! You’re here,” Hop called, gesturing his brother to come closer.
“Took you long enough,” Sonia said next to him, crossing her arms. “We’ve already got the whole city evacuated.
“Really?” Leon scanned the crowd, frowning when he didn’t see anybody towering above all the rest. “Where’s—”
“Raihan realized he left Flygon at home and ran off to go get him,” Sonia answered. Immediately, Leon started towards the city center, but Hop grabbed his arm.
“You can’t go in there, you’d get lost in no time flat.” Despite Hop’s attempt to joke around, Leon could hear the edge in his voice. “Besides, we’re not sure if—”
There was a horribly loud groaning noise, and Leon looked just in time to see some of the scaffolding around the Stadium crumble. He watched in horror as the massive left wing of Hammerlocke Stadium shifted in (what he believed to be) the direction of Raihan’s house.
“Yeah,” Sonia said, cringing, “that would be our dilemma. We don’t know if or when that’s coming down, or where it’ll fall. So we can’t let anyone back in the city right now.”
“Raihan’ll be just fine, Lee,” Hop said reassuringly, and Leon wondered if it was that obvious how worried he was.
“Course he will be,” Leon replied, forcing a smile. “You know how fast that Flygon of his is? I may have Raihan beat when it comes to battles, but in a good old fashioned race, he and Flygon usually come out on top. Only because he’s practiced more, though. If Charizard and I had more time to fly, I’m sure we would— oh, here they come now!” Leon couldn’t yet see Raihan, but he could hear the distinct sound of Flygon’s wings beating. He started to cheer as Flygon emerged from a cloud of smoke, but his voice died in his throat when he realized Raihan wasn’t on Flygon’s back. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Leon asked, “Where… where is he?”
Flygon locked eyes with Leon, and Leon saw a kind of fear he’d never seen in the Pokemon’s eyes before, not even when a super-effective blizzard was about to hit Flygon full force.
“Take us to him,” Leon commanded, jumping on Charizard’s back. Flygon didn’t hesitate before turning back towards Hammerlocke, then beckoning Leon forwards with its tail.
Leon could vaguely hear Hop yelling at him as he chased after Flygon, but couldn’t make out what Hop was saying over the growing noise of static in his ears. If Leon’s mind was working normally, he would have made sure that Hop stayed back with Sonia, but all Leon could think about was getting to Raihan in time. He had to make it in time, he just had to.
Just as he and Flygon made it to the far end of Raihan’s street, though, a huge red form jumped in front of them. From somewhere behind him, Leon heard Hop yell, “Zamazenta, Dazzling Gleam!”
“No!” Leon barely shut his eyes before the blinding light washed over him, effectively knocking Charizard (and probably Flygon, too) out of the sky. When Leon opened his eyes again, Charizard was lying flat on the ground next to him. Hop was recalling Flygon into its discarded Poke Ball. He started to say something to Leon, but a huge sound above them made them both look up.
Finally, it seemed that Hammerlocke Stadium had reached its breaking point. Leon watched, frozen in horror, as the top half of the Stadium’s left wing finally tipped beyond the point of no return.
The next thing Leon knew, he had been swept up onto Zamazenta’s back as the legendary dog sprinted away from the falling wing at full speed. Leon, however, was sitting backwards on Zamazenta’s back— giving him a perfect view of the massive piece of stonework crashing down directly on top of Raihan’s house, flattening everything inside.
Someone was screaming. It took Leon a long time to realize it was himself.
He could feel Hop’s arms around him, could hear Sonia whispering soothingly to him, but all Leon could see was the wing falling, crushing Raihan beneath it, burying him alive— it all felt unreal, too ironic to be true, because of the two of them, Leon always thought he would die first.
~ ~ ~
Raihan woke up in an unfamiliar white room. He couldn’t quite remember how he got there— he thought he remembered a fire, and something urgent that had to do with Flygon, but his addled mind couldn’t quite put all the pieces together. His throat felt dry, so he tried to swallow, but realized there was a tube in his mouth. Had something bad happened to him? Raihan tried as hard as he could, but he couldn’t think properly. Vaguely, he realized he could hear people talking around them, so he tried to listen to them, but could only catch snippets of the conversation.
“...Alakazam barely got there in time to…”
“...more trouble than he’s worth? Already he’s…”
“...the only one who can… the chairman will…”
“...really think Ar… to him? All th… nobody has…”
“...asked for him specifically. If anyone… -res, it’s him…”
As Raihan drifted back to sleep, he got the distinct feeling something was very, very wrong, but he was much too tired to care.