Chapter Text
Manolo frowned down at his game boy as he stooped in the front door of his house, knees nearly to his chest as he rapidly pushed buttons and quietly cursed at the small hand held game. His father told him to go outside after he’d spent nearly three hours playing his game, but he hadn’t specified that Manolo couldn’t take the game with him outdoors. Thus the world found the boy still trying to beat the gym trainer he’d been stuck on for the last three days.
He scowled at the game as he finally admitted defeat and absconded from the battle, all of the pokemon in his team depleted of their energy, aside from his Clefable. He sighed heavily as he flopped back against the front door of his house, directing his tiny avatar towards the pokemon center to heal his team. He didn’t notice the shadow that crossed his stoop until the person it belonged to sat down heavily beside him.
Manolo jumped, nearly dropping his game boy to the ground as he turned his attention to his grinning friend, who looked quite pleased to have startled the other.
"Joaquin! Ugh. Do I need to get you a bell?" Manolo huffed, shaking his head as he returned his attention to his game, frowning as he found his avatar in the middle of a field, rather than the city he’d just been in. He must have hit buttons when he’d jumped.
"Might be helpful for you, yeah," Joaquin snickered, shifting to watch Manolo play over his shoulder. After a beat, he pulled his own game boy from his pocket and waved it under Manolo’s nose. "Wanna battle?"
Manolo flicked his gaze to Joaquin’s game boy, chewing on his lip for a moment. His pokemon could certainly use the xp, but with only his Clefable able to battle…
"Just a one on one? C’mon, Manny. It’ll be fun!" Joaquin goaded, smirk still on his lips.
"Ugh, fine," Manolo agreed with a sigh, knowing that Joaquin would continue to pester him until he got his way. He watched Joaquin turn his game boy on, and directed his character to where it needed to go in order for them to make a connection, glancing up as Joaquin snorted once the battle began.
"Clefable? Oh, man," Joaquin chuckled, shaking his head as he sent out his pokemon, "Is it because your hair sort of matches?"
Manolo scowled, jamming his thumb into the buttons of his game boy, eye brows arching as Joaquin’s pokemon turned out to be a Dragonite.
"Dragonite?" he inquired, glancing up at the other boy.
"Heck yeah! Is it awesome? He’s totally going to school your Clefable," Joaquin boasted, thumbs flying over his own game boy.
Manolo felt a slow grin creeping across his face. Joaquin had only had his game for a few weeks, Manolo knew, as where he’d gotten his for his birthday a few months previous. He knew the ins and outs of the game, and that appearances were often quite deceiving.
"Oh, yeah. Totally going to school me," Manolo murmured, biting his lip to hold back a laugh as his Clefable dealt a good blow to Joaquin’s Dragonite, then dodging the return volley.
"Wh-what?" Joaquin frowned, staring at his screen as the Clefable attacked again, eyes widening at how much damage his Dragonite was taking.
"Don’t let appearances fool you, Joaquin," Manolo sing-songed, grinning as he let his Clefable deal its final blow against the Dragonite, watching as it fainted, "they’re not everything."
"Awwww, no way!" Joaquin wailed, slumping next to Manolo, "Not fair."