Try, Try, Try Again, Ivan+Pao-lin, G
Title: Try, Try, Try Again
Author: Nanaki BH
Pairing: Ivan+Pao-lin
Words: 1334
Notes: For meihime_sama's prompt "Origami and Dragon Kid hanging out together either on a hero mission or off duty. Bonus if they're both actually really comfortable with each other." in the tiger_and_bunny fanwork exchange. ♥
Disclaimer: Tiger & Bunny and all associated characters and materials are property of Bandai, Sunrise, and whoever else.
Pao-lin stared down at what she held in her hands with the type of expression that should have been reserved for criminals. Was it really that bad? Ivan wouldn't know... He felt like he was always prepared for any type of situation. Just because it was in the red didn't mean anything, so why was she getting so bent out of shape? It wasn't like they had ever done it before though, so Ivan hadn't know what to expect. He had no idea she would be so sensitive about this.
“So... Is it bad? I mean, we could just-”
“No,” Pao-lin said, thrusting a hand up in the air to stop him from speaking one more word. “We've come this far... Now we have to see it all the way through.”
He invited her over to his house to cure them both of some boredom and this was where things had gone.
“Well if it's red, that's fine. Just let it go.” He shrugged, unable to see the problem still.
She was still looking at it though, now with an expression of serious concentration. She squinted, holding her lower lip firmly between her teeth. Finally, she gave in.
“Fine! Just knock me out already!”
So he did. He was sure she still had other pokémon to choose from so it wasn't like one lost Pikachu was going to make a big difference. There were a lot of times where he came back after having half of his party wiped out, even. Just one fainted pokémon was no problem unless she was taking all that time to figure out what she should use against his Zoroark.
Zoroark wasn't even his best choice, to be honest. It was just a favorite of his because it reminded him so much of his own powers. It was a really cool fox and it had the ability to shift into the appearance of other pokémon... without copying their moves. It was like the better version of a Ditto, but it still wasn't all that strong and had a lot of obvious flaws. He kept it at the top of his party mostly for sentimental value.
Pao-lin spent the next minute scanning her eyes over what was left in her party. Like him, she probably had that Pikachu because it was a lot like her and her powers. While he watched her browsing her party so intensely, he couldn't help smiling. It was pretty cute that she would think of something like that.
“Okay here,” she said at last, sending out her next choice.
A Pikachu.
He was surprised when the last one had still held on after one hit from his Dark Pulse, but that didn't say much. Ivan tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her. “This didn't work the first time, you know. I'm not going to go easy on you.”
“I know! Don't take me lightly either, alright? I'm trying here.”
Dark Pulse took this one out completely in one hit. It was almost sad to see it go down. It gave its little Pikachu cry and succumbed to his attack, collapsing and disappearing back into its pokéball, returning to Pao-lin's trainer character almost as fast as it had come out onto the field.
“Okay, try this one on for size!” she said with passion, sending out her next choice right away.
Ivan felt like fainting himself. Was she really trying to win this fight? Did she try to win any fight? Why did she have another Pikachu? This was three in a row! Unless she had a Shuckle with extreme defense secretly saved as her last pokémon, he didn't think she had any way of beating him at this rate. Pikachus were not going to do it. It was certainly impressive that they were all level one hundred... He didn't know how she even managed to do that without cheating, but he didn't think the high levels would help her here.
“Just to be clear... I'm not going easy on you,” he repeated. He ordered his Zoroark to use Dark Pulse and was surprised when his pokémon didn't go first. Pao-lin's Pikachu actually took the first strike.
...With Quick Attack.
He lost about ten points out of a total of two hundred seventy-seven. At least... At least it was an admirable last effort on her part. When all else fails, Quick Attack is a good way to try to finish someone off - but he wasn't anywhere near fainting still.
Dark Pulse hit and her Pikachu sunk.
“Please tell me you have something other than Pikachu,” he asked, eying her curiously.
Pao-lin looked up slowly from her DS and gave a nervous grin. “No, of course I don't. Why would I want to have a party with pokémon I don't like?”
Too cute. That response was too cute! Forget winning or fainting; he was going to get diabetes at this rate. It pained him to take out each of her Pikachus one by one, but it was impossibly cute to think that she had all of these and put so much effort into them simply because they were her favorite.
“Your strategy is horrible, yet admirable, Pao-lin,” he said seriously, then took out her fourth Pikachu mercilessly with one hit from Night Daze.
“Thank you, I guess?” she said, laughing. For someone who was losing, she didn't seem all that fazed anymore by it. She was taking it rather gracefully. If Ivan were a more competitive player, then she probably would have been throwing her DS directly at him by now instead. It was kind of nice like this. He may have found himself a new video game partner.
“Did you really raise all these Pikachus by yourself?” he asked, using Nasty Plot to let her attack for a change. She followed up with a Thunderbolt that gave his Zoroark a fair shock, even though it still wasn't enough to make him faint.
She smiled fondly while she sent out her remaining Pikachu. Her trainer threw it onto the field and it stood there like a cute, defenseless little warrior; her last ray of hope. He wanted to tell it Good luck, Pikachu! but that... probably wouldn't be enough to help her.
“I've been playing Pokémon since the third generation, I think. I know that isn't as long as some other people, but I've been into Pikachus ever since. When I was little, I liked to imagine what it would be like to have a real Pikachu...”
Ivan looked at her, eyes wide.
“What?” she asked, backing up away from him on the couch. “Am I gonna have to ask if there's something on my face...?”
How to say this without sounding like a nerd or a creeper... “I've always wondered what it would be like to have a real pokémon, too!”
Failure. She looked at him like he was a- “Loser,” she said, completing it.
“Yeah... But you had the same thought, so you're a loser, too.”
Her last Pikachu put him into the red and then went down with one hit and their battle was over.
With a thoroughly resigned sigh, Pao-lin got up from the couch after they disconnected and turned off her game. “Well. I guess this means it's time for ice cream.”
That was quick. Ivan narrowed his eyes, his game still on and held loosely in his hands. “That's not how I remember the conditions of our battle. I distinctly remember you saying that we'd go for ice cream if you won.”
She shrugged and grabbed his arm, pulling him up to stand. “You never said what you wanted if you won, though. Are you really going to turn down ice cream?”
He didn't have to think about that too hard. It was win/win for both of them.
Author: Nanaki BH
Pairing: Ivan+Pao-lin
Words: 1334
Notes: For meihime_sama's prompt "Origami and Dragon Kid hanging out together either on a hero mission or off duty. Bonus if they're both actually really comfortable with each other." in the tiger_and_bunny fanwork exchange. ♥
Disclaimer: Tiger & Bunny and all associated characters and materials are property of Bandai, Sunrise, and whoever else.
Pao-lin stared down at what she held in her hands with the type of expression that should have been reserved for criminals. Was it really that bad? Ivan wouldn't know... He felt like he was always prepared for any type of situation. Just because it was in the red didn't mean anything, so why was she getting so bent out of shape? It wasn't like they had ever done it before though, so Ivan hadn't know what to expect. He had no idea she would be so sensitive about this.
“So... Is it bad? I mean, we could just-”
“No,” Pao-lin said, thrusting a hand up in the air to stop him from speaking one more word. “We've come this far... Now we have to see it all the way through.”
He invited her over to his house to cure them both of some boredom and this was where things had gone.
“Well if it's red, that's fine. Just let it go.” He shrugged, unable to see the problem still.
She was still looking at it though, now with an expression of serious concentration. She squinted, holding her lower lip firmly between her teeth. Finally, she gave in.
“Fine! Just knock me out already!”
So he did. He was sure she still had other pokémon to choose from so it wasn't like one lost Pikachu was going to make a big difference. There were a lot of times where he came back after having half of his party wiped out, even. Just one fainted pokémon was no problem unless she was taking all that time to figure out what she should use against his Zoroark.
Zoroark wasn't even his best choice, to be honest. It was just a favorite of his because it reminded him so much of his own powers. It was a really cool fox and it had the ability to shift into the appearance of other pokémon... without copying their moves. It was like the better version of a Ditto, but it still wasn't all that strong and had a lot of obvious flaws. He kept it at the top of his party mostly for sentimental value.
Pao-lin spent the next minute scanning her eyes over what was left in her party. Like him, she probably had that Pikachu because it was a lot like her and her powers. While he watched her browsing her party so intensely, he couldn't help smiling. It was pretty cute that she would think of something like that.
“Okay here,” she said at last, sending out her next choice.
A Pikachu.
He was surprised when the last one had still held on after one hit from his Dark Pulse, but that didn't say much. Ivan tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her. “This didn't work the first time, you know. I'm not going to go easy on you.”
“I know! Don't take me lightly either, alright? I'm trying here.”
Dark Pulse took this one out completely in one hit. It was almost sad to see it go down. It gave its little Pikachu cry and succumbed to his attack, collapsing and disappearing back into its pokéball, returning to Pao-lin's trainer character almost as fast as it had come out onto the field.
“Okay, try this one on for size!” she said with passion, sending out her next choice right away.
Ivan felt like fainting himself. Was she really trying to win this fight? Did she try to win any fight? Why did she have another Pikachu? This was three in a row! Unless she had a Shuckle with extreme defense secretly saved as her last pokémon, he didn't think she had any way of beating him at this rate. Pikachus were not going to do it. It was certainly impressive that they were all level one hundred... He didn't know how she even managed to do that without cheating, but he didn't think the high levels would help her here.
“Just to be clear... I'm not going easy on you,” he repeated. He ordered his Zoroark to use Dark Pulse and was surprised when his pokémon didn't go first. Pao-lin's Pikachu actually took the first strike.
...With Quick Attack.
He lost about ten points out of a total of two hundred seventy-seven. At least... At least it was an admirable last effort on her part. When all else fails, Quick Attack is a good way to try to finish someone off - but he wasn't anywhere near fainting still.
Dark Pulse hit and her Pikachu sunk.
“Please tell me you have something other than Pikachu,” he asked, eying her curiously.
Pao-lin looked up slowly from her DS and gave a nervous grin. “No, of course I don't. Why would I want to have a party with pokémon I don't like?”
Too cute. That response was too cute! Forget winning or fainting; he was going to get diabetes at this rate. It pained him to take out each of her Pikachus one by one, but it was impossibly cute to think that she had all of these and put so much effort into them simply because they were her favorite.
“Your strategy is horrible, yet admirable, Pao-lin,” he said seriously, then took out her fourth Pikachu mercilessly with one hit from Night Daze.
“Thank you, I guess?” she said, laughing. For someone who was losing, she didn't seem all that fazed anymore by it. She was taking it rather gracefully. If Ivan were a more competitive player, then she probably would have been throwing her DS directly at him by now instead. It was kind of nice like this. He may have found himself a new video game partner.
“Did you really raise all these Pikachus by yourself?” he asked, using Nasty Plot to let her attack for a change. She followed up with a Thunderbolt that gave his Zoroark a fair shock, even though it still wasn't enough to make him faint.
She smiled fondly while she sent out her remaining Pikachu. Her trainer threw it onto the field and it stood there like a cute, defenseless little warrior; her last ray of hope. He wanted to tell it Good luck, Pikachu! but that... probably wouldn't be enough to help her.
“I've been playing Pokémon since the third generation, I think. I know that isn't as long as some other people, but I've been into Pikachus ever since. When I was little, I liked to imagine what it would be like to have a real Pikachu...”
Ivan looked at her, eyes wide.
“What?” she asked, backing up away from him on the couch. “Am I gonna have to ask if there's something on my face...?”
How to say this without sounding like a nerd or a creeper... “I've always wondered what it would be like to have a real pokémon, too!”
Failure. She looked at him like he was a- “Loser,” she said, completing it.
“Yeah... But you had the same thought, so you're a loser, too.”
Her last Pikachu put him into the red and then went down with one hit and their battle was over.
With a thoroughly resigned sigh, Pao-lin got up from the couch after they disconnected and turned off her game. “Well. I guess this means it's time for ice cream.”
That was quick. Ivan narrowed his eyes, his game still on and held loosely in his hands. “That's not how I remember the conditions of our battle. I distinctly remember you saying that we'd go for ice cream if you won.”
She shrugged and grabbed his arm, pulling him up to stand. “You never said what you wanted if you won, though. Are you really going to turn down ice cream?”
He didn't have to think about that too hard. It was win/win for both of them.