ShinyMachoke
Hitmonchan Defense Squad
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/they
Fluffy thing I wrote for Valentine's day. It's about two characters of mine, Tabor and Lira. They were made for a now-defunct pmd group on deviantart, PMD-Unity. Familiarity with the group is not required at all.
AO3 Link
It was the end to yet another eventful day of completing menial tasks for modest compensation. No job was too small for Team Thunder Buddies of the Explorers Guild, not even taking inventory of the rubber erasers at the local schoolhouse (heaven forbid the students make mistakes on their lesson tablets!). Tabor beamed proudly as he dropped two shimmering star coins into his springy bank. The ceramic Spoink bounced on its coiled tail, jostling the coins within.
“Ugh, could you keep it down?”
His friend, Lira, on the other hand, sat slumped on Tabor’s bed. She held her face in her hands, eyes squeezed shut, moaning in dramatic agony. Weak sparks crackled across the Electabuzz’s antennae.
“Another headache?” Tabor asked with concern.
“What do you think, genius,” Lira snarled. She wasn’t one to have a sunny personality, but these headache spells always soured her mood more than usual.
Tabor gently tapped his mitts together, pondering. “Maybe you should see a doctor. This is the third day this week your head’s been hurting.”
Lira lowered her hands and groaned. “I don’t need to see anyone, I know exactly what’s wrong; too many people!”
“Oh. Hm. Well, maybe you should stay home next time we’ve got a guild task.”
“I’m not letting you do all the work, sometimes doing guild shit is worth it. Like when we participated in that egg festival with the eating contest. Or that time we got to beat up some punks. That ruled... owww.” Instantly regretting her excitement, Lira buried her face in her hands, tail whipping the mattress with agitated slaps.
“Well...” Tabor trailed off. After a moment he perked up. “Hey Lira, you said that you get headaches from being around too many people. But you’ve been in Andalusst for months now?”
“Yeah, but I could manage it back then. Just... I don’t know. I think it’s everyone being so clustered together lately when we go out, their heartbeats make my head want to explode.”
“You can hear heartbeats? Like an Audino?”
Lira furrowed her bushy eyebrows more. “Not hear, exactly. More like... sense? See, every living thing’s got its own pulse, its own energy, even things that don’t have hearts. Back in my tribe, everyone would be familiar with each other’s pulses before they even hatched. Really good way to form strong bonds or find some moron who’d gotten themselves lost. Also comes in handy when stalking prey. Detecting someone you don't recognize, see if they're a threat or not. Stuff like that”
“But Andalusst’s got too many other Pokemon, is that it?” Tabor concluded.
“Yup. I could like... get it under control, tune everything out at first. Back when I was just hanging around with you and your mom. But lately, it’s been way too much for me. Ugh, maybe I just need to train myself more.”
Lira resumed cradling her aching head. Tabor sat down at the foot of the bed, placing a hand on his chin as he tried to think up a solution to his friend's suffering. He absent mindedly pressed a thumb on the side of his neck, feeling the pulse beat within. He had an idea.
“Lira, I have an idea!” Tabor announced. After a moment of no response, he continued. “So, uh, I was thinking, maybe you need to be grounded in some way. Not with a ground attack, haha! I mean, since you can feel the heartbeats and pulses of everyone around, what if you just focused on mine? Do you think that could work?”
Lira pinched her brow. “Hm. Well, I’ll give it a shot, I guess.”
The Electabuzz sat up, closed her eyes and crossed her arms. In actuality, she was intimately familiar with Tabor’s internal rhythm. Beneath the gentle, sweet exterior beat the heart of a brutal fighter. She’d seen him pushed just a bit too far by someone with ill intention and snap to pummeling the snot out of them. It was a side of the Hitmonchan that Lira wished was more prominent. She smiled to herself, recalling the memory of Tabor nearly murdering a delinquent Smeargle who insulted his mom. Her thundering headache faded to a dull sting.
Thuh-thump. Thuh-thump.
A level below Tabor’s room, Hana, his mother, had just welcomed several guests into the Sunnyside Inn. Lira flinched. She tried to concentrate on Tabor’s rhythm, yet the jovial conversations stabbed her brain. Distant voices amplified in her skull like an expanding ball of pressure threatening to explode. Suppressing a pained whine, she ground her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut even harder.
“Not working?” Tabor said.
Lira grumbled. “It was, but not anymore. Maybe I gotta get closer.”
Before Tabor could ask what she meant, Lira turned to face him, grasped his upper arms, and yanked him close to her, pressing her head onto his chest. Tabor squeaked out a gasp.
“Quiet,” Lira ordered. Tabor obeyed to the best of his ability, body stiffening, breathing quick and shallow. Previously steady, his heart now pumped erratically, reminding Lira of cornered prey. What's that knucklehead so afraid of? She winced, a pulse of pain assaulting her head.
Focus.
Lira relaxed her grip, her hands moving to Tabor’s back. She was completely oblivious to how intimate this action was. She rolled her head in a way so that her antennae lay on each side of his heart, nestling it. No matter if it beat at a steady pace or pumped frantically, it was still his. The familiarity soothed Lira’s aching head like gentle strokes. Her hackles lowered for the first time in hours, and her tail eased into a loose curl. Lira sighed in relief, deep purrs rumbling in her chest. Her cranial malaise had all but disappeared, yet she felt compelled to hold onto her friend for just a minute longer.
At last, Lira released her hold on Tabor, leaning back in contentment. Tabor, on the other hand, nearly fell backwards, wheezing like he’d just run a marathon, face mottled red. Lira smirked.
“Looks like you’re the one who needs to see a doctor,” she chuckled.
“S-sorry,” Tabor sputtered, eyes glistening. “It’s just... golly, I’ve never been this close to a girl before...”
“Hey, don’t get all weird about it! You helped me, and that’s what counts, right?”
“Oh right! How do you feel now?”
Before the Electabuzz could answer, the sound of shattering glass was heard downstairs, followed by shrill scolding and a cacophony of stomping feet. Tabor flinched, glancing at the floorboards in the direction of ruckus. Lira, meanwhile, remained completely at ease, her antennae pulsing with a heartbeat that wasn’t her own.
Casually lifting a hand and forming an “o” with two fingers, Lira murmured, “I feel great. Thanks.”
“That’s wonderful. You’re welcome.” Tabor tapped his mitts together rapidly, still blushing. He demurely looked his friend in the eyes. “Hey Lira, um, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Was that... first base?”
AO3 Link
It was the end to yet another eventful day of completing menial tasks for modest compensation. No job was too small for Team Thunder Buddies of the Explorers Guild, not even taking inventory of the rubber erasers at the local schoolhouse (heaven forbid the students make mistakes on their lesson tablets!). Tabor beamed proudly as he dropped two shimmering star coins into his springy bank. The ceramic Spoink bounced on its coiled tail, jostling the coins within.
“Ugh, could you keep it down?”
His friend, Lira, on the other hand, sat slumped on Tabor’s bed. She held her face in her hands, eyes squeezed shut, moaning in dramatic agony. Weak sparks crackled across the Electabuzz’s antennae.
“Another headache?” Tabor asked with concern.
“What do you think, genius,” Lira snarled. She wasn’t one to have a sunny personality, but these headache spells always soured her mood more than usual.
Tabor gently tapped his mitts together, pondering. “Maybe you should see a doctor. This is the third day this week your head’s been hurting.”
Lira lowered her hands and groaned. “I don’t need to see anyone, I know exactly what’s wrong; too many people!”
“Oh. Hm. Well, maybe you should stay home next time we’ve got a guild task.”
“I’m not letting you do all the work, sometimes doing guild shit is worth it. Like when we participated in that egg festival with the eating contest. Or that time we got to beat up some punks. That ruled... owww.” Instantly regretting her excitement, Lira buried her face in her hands, tail whipping the mattress with agitated slaps.
“Well...” Tabor trailed off. After a moment he perked up. “Hey Lira, you said that you get headaches from being around too many people. But you’ve been in Andalusst for months now?”
“Yeah, but I could manage it back then. Just... I don’t know. I think it’s everyone being so clustered together lately when we go out, their heartbeats make my head want to explode.”
“You can hear heartbeats? Like an Audino?”
Lira furrowed her bushy eyebrows more. “Not hear, exactly. More like... sense? See, every living thing’s got its own pulse, its own energy, even things that don’t have hearts. Back in my tribe, everyone would be familiar with each other’s pulses before they even hatched. Really good way to form strong bonds or find some moron who’d gotten themselves lost. Also comes in handy when stalking prey. Detecting someone you don't recognize, see if they're a threat or not. Stuff like that”
“But Andalusst’s got too many other Pokemon, is that it?” Tabor concluded.
“Yup. I could like... get it under control, tune everything out at first. Back when I was just hanging around with you and your mom. But lately, it’s been way too much for me. Ugh, maybe I just need to train myself more.”
Lira resumed cradling her aching head. Tabor sat down at the foot of the bed, placing a hand on his chin as he tried to think up a solution to his friend's suffering. He absent mindedly pressed a thumb on the side of his neck, feeling the pulse beat within. He had an idea.
“Lira, I have an idea!” Tabor announced. After a moment of no response, he continued. “So, uh, I was thinking, maybe you need to be grounded in some way. Not with a ground attack, haha! I mean, since you can feel the heartbeats and pulses of everyone around, what if you just focused on mine? Do you think that could work?”
Lira pinched her brow. “Hm. Well, I’ll give it a shot, I guess.”
The Electabuzz sat up, closed her eyes and crossed her arms. In actuality, she was intimately familiar with Tabor’s internal rhythm. Beneath the gentle, sweet exterior beat the heart of a brutal fighter. She’d seen him pushed just a bit too far by someone with ill intention and snap to pummeling the snot out of them. It was a side of the Hitmonchan that Lira wished was more prominent. She smiled to herself, recalling the memory of Tabor nearly murdering a delinquent Smeargle who insulted his mom. Her thundering headache faded to a dull sting.
Thuh-thump. Thuh-thump.
A level below Tabor’s room, Hana, his mother, had just welcomed several guests into the Sunnyside Inn. Lira flinched. She tried to concentrate on Tabor’s rhythm, yet the jovial conversations stabbed her brain. Distant voices amplified in her skull like an expanding ball of pressure threatening to explode. Suppressing a pained whine, she ground her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut even harder.
“Not working?” Tabor said.
Lira grumbled. “It was, but not anymore. Maybe I gotta get closer.”
Before Tabor could ask what she meant, Lira turned to face him, grasped his upper arms, and yanked him close to her, pressing her head onto his chest. Tabor squeaked out a gasp.
“Quiet,” Lira ordered. Tabor obeyed to the best of his ability, body stiffening, breathing quick and shallow. Previously steady, his heart now pumped erratically, reminding Lira of cornered prey. What's that knucklehead so afraid of? She winced, a pulse of pain assaulting her head.
Focus.
Lira relaxed her grip, her hands moving to Tabor’s back. She was completely oblivious to how intimate this action was. She rolled her head in a way so that her antennae lay on each side of his heart, nestling it. No matter if it beat at a steady pace or pumped frantically, it was still his. The familiarity soothed Lira’s aching head like gentle strokes. Her hackles lowered for the first time in hours, and her tail eased into a loose curl. Lira sighed in relief, deep purrs rumbling in her chest. Her cranial malaise had all but disappeared, yet she felt compelled to hold onto her friend for just a minute longer.
At last, Lira released her hold on Tabor, leaning back in contentment. Tabor, on the other hand, nearly fell backwards, wheezing like he’d just run a marathon, face mottled red. Lira smirked.
“Looks like you’re the one who needs to see a doctor,” she chuckled.
“S-sorry,” Tabor sputtered, eyes glistening. “It’s just... golly, I’ve never been this close to a girl before...”
“Hey, don’t get all weird about it! You helped me, and that’s what counts, right?”
“Oh right! How do you feel now?”
Before the Electabuzz could answer, the sound of shattering glass was heard downstairs, followed by shrill scolding and a cacophony of stomping feet. Tabor flinched, glancing at the floorboards in the direction of ruckus. Lira, meanwhile, remained completely at ease, her antennae pulsing with a heartbeat that wasn’t her own.
Casually lifting a hand and forming an “o” with two fingers, Lira murmured, “I feel great. Thanks.”
“That’s wonderful. You’re welcome.” Tabor tapped his mitts together rapidly, still blushing. He demurely looked his friend in the eyes. “Hey Lira, um, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Was that... first base?”