Work Text:
Maxie and Archie had much to make up for in wake of the incident involving Groudon, Kyogre, and the near destruction of Hoenn… Not the least of which started with indulging May in her semi-frequant visits. As much as she liked to claim these visits for training purposes, it didn’t take a geologist, or marine expert to point out that she didn’t have much to learn from them- at least on the Pokemon battling front.
Still, her drop-ins were more than welcomed. Archie was practically giddy to welcome her aboard- and though Maxie tried to keep face, his gift of a base key said enough for him. Frankly, May’s forgiveness had been a pleasant enough surprise after all the trouble they’d caused her. All this to say, when May asked them to meet her together… Well, how were they meant to say no?
Awkwardness aside, it was weirdly comfortable to be more regularly in each other’s company. Really, they’d been seeing each other fairly regularly before the truce regardless, but to bicker without a looming threat was something they hadn’t felt in… Well, long enough to miss it, anyways.
That wasn’t to say they were bickering less though. Not even a little bit.
“I’m starting to think that it really would kill ya to throw on a swimsuit for once.”
May had to stifle her chuckle as Maxie glared back at Archie from where he’s been kneeling in the sand. Team Aqua and Team Magma had been spending much of their time out of these beaches to clean up the mess they’d made, but today the team leaders weren’t here for the purpose of labor. May and a few of her friends had seen some odd megastones in the rocks and the water’s coastline; Maxie and Archie had supposedly been summoned for their expertise in the area.
“As a matter of fact, it might." Maxie responded. “I’ll never understand how you walk about every day in a wet suit and jewelry as if it’s a proper outfit.”
“You’re wearing four layers on the beach.”
“I don’t see your point.”
May hopped down from the stone she’d been sitting on, Brendan rolling his eyes as he heard Maxie and Archie ramble on.
“You must run cold to be wearing a turtle neck in this heat.” May chimed in, thinking aloud, “I was going to ask about that back in the magma base, but it didn’t seem like the time.”
“Don’t encourage them.” Brendan groaned, though it seemed too late, as Archie left out a hardy laugh. Maxie was already rolling his eyes.
“Hah! He’s always been like that. Half on account that he’s hardly got any blood in him.”
Maxie shot another dirty look back his way. “It’s called anemia.” He corrected, knowing well that Archie already knew. “And if you could not bother me, I’m trying to make myself useful.”
May peaked over his shoulder to get a better look at the crystals he’d knelt in front of. “Did you find anything?”
Maxie adjusted his glasses, reaching out, he hooked his thumb around the body of a smaller crystal shard. With sharp precision, he snapped the shard from the rest of the crystal’s growth. He brought it closer to his eyeline for closer inspection at the severed point. He pulled an earlier sample, still damp, from his pocket and compared the two. “... You were right to phone us, May. your inclinations were correct; there’s something strange about these growth fragments… Their microstructures are unusual. That must be the cause of the intense glow.”
Archie crossed his arms, his expression growing serious. “Aye, much like the ones we pulled from the sea…”
“Certainly a cause for concern, but I don’t want to jump to any conclusion.” Maxie nodded, standing back to his feet. He shifted the crystals to one of his palms, using the now free hands to pull a handkerchief from his coat pocket. He carefully let the crystals fall into the fabric, folding it over for security before he handed it to May. “It may be best to speak to the professor to see if he has any other records of such abnormalities.”
Brendan groaned, putting his arms behind his head. “Uhg, how come we keep having to go hang out with my dad?” Which earned a giggle from May.
“Hey- you should consider yourself lucky!” She interjected. “At least your dad answers whenever we go bother him.”
Maxie and Archie halted, sending a concerned glance, though before they were granted the liberty of questioning that- May asked them. “How about the two of you meet us there? I’m sure the professor wouldn’t mind some additional expertise.”
Judging by Brendan’s facial shift, Archie and Maxie could guess that wasn’t entirely true, but they weren’t ones to refuse May’s request.
“‘Course we will.” Archie assured her, putting his hands on his hips. “Run off ya scamps, we’ll meet you there.”
Maxie folded his arms behind his back, a pleased smirk on his face. “As if you’d expect anything less from me.”
May grinned ear to ear. She turned to leave with Brendan, but not before she commented: “I never thought I’d see you two get on the same page so quickly.”
Brendan snorted, adding “Yeah, when’s the wedding?”
Archie choked on the air, his face turning a sputtering red– Maxie’s glasses slipped to be uneven when he jolted in surprise.
“Hey- what do you mean by-!”
The children were already running off before they had the chance to get scolded, the sound of them laughing between themselves dying out the further they ran.
It took a beat of silence for the pair to regain their composure. Archie was the first to huff out a breath.
“Well, don’t they enjoy getting under our skin..” He tugged his bandana back down to try covering the heat on his face. May and her friend almost certainly didn’t know how close that statement hit home…
Maxie swiftly and robotically recomposed himself, adjusting his clothes and glasses back in place- folding his hands again. “Yes. Makes it easier to remember that in spite of being champion, May is still a child.”
Archie’s eyes drifted away, trailing the path May and her rival had just ran down. “... Did you catch what she said about bothering her old man?”
“Yes. That was very concerning.” Maxie agreed without any haste. “I’ve made a mental note to keep tabs on that.”
Archie nodded in agreement, his shoulders untensing. “At least we can agree on that. Maybe the kids actually weren't too far off..”
Maxie scoffed at that, dismissing. “Oh please, we’d not make it halfway down the aisle before a scuffle broke out.” Archie let out a sturdy laugh, clasping a hand over Maxie’s shoulder.
“Well it’d just be rude to blow yer land loving behind out of the water on yer special day.”
Maxie rolled his eyes, holding his head up in a pompous fashion. “On second thought, I was too generous. We’d not even be able to find a venue.”
Archie’s smile slowly fell, the idea creeping into the forefront of his mind. "We could get married at sea." He suggested, in a gentler tone that almost suggested seriousness. Maxie looked at him as though he’d grown a second head; Archie added, “In the hypothetical sense, I s’pose.”
Maxie blinked, letting himself get swept away in the ridiculousness of the fantasy, if even for a moment. He shook his head with a strict frown. "We would get married at the base of the volcano. I already have clear land there.."
Archie quirked his brow, asserting. "We're not getting married in a volcano. No one goes to a wedding and compliments the lava arrangement."
Maxie turned on his heel, facing Archie nearly nose-to-nose. He argued with an air of offense. "Well, we're not getting married in the ocean either!"
Archie huffed. "Ya know, this is how we kept putting off a ceremony the first time."
The beach fell silent. Archie was surprised at himself for letting that slip out… He retracted his hand from Maxie’s shoulder and looked away from Maxie’s carefully guarded expression- his eyes just barely hidden behind the glasses- like a guilty dog. He clenched his teeth together.
“Ah.. sorry… I didn’t mean to- you know- bring up..” His apology awkwardly trailed off. Maxie knew the rest.
A painful frozen beat passed before Maxie, thankfully, moved. He put a finger to his chin in serious thought. "... If we were to be married- it would be on the beach, which is next to your water, but in view of the volcano. For photos."
Archie blinked in surprise. He almost laughed at the way Maxie’s smirk grew arrogant, as though he’d solved an obvious equation. It should be illegal for that man to be so smug. Especially when he tacked on; "The warm part of the beach, that water is frigid."
Archie crossed his arms but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. "You're frigid." He teased, affection traced throughout his tone. Maxie folded his arms behind his back and rolled his eyes but Archie could see him smiling too. It felt all too comfortable now to let unanswered questions hang in the air; too easy to ignore them when the world was light like this.
Maxie glanced back to the city trail. “I suppose we shouldn’t keep the children waiting.”
Archie nodded, before giving it a moment of thought. “... Say, why do we always give them a headstart anyways?”
Maxie scoffed, smartly adjusting his glasses. “Oh please, knowing May, she’s already gotten herself in some sort of battle on the way there. It’d take twice the time if we actually walked with her.”
“Ah. Right.”
Sure enough, May and Brendan were further down the route to the professor’s lab.
“Think we ought to ride our bikes down?” Brendan asked, peeking over to May as they walked side by side.
“Nah,” She dismissed, shrugging. “We gotta give time for the old guys to catch up. Besides, I’m still working on my Pokedex. I’ve just about got it finished.”
“Well I doubt you’re going to find a useful one here.” Brendan dismissed. “These routes only got common Pokemon. Though, they’re still awfully cute.”
As if on cue, the children noticed some rustling coming from a bush they were strolling passed. Brendan and May glanced between each other with a knowing glint in their eyes. With juvenile excitement, they practically piled on top of one another, scrambling as quiet as they could to investigate the shrub. A slight illumination came from the leaves; for a moment, May suspected it could be a shiny pokemon, yet the truth revealed itself to be far stranger.
Pushing aside the plumage of the shrub, May uncovered the cause of the commotion. Though the Plusle and Minum she’d found were of the usual coloring, their fur was speckled in pink dust, lightly glowing to illuminate the shrubbery. May squinted. Her first thought was that the two must have gotten into the wild growing mega crystals, though before she could have a second thought, Minum took notice of her presence. It growled at her with an unusual hostility, and before May had the time to react, Minum lunged at her in a move similar to tackle. She was knocked back with a heavy “oof-!”
Brendan- standing over the scene- stumbled back in surprise. “Hey! What’s going-” but he was cut off with a sharp zap! (As if he’d experienced a particularly angry static shock) to his ankle, making him jump again. Looking down, he met the gaze of an equally angry Plusle. It appeared that the trainers had been thrust into battle before their pokemon had even been drawn.
May pulled the Minum off as gently as she could, though it only tried to attack her again. She quickly whipped a pokeball from her bag. “Blaziken-! A little help here!” She called, releasing her partner. Brendan followed her lead, fumbling in his bag for a moment before releasing his Marshtomp. Despite the duo pokemon’s acute aggression, the starters made quick work of the battle, knocking out Plusle and Minum in a single turn.
May propped herself back up by her elbows. Blaziken helped pull her back to her feet; she dusted off her shorts as she caught her breath. Brendan knelt down in front of the fainted Plusle and Minum wearing an expression of concern. “What got into these little guys?” He thought out loud.
May approached, leaning over his shoulder to get a good look. The dust from earlier looked like it’d shaken out during the battle. “Do you think that dust was from the mega crystals?”
“I guess so..” Brendan shrugged, standing back up. “But neither of them can mega evolve, so I don’t see why it would affect them like that. Or at all.”
May put a finger to her lips in thought. “Hm.. Maybe we should catch them and take them to your dad so he can see what’s going on.” She suggested, pulling out a pokeball.
They each caught one of the pokemon to take back to the lab, and as Brendan was fixing his belt, he suggested again. “I guess we better use the bikes now.”
“Oh shoot- yeah, we’re probably keeping everyone waiting now, let’s hurry up.”
May and Brendan made their way to the professor’s lab at last. May was still adjusting her sneakers when she hopped through the door.
Professor Birch was sitting at his desk with trembling hands, his face slightly pale. Glancing between each other, May and Brendan shared the thought that perhaps they should have warned him about the respective former aqua and magma leaders they’d unceremoniously sent his way. To an untrained eye, the way Maxie and Archie loomed in one of the only free standing spaces in the lab could be read as intimidating (their reputation wasn’t exactly quiet). Based on the proud smirk that Archie was wearing, he didn’t seem to mind. However, Maxie’s rigid resting face softened upon the children’s arrival. “Ah, May, we were wondering when you’d be arriving.”
Professor Birch, keeping his composure remarkably well, stood from his desk and greeted the children with all the warmth his shaking voice could muster. “Brendan! May.. Your um… Friends-?” He glanced back to Archie and Maxie, unsure of what else to call them. “- updated me on what was happening. You found some strange mega crystals growing by the coast?”
May nodded, pulling the sample from her pocket. She handed it to the professor for closer inspection, and he held it in eye view much like Maxie had earlier.
“Dad, get this,” Brendan started to explain. “on our way over here me and May ran into this Plusle and Minum duo that were acting weird- and after we defeated them it looked like they had debris from those weird crystals on them.”
“Are the pokemon alright?”
Brendan put his hands in his pockets, shifting to his other foot. “Yeah they seem fine, we caught them so they could rest, but I’ve never seen that before.”
“Could I see those as well?” Birch requested. The others in the room looked on with varying levels of interest as Birch moved to put the mega crystal sample and the two pokeballs into the fume hood kept further back into the lab. “You might want to step back, kids. And- um- adults too.” Birch awkwardly laughed, letting the machine analyze the samples.
Archie and Maxie watched with intense gaze as the machine was put to work. It scanned over the subjects with a slim beam of light and stilled in process for a moment before it spit out a long string of results onto the screen. Birch took a step forward, cautious, as he analyzed the presented information. His expression stiffened.
Archie’s brow tightened subtly, sensing the professor’s concern. He shot a glance over to Maxie, who was not-so-subtly squinting his eyes, practically leaning over Birch’s shoulder to analyze the readings himself.
“Just as I suspected…” Maxie muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear. “The readings on the crystal formation came up abnormal…”
May stood on her toes, craning her head to read as well, though she couldn’t exactly understand what it meant. Professor Birch nodded, turning back to the small crowd that’d formed around the machine.
“I’ve actually seen this before- but never on such a big scale..” The professor admitted. He pressed the release button on the fume hood. He took the pokeballs back into his grip, leaving behind the defective shard. “Their patterns of growth have been disturbed… We get this sometimes after large storms or natural disasters.”
Though the others tried not to stare for politeness sake, it only took one glance in Maxie and Archie’s expressions to know that they’d connected the dots.
Maxie wasn’t standing quite as proudly as he would have liked to, his shoulders hunching forwards subtly. Archie cleared his throat, looking away, awkwardly crossing his arms like a schoolboy trying to keep his pride while getting lectured by his instructor.
“Ah.” Archie eventually broke the silence. “I uh… See how that might’ve happened.”
Professor Birch elaborated. “These Pokemon that May and Brendan caught must have gotten their hands on the misgrown crystals. They become unstable when growing like this- and they’re known to make normally docile pokemon aggressive and sick. Lucky you found these two. They should have a speedy recovery now…”
The children were handed back the plusle and minum respectively. May was troubled as she safely tucked Minum away with her team. Brendan shared her apprehension. “Well that’s great and all dad, but how do we fix all those messed up mega crystals?”
“Well provided there are no more environmental disasters on their way, this shouldn’t be a problem for long. Once these crystals break, they should return to their usual growth patterns.” Professor Birch reported, a bit cheerier now to deliver good news.
May perked up, a grin spread across her lips. “I could go around breaking them professor! Before any more pokemon get sick from them!”
Maxie adjusted his glasses as he straightened his posture. The troubled look of thought was soon replaced with the controlled seriousness he usually carried himself with, as he stated with certainty. “Seeing as we’re responsible for the situation, it would only be fitting that we assist.”
Archie flashed May a reassuring smile, putting his hands on his hips in confidence. “Yeah, we won’t leave you alone on this kiddo! You make the call and we’ll be over ASAP!” Their composure eased May’s lingering anxieties, if even by a small margin.
Brendan put his hands in his pockets, casually. “Glad that’s settled. I’m, for one, excited to take the lead in completing the Pokedex while you’re occupied with that sidequest.” He joked. May playfully punched him in the arm.
“In your dreams!” She laughed.
Professor Birch smiled proudly. “Do you kids want any snacks before you go?” Brendan groaned, muttering out an embarrassed “No dad, we’re fine..”
“Are you riding bikes? Got your helmets?”
“Daaadddddd!”
May snorted at the exchange, thanking the professor “We appreciate it, Mister Birch, but we promise to stay safe!” Somehow every adult in the room doubted that, but didn’t further comment. May looked back to Archie and Maxie “Thanks Archie! Thanks Maxie! I’ll tell you if we need a hand from your teams!”
Maxie offered her a curt nod as her and Brendan took their leave. Archie clasped a firm hand on the back of Professor Birch’s back in a friendly gesture, making the professor stumble forward. “Thanks for yer help there, Birch. No hard feelings about when team Aqua raided your lap, yeah?”
Professor Birch nervously chuckled, already sweating again. Maxie took the first steps towards the door, Archie walking in his steed. “Yes, your work here was most helpful.” Maxie acknowledged with a stiff professionalism. “Perhaps I’ll return with further information, if it proves necessary.”
“Oh- so you’re coming back..!” Birch acknowledged, trying his hardest to feign enthusiasm. “That’s… great…”
Maxie only responded with a huff, and just as quickly as they’d arrived, the two leaders were gone. Archie took in a breath of fresh air, stepping out into the simple town. Though, his smile dampened as the beat of silence that’d followed them outside set in. “We uh.. Made quite a mess, didn’t we?” He voiced.
Maxie adjusted his glasses- a nervous tick Archie had come to expect by now- and nodded curtly. “Yes. But, we must handle it now. I’ll inform Courtny and Tabitha of the new prerogative. I assume you’ll tell your team about it too. Unless you were just speaking of combining team efforts to get the international police off your back..”
By the sly glint in Maxie’s gaze, Archie could tell he was fishing for a fight. Archie was more than happy to give it to him. “Hey! You ought to know me better than that by now. Course I’m good for my word. Team Aqua will clear out this problem before yer lousy team even gets the chance to touch it.”
He was expecting a fierce rebuttal, but the proclamation didn’t puff Maxie’s chest in indignant pride like it typically would have. Instead he kept still. Too still. “Well…” He sighed, taking his words in great strain. “While you are.. Painfully overcompetent in your team of sad sailors, you are right. About me knowing better.”
It burned to admit, any lowering of Maxie’s pride felt like poison on his tongue. Archie stared in surprise. Before he had the chance to hold that vulnerability over Maxie’s head, the magma leader quickly changed the subject. “It’s good to see that May has such a good friend in that rival of hers.”
“Oh that kid in the hat? Seems like a good lad.” Archie nodded, chuckling lowly. “Though between you and me, I think May is already out of his league.”
Maxie smirked. If Archie hadn’t known any better, he would have suspected Maxie of showing a sliver of affection.
“...It’s good she's got friends, though.” Archie added. “I worry about her a might.”
“As do I.” Maxie agreed. “There’s much on her shoulders at quite a young age.”
“She’s a tough kid though.” Archie offered. “I mean, she could handle our nonsense.”
Maxie nodded solemnly. “I only hope she’s able to keep these companions as her journey continues. I don’t want for her a life riddled with regret.”
Silence returned. Maxie didn’t need to say the rest, they both understood what Maxie had meant by that. Archie cast his eyes away. He took the first step to walk away, stopping almost immediately. He bit his own tongue, knowing he couldn’t leave well enough alone…
“We should keep an eye on her. May, I mean. She’s still a kid after all, tough as nails but.. Someone should be looking after her. Why not us?” Archie shrugged, trying to cut through the tension like sea fog.
Maxie turned his head. Archie searched for that smug composure he’d grown so familiar with and wasn’t disappointed when he caught Maxie’s glare. “You’ll have to stop sounding so reasonable, Archie. I might be inclined to agree with you for the third time today. We couldn't have that.”
Archie snorted and his wide closed-teeth smile that had been used to strike fear into the hearts of so many sprouted an uncomfortable warmth in Maxie’s chest. He cleared his throat, tugging on the collar of his turtle neck. Arceus, he thought he’d shook that anxious habit back in his college days… Maxie wasn’t one to linger though, and just as quickly he regained his stance and instructed with an air of superiority. “Of course I request you pull your weight if you insist on keeping your word.”
Archie put his hands on his hips, just as arrogant as his rival. “Hah! Me and my crew are gonna leave yours in the dust! But if we know to slow down to keep your pace- ain’t no shame in asking.”
“Hmf.” Maxie turned his head, as if not to dignify that idea with a response, though it lacked any bite. “Well. I suppose we’ll be seeing about that soon.”
“I suppose we will, Maxie.”
For what felt like the thousandth time, they parted once more, taking their own routes back to base. Though neither would admit it, they caught each other, even for just a moment, glancing back at the other’s road…