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Sasha finally visits Apollo in Hoenn, and is in for some culture shock.

Characters: Apollo/Sasha

Warnings: N/A

Wordcount: 2,834

Vibe: Cheesy romance stuff

AN:

asdfghjhtrfhgrtywhtrsh this is very extremely cheesy and written over the span of like 4 days bc chronic illness wasnt lying. that fatigue can completely drain energy

apollo uses she/he/they in general but the power of rng told me to use he/him for polly here

im not revising this but on god when do i ever revise my shit

---

Apollo had been waiting at the airport since 7am. Sasha had told him that he didn’t need to wait for them, but Apollo thought surprising them would be nice. The problem was, however, that due to their snail-mail way of correspondence, Apollo only knew that today was the day Sasha was coming – he didn’t know the exact time. He was wondering how Sasha even booked a flight, considering they had no computer – or electricity, for that matter; but he let it slide.

It was now 5pm, and Apollo was sort of losing his mind. He’d been keeping busy, since he brought his laptop, but he was starting to get bored of just browsing after he finished editing a video a few hours ago. Every time a group of people came through the terminal after a flight landed, Apollo would perk up, looking for Sasha – to no avail. Crowd after crowd, Sasha wasn’t there.

‘Don’t be worried, Sinnoh is a long way’s off, it’s probably a long flight’ Apollo thought, as he was starting to get antsy. Another crowd, no Sasha. Apollo was tempted to take a short nap, but a familiar voice called out.

“Polly??”
The question was yelled in an unmistakable Sinnohan accent, and when Apollo looked up from his laptop, he could see Sasha standing a distance away.

–

“It’s probably not a good idea to fly that ways off by yourself.” the czarina said as Sasha walked off with their bag. The lopunny had been called by Sasha to watch their garden and home, as she was usually more approachable and friendly than her mate, the czar of the forest.

“I’ll be fiiiiiine! I’m not a baby just because you’re barely older than me!” Sasha replied.

“…Alright. Be sensible, though.” the pokemon said with a sigh, as she watched Sasha change into the form of sky shaymin in a glow of light. Sasha waved, and the czarina and her buneary children waved back as Sasha sped off through the sky.

It was tolerable at first, but as Sasha left the Sinnohan wilderness and began flying over more populated areas, problems arose; mostly in the form of dodging planes, flocks of bird pokemon, and thick clouds. Sasha had to stop somewhere in Johto to make sure they were on the right track, only to find they were going the entirely wrong direction. After a frustrating course re-adjustment, warmer air and a vast ocean made them hopeful, as an island soon approached on the horizon as the sun began its descent into the sea.

From there, it was a matter of finding the right airport. Sasha had to stop again in a very brown city, where a kind cashier pointed Sasha in the direction of Apollo’s city on their small and strange modern ‘phone’. Sasha did get a bit distracted in the rust-colored city, as it’d been so long since they’d actually been in a real city. So much was different, and it was all sort of overwhelming. But they eventually snapped out of it, and continued to fly to their destination: Mauville City airport.

Once they made it there, they had to wait for a plane to land, so they could get into the terminal. It didn’t take long, so Sasha assumed human form and sneakily slid into the crowd – to some slight confusion of the staff that noticed. The airport was even more overwhelming than the city, with scrolling screens, loud overhead voices, and conflicting smells. Sasha never thought something like this could be possible, and how incredibly technology had evolved in the 100 years since Sasha had been in a city.

Sasha was lost, but knew they had to find a phone… but given how everything looked so different, they weren’t sure if they could even recognize a phone if they saw one. Apollo gave Sasha his phone number though, so Sasha was determined to call him to let him know they were here.

Sasha stepped out of the primary terminal and into the main waiting area, and after scanning the area, their eyes landed on a person in a spotted dress with blonde and teal hair, that could’ve been none other than…

–

There was a brief moment of quiet as Sasha and Apollo stared at each other. Apollo’s face looked tired, and Sasha’s hair and clothes were a mess. But despite their equal messiness, Apollo set his laptop to the side and got up as Sasha ran up to him, and caught him in an embrace.

“I missed you so much.” Sasha whispered, burying their face in the crook of Apollo’s neck – which caused him to get a tad flustered. It’d been a little over 8 months since the two last met in person, when Apollo visited Sasha’s cottage in the wildlands. He fondly remembered how touchy Sasha was, but feeling their touch after so long was… nice.

“I missed you too.” Apollo whispered back.

The two embraced in silence for a few more seconds, before Apollo gave Sasha a small kiss and moved to pack up his belongings.

“You look exhausted, we can just head back to my place and order in food if that sounds good?”

“Yea, sure thing.” Sasha nodded, though they didn’t quite understand what ‘ordering in’ entailed.
These differences still existed when Apollo visited Sasha though to a lesser degree. Sasha just excused it as them having grown up in a small rural village – not wanting to reveal their identity as a legend. But here in Hoenn, the modern world was front and center; which made Sasha nervous.
They didn’t want to seem too ‘old-fashioned’ to Apollo, who, to Sasha’s understanding, was deeply involved in modern technology. Seeming uncool was a very real fear to Sasha, despite Apollo having told them that their rural lifestyle was cool.

Trying to not get lost in both thought and the overwhelming airport, Sasha took Apollo’s hand as he led them out of the winding airport and into a parking complex. Apollo unlocked his car, and despite it’s strange sleek design, Sasha could recognize it was a car and hopped in the shotgun seat. They’d seen them pass by on the inter-regional highway that cut through the wildlands, but never actually been inside one. It was interesting, to say the least – most noticeably, the seats were a lot more comfortable than the cars Sasha was familiar with.

“I’d offer you the aux, but you still don’t have a phone, right?” Apollo asked, starting up the car with a rumble.

“Er, no.” Sasha replied, shaking their head.

“I guess it makes sense, I doubt you’d even get reception way out where you are, anyways.”
Apollo tuned the car radio to an 80’s nostalgia channel, and they were off.

As both of them could tell the other was pretty exhausted, the car ride was quiet except for the music on the radio. While Apollo was focused on the road, Sasha was intently staring out the window at the scene rushing by. A long highway, then outskirts of a city. Sasha found themselves drifting off, and awoke to being nudged by Apollo.

“We’re here!” he said softly, as Sasha woke up with a stretch. The car was parked in a well-lit parking complex, not unlike the one at the airport.

Sasha followed Apollo out of the car, to a very sleek looking elevator. They leaned on Apollo’s side as they waited for the elevator to go up to the 4th level, and when it dinged, they trailed behind him down the carpeted hallway. After a few turns, the two arrived at a door, had a keypad on the handle, Apollo entered a code, and the door unlocked.

“Welcome home!” Apollo said proudly, stepping inside.

Sasha was in awe… they’d lived in an apartment for a while during their short stay in the city, but it was barely bigger than their current cottage. This, however, felt more than spacious to Sasha.
The walls were mostly plain-colored, though the main room was nicely decorated with various movie posters and plants. It was calming to Sasha after all the overwhelming and bustling places they’d been to, though it was partially just because of the intimacy Sasha felt seeing their partner’s space for the first time.

“It’s… really nice.” Sasha said, walking to the center of the room and looking around.

“Heh, glad you think my style isn’t super dorky! C’mon, join me on the couch and we can order some food.” Apollo replied, as he flopped down on his couch and grabbed a laptop that was sitting on the side table. Sasha was quick to join him, and quickly made themselves comfortable on Apollo’s side.

“There’s a lot to choose from honestly, but I think something quick might be best because I just wanna crash in bed.” Apollo said, wrapping his arm around Sasha.

“No, I get that, I feel the same way… which is why I’ve been so quiet.” Sasha said, pausing. As Apollo was scrolling the online ordering website, Sasha pointed at a restaurant listing.
“Oh, this one says it’s quick. I’ve never had Kantonian food before, either.”

Apollo chuckled a bit.
“Really? Wow, I’m almost tempted to order in a feast in that case.”

Sasha gave a tired smile, and as the two went through the restaurant’s menu, Sasha seemed very insistent on pointing out what items they were interested in. Once they decided what they wanted to order, Apollo proceeded to the checkout page, and the two watched a movie analysis video essay until a knock fell on the door, indicating the delivery person had arrived.

While eating, Apollo and Sasha discussed the things they wanted to do together, now that Sasha was visiting. They both agreed that it was probably for the best to just sleep after they were done eating, but Apollo seemed excited to show Sasha around the city center in the morning.
With the leftovers put away and clothes changed to pajamas, Sasha fell asleep snuggled up to Apollo’s side – it was almost like a dream.

The next day, Apollo did as he promised – together with Sasha, the two explored Mauville’s mall-like city center, with Apollo pointing out many of his favorite locations and stores to Sasha. It was wonderful, and by the end of the day they were back at Apollo’s apartment watching some movies.
Whilst snuggling on the couch, Apollo made a proposition.

“Hey, I had a bit of an idea of something we could do tomorrow!”

“Oh? What did you have in mind?” Sasha responded curiously.

“Well, you know how I like, do that video log stuff? I was thinking we could do one together!”

“That sounds nice! I’d love to.” Sasha said with a smile.

–

By the next day’s afternoon, Apollo had set up a camera tripod in front of his couch. With a ding, it started recording.

“Wait, shouldn’t you wait until we’re ready to record? You wouldn’t want to waste film.” Sasha asked, a tad confused.

“Haha, nah, this thing’s got a beefy card in it! I can just edit out shuffling around later.” Apollo said, laughing a little.
“Here, come sit!”

Sasha sat next to Apollo as he grabbed his laptop and loaded up a page with lots text on it. As Sasha looked closer, the text would appear to be… questions?

“Ok, so, I think I’ve told you before that my followers know you. I’ve shared some of your poetry on video and they like it!” Apollo said, pausing to let Sasha respond.

“Mhm…!” Sasha said, a bit flustered.
Sasha knew Apollo was somewhat ‘famous’, but the thought of strangers knowing and appreciating their writing… was overwhelming, but in the positive way.

“So the deal here is, I asked my them to comment questions for either you or both of us!”

“Ohh, that explains things a bit! Do I need to practice at all?” Sasha asked.

Apollo shook his head.

“Nope! Just let things come naturally, I believe in you! I promise that I’ll let you review the footage if there’s anything you want me to cut out.”

“Alright! That sounds like something I can do.” Sasha replied with a bit of a coy smile.

–

“Hey everyone! It’s Apollo again, but for this episode, I have a very, very special guest!”

“…That’s me, isn’t it?” Sasha said, leaning on Apollo a bit.

Apollo let out a bit of a laugh.

“Oh my god, you’re a natural already!” He said, then paused and faced the camera once more.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of them if you’re familiar with my channel, but this is my partner, Sasha! Last week I asked YOU questions you’d like to hear from them or us, and today we’re gonna go over them!”
Apollo looked over to Sasha, and put his hand on their knee.
“You ready?”

“I’ve always kind of fantasized about getting famous and doing an interview, so I guess all that mental prep is paying off!” they said, snickering a little.

Apollo smiled, and opened up some random comments.

“This first question comes from Zigzagoonguy67! Their question for you, Sasha, is ‘when did you start writing? did you go to school for it?’”

“Hmm… that’s a good first question!” Sasha thought to themselves for a moment. While they knew the question was from some random stranger, hearing it come from Apollo made them feel at ease with answering.
“I guess I was the kind of kid who had lots of ideas in school, so I’d write in the free time I had! I never really got any formal training, I’d just go out to the flower fields and let the environment and my feelings do the work! …If that makes any sense.”

“That makes plenty of sense to me!” Apollo said, smiling.
“Alright, this question is from Pechavibes! It’s for both of us! They ask ‘What are some of your favorite activities to do together?’”

Sasha assumed a thinking pose as they gathered their thoughts.

“Hmm, well, this is only the second time we’ve gotten together physically… but when we write eachother, aside from sharing writing, Polly likes to send me movie scripts and hear my thoughts on them.”

“Oh, that’s right! If y’all think I’m any kind of video critic, you should hear Sasha’s thoughts! Even just by reading the script they’re able to form a more solid analysis than I could ever dream of!” Apollo said, nudging Sasha a bit – causing them to become flustered.

“Awahh! I like hearing your opinions too, they’re super interesting!”

Both of them laughed it off, and Apollo opened the next question.

“Here’s a question from Swagtonmayor! They ask ‘Sasha, do you have any pokemon?’”

Sasha initially shook their head, then backtracked.

“Well, uhm… not… really?” they said, pausing. “Since I live rurally, there’s a lot of wild pokemon that come by my home, and some I’m friends with. In particular, there’s a lopunny mother with her young buneary that like to hang out around my garden, and they help with it sometimes! But I woudn’t consider them ‘mine’ at all.”

Apollo nodded along.

“Right, you’ve told me! I think it’s super sweet you’ve made friends with wild pokemon like that.”

Sasha got flustered, and attempted to change the subject.

“Hey, speaking of pokemon, where’s Patricia? I haven’t seen her since I got here.”

“Oh, she likes to flock with the wild pelipper this time of year, but she always comes home! I figured since she wouldn’t have to relay letters for a bit that she deserves to party a little.”

Sasha laughed and put their hand over Apollo’s.

“That’s sweet! I hope she’s having fun out there.”

“She’s a bit of a wild spirit, yea! Anyways, this question is from Reimuforsmash! They ask ‘How did you two meet anyways?’”

There was a bit of a pause between the two. Sasha had always technically wondered about this themselves… it seemed like fate, after all. Wishing on a star for a friend and having a random pelipper deliver them a letter seemed a bit too odd to confess. Meanwhile, Apollo wasn’t keen on leaking his status as the emissary of Jirachi on camera AND to Sasha, so he was quickly trying to make up a story. But before he could speak, Sasha spoke up.

“It’s kind of weird…! Patricia and a letter just… showed up one day, and it kept going from there. How DID you find me, anyways, Polly?” Sasha asked, genuinely curious.

“Well… I, uh…” Apollo muttered uncharacteristically.
“I guess it was a bit similar to sending a message into the ocean in a bottle? I wanted to see if Patricia would end up anywhere interesting.” he finished, scratching the back of his head.

“Well,” Sasha started, leaning in closer to Apollo.
“I’d think she landed somewhere interesting enough.”

Taking him partially by surprise, Sasha gave Apollo a kiss, which he returned.

“And I’m so, so thankful she did.”