Warnings: Pokemon AU, stalker Tom is creepy, fluff, mild language, pet names

Pairing: TMR/HP (Tom Marvolo Riddle/Harry Potter)

Summary: In which Harry is pretty sure his Pokémon journey isn't supposed to have such a copious amount of Zubats—or just the figurative one, since Arceus knows Tom Riddle pops up in his life often enough to be a Zubat in disguise.

Disclaimer: Pokemon is from Game Freak/Nintendo, Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling

At this point, Harry's pretty sure even avoiding caves won't rid him of the man.

"So what brings you to Mt. Moon, Harry?"

"Not you," the trainer grumbles. It's a lost cause. Harry's Raichu is already running forward to greet the familiar man with a nuzzle to the hand and a delighted squeak. Tom Riddle smirks and lavishes a considerate amount of affection onto the Pokémon in return.

"Darling, I'm wounded. I thought you came with the express purpose of visiting me in this dreary cave. You certainly light up the place."

"Go flatter someone else," Harry snaps. There's not enough bite in his tone to warn off the trainer, however, so Tom just laughs. Harry sadly admits that he's gotten rather… attached to the sound. It's… Nice. In a sort of tiresome way, of course.

"I missed you too, darling."

Harry's half-tempted to chuck a Poké Ball at the smug expression Tom wears, but thinks better of it. For one, on the off-chance that the man is actually half Zubat (as his common encounter rate in caves seems to imply), he might actually catch him—and the last thing he wants is to tote around Tom. He sees the man enough without planning to, thank you very much.

As if he can read Harry's thoughts, Tom chuckles. It's really a shame Harry's Raichu likes him—the chances of the mouse Pokémon electrocuting him are so much lower than Harry would like.

Harry crosses his arms in a display of impatience. Tom's smirk grows wider.

"What are you doing in Mt. Moon then, other than stalking me?"

"Why would I possibly have any other reason?"

The massive amount of loose rocks around him is a temptation Harry's rather close to falling for. Just one stone to the head and maybe that would lower Tom Riddle's ego (and creepiness levels) down considerably—but of course with how often they run into each other—

Maybe not.

He'd regret it later. Probably.

It takes far too much effort to make himself believe that.

"Has anyone told you how creepy you are? Because if they haven't, I'm telling you now."

"I'm rather sure the last person to tell me that was you, darling," Tom replies with a mocking smile. "A few days ago, perhaps?"

"For Dialga's sake I flew here, Tom!" Harry finally snaps. "From Saffron. Where I ran into you in the Poké Mart. That's already a two day journey! Are you seriously telling me that you managed to stalk me in the sky without being caught by my Noctowl in that small window of time? Noctowl, a Pokémon known well for its silent flight and exceptional vision?! I'm not sure whether to be impressed with you or panicked enough to call the police!"

As if there's something particularly humorous about that last part, Tom tries to suppress a chuckle. It only serves to incite Harry's incredulous exasperation even more.

"Harry," he says in a moment of surprising seriousness, "I'm the last person you should be scared of in these caves."

Harry blinks.

"Besides," Tom continues, "Fearows are known to have such a gross amount of stamina that they can fly a full day without landing. And if I do say so myself, my Fearow is an exceptional flyer—"

"Fuck you very much."

Harry pushes right past his stalker and continues on into the darkness. They're on one of the lower floors of Mt. Moon where the light doesn't reach so easily—the only natural illumination is from some stones in the cave walls and the Paras who rest upon the rocks. Raichu, seeing that his trainer is leaving, gives Tom one last pleased squeak and darts off to light the way again.

Tom sighs dramatically and follows. "Oh don't be like that, Harry—"

"Don't talk to me."

"But darling—"

"No."

"Harry—"

"Not listening."

"Really, are you—"

"Can't hear you."

"This is—"

"What?"

"I was going to say—"

"Huh?"

"If you'd let me—"

"Weird."

"Harry—"

"Hey Raichu, do you hear that annoying sound? Like a buzzing noise," Harry pointedly remarks. "It's really getting on my nerves. I don't remember Mt. Moon having any bug Pokémon other than Paras. And they're usually quiet."

"Rude," Tom huffs.

"Oh, for Arceus' sake!" the trainer pivots on his foot, "You're as annoying as a… as a… as a Zubat! You're everywhere! I can't make one move without running into you. Your encounter rate has to be one hundred percent or something! And even Zubats are better—you can faint them, but if I attack you that's considered assault! Fuck off, Tom!"

Something rustles, but Harry's too busy trying to control himself to pay much attention to it.

Tom, however, does.

"…Harry?"

"What?"

"I think you might want to save this for later…"

"And why is that?"

Tom points up. Both Harry and Raichu look, and the light coming from the latter reaches the ceiling enough so to see the mob of Zubats and Golbats nesting and moving about. They'd just been woken up, Harry figures.

"Well, fuck."

"Run?"

Harry slowly nods. "Run."

They both take off in the direction they came from, Harry's Raichu right beside them. Both can hear the sound of wing flaps and angry screeches echoing off of the cave walls as the mob begins their angry pursuit. Harry wonders when Tom started making him lose all sense of his surroundings—so much so that he forgot that he's in a cave.

Well, either way.

"Raichu, Thunderbolt!" the trainer commands, and the super effective electric attack is enough to occupy the mob long enough for Harry and Tom to dart around the corner and up a conveniently placed ladder that neither remembers seeing before. Raichu pops his head up just after, plopping onto his trainer's lap with a sigh of relief.

Harry idly hugs and nuzzles his partner, bestowing liberal praise and affection for the quick save.

"That was close."

"Very close. I thought I was going to be bat fodder…"

The two share a nervous laugh.

"Sorry about that," Harry blurts. "It was my fault. I have no idea what I was thinking."

Tom regains his smug expression, and it's both a comfort and an annoyance to Harry. "I do believe you were thinking of me," he teases, "Not that I blame you. I do tend to have that kind of effect on people."

"I hate you."

"Besides," the man continues as if nothing had been said, "if we were really in trouble, I have this."

Harry stares as Tom pulls out a roll of rope from his bag, which he recognizes to be an Escape Rope. Escape Ropes are a wonderful invention that are imbued with the power of an Abra's teleport move—good for one use—activated on voice command. It's an essential item for any trainer taking on a cave, and Harry mentally bangs his head on a metaphorical wall when he realizes he forgot to carry one.

His mind had been so focused on Tom when he was at the Poké Mart that he'd completely forgotten he didn't have any from his last venture.

…Not that he's going to tell Tom that.

"Don't worry, darling—I thought ahead and bought enough for both of us. So as long as you stick with me, we'll be fine."

Harry curses Tom's mind reading abilities. If the man isn't half-Zubat, then he's definitely half-Abra. And of course he would use it to legitimately stalk Harry—the only one with Escape Ropes is Tom, and Harry isn't going to chance wandering around without one again. Basically, he's going to be stuck with Tom for the rest of the cave.

Raichu is inordinately pleased at this result. He wiggles out of his trainer's arms and into Tom's, which puts Harry into an even worse mood. So instead of watching his Pokémon be spoiled by his stalker, Harry decides to look around the part of Mt. Moon they'd stumbled upon. The weird part is that he can't remember ever seeing it before—and Harry's been here before a million times. He's no stranger to this particular Kanto cave, so why—

Grudgingly, Harry turns back to Tom. The man is a living encyclopedia.

"Hey Tom, where are we?"

Tom blinks and looks around too. "Well… You know… I don't know."

"Could the Pokémon have made a new section?" Harry wonders.

"Perhaps—but this quickly? I haven't heard any news about it, but we just got here by that ladder—clearly someone's been here…" Tom suddenly tenses. "Harry. Stay close to me."

"Wha—I swear to Arceus, Tom, if this is another one of your—"

The serious look on Tom's face makes Harry trail off and accept the hand holding his wrist without further complaint. Something is going on to make Tom look like that.

Raichu senses the change in mood quickly. He leaps back onto the ground allowing both trainers to stand and then positions himself as front guard of their party of three. Tom takes out a Poké Ball from his belt and enlarges it, but does not press the button again to release whatever is inside. Now that Harry thinks about it, no matter how many times he runs into Tom, he can't ever recall seeing a member of the man's team even though he's sure Tom is also a trainer (instead of, say, a Ruin Maniac or a Hiker).

"Be on your guard," Tom murmurs to him.

Harry wrinkles his nose. "No need to tell me twice. I can battle, you know."

"I know." The straightforward reply surprises him, but before Harry can voice a question, Tom is moving and tugs him right along.

Farther into the cave, Raichu perks his ears and Harry instantly knows there's something up ahead. When his partner's left ear twitches twice, Harry knows it's not just something—it's someone, or multiple someones if the case may be. He tugs on Tom's sleeve to relay the information, a tad grudgingly so but Harry would rather take his chances with his familiar stalker than whatever weirdoes were deeper in.

They continue cautiously, moving with silent footsteps that only experienced trainers could ever perfect. Harry hears a distinct male voice followed by a female's, obviously in some sort of argument, tired and upset.

"Boss is going to kill us if we don't bring back any moon stones!" the female hisses.

"I know that," the male snarls back, "why else do you think I sent our Pokémon out to find a Clefairy?"

"This is all because you dug in the wrong section! I knew we should've tried the far left entrance instead—"

"Oh suck it up. That wouldn't have worked and you know it. Clefairy appears in the center of Mt. Moon, not the damn entrances!"

"Then why aren't there any moon stones here?!"

"Hell if I know," the man grunts. "Those damned pink fluff balls are probably hoarding them somewhere. Man, when I get my hands on one of those—"

Tom and Harry peek around the corner. Raichu has cut off his light completely as to not alert their company to their presence. It helps that the two—dressed in suspicious matching black clothing—clearly need light as much as the next person in the lower floors of Mt. Moon. Their lanterns are sprawled on the side, knocked over from when their argument had gotten a lot more physical than what it was now. It's enough to give the trainers a good idea of what the two look like though.

"Our Pokémon are useless," the woman complains. "Why don't we ever get the good stuff? Always just Rattatas and Geodudes and Zubats, and Koffing and Ekans and all the gross picks. Why can't I get something like a Rapidash or a Vaporeon? I hate weak, ugly Pokémon—"

Harry's a word away from throttling the woman when Tom purposely steps out from the corner and into their light.

"Well what do we have here?" he purrs. "Two Team Muggle grunts, all on their lonesome. What to do, what to do…"

Team Muggle? The name sounds familiar. Harry momentarily forgets his anger and tries to flip through his memory to find out where he'd heard that name before. And then it hits him—Team Muggle, the group that had been at large in Johto region a few months ago! There was something about a theft at a Johto Pokémon lab, followed by a weird occurrence at Lake Rage. Gym Leader Cedric Diggory had struck them down real quick at that last one, but the former had been successful and it had been all that anyone would ever talk about the month that it happened.

What are they doing here? And how come Tom recognized them so quickly?

"Who the fuck are you?!" the male grunt shouts.

Tom's smile is tight and eerie in the dim light of the cave. "Probably your worst nightmare right now. You're under arrest."

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?! Geodude, show 'em who's boss!"

Harry moves on instinct. "Raichu, Focus Blast!" The attack hits the rock Pokémon just as it materializes outside its Poké Ball. It's a one-hit knock out for sure, he knows; super effective and against a Pokémon that clearly hasn't been well-trained? Easy.

The female grunt fumbles for her own Pokémon, but by that time (and plenty of time it is) Raichu has already darted over and smacked the Poké Ball from her hand. Tom's smile grows a tad bit softer at that, though Harry doesn't see.

"Like I was saying," Tom continues, tossing his Poké Ball into the air and catching it with one hand, "You're under arrest, by warrants directly ordered from the Elite Four and their Champion, as well as by the police force of Pewter and Cerulean City."

"And who's going to arrest us?"

Raichu growls, sparks of electricity radiating from his cheeks and tail. The grunts move backwards until they bump into the cave wall.

Tom smirks. "Well, if you would be so kind as to stay right there, the gym leader of Pewter is personally on her way."

"There you are!" Harry turns around and sees, lo and behold, Cho Chang round the corner and walk toward them. He knows very well that she's the Pewter City gym leader—he has the badge and did indeed battle her early on in his journey—but… well… Harry hasn't exactly believed Tom's words until now.

"Cho?"

The gym leader blinks in surprise. "Harry! Oh, good to see you! It's been awhile since you visited. What are you doing here?"

…They also dated, for a time.

Tom narrows his eyes. "He's here with me," he says, stepping forward even as Harry opens his mouth to argue the point. He came to Mt. Moon on his own for his own purposes, thank you very much—

"Tom! Right. Where are the—?"

The man waves over to the wall. "There."

"Oh, nice. Two of them. Hey guys, I found them!" Cho turns and calls behind her back. Harry hears the sound of heavy footsteps and echoing replies. He recognizes two of Cho's gym trainers in the group of four, the other two being policemen. What ensues next is the most anticlimactic capturing of criminals Harry has ever seen (not that he's seen many, but still).

Tom watches on with an overseeing eye. Harry notices and frowns, walking up to him and asking, "You know the Pewter City gym leader?"

"So do you," Tom returns, "And so do most trainers who take on the gym battle challenge."

"But you call her by first name—"

"So do you," Tom returns again, and Harry concedes the point.

"We used to date," he explains. His stalker's eyes glare out into the darkness at that. "…So no 'so did we'?"

Tom snorts. "Please darling, you know you're the only one for me."

That throws Harry completely off. He hasn't been expecting the remark what with the serious air, and so Tom's sudden teasing catches him by surprise. The trainer blushes, splutters, thanks Mew and Arceus and Rayquaza and all the legendaries above that they are in a cave and it's dark and Tom most likely can't see his face very well.

It's the first and last time Harry's ever thankful to be in a cave with Tom.

Said trainer smirks.

Blasted mind reading!

"Oh Harry," Tom purrs, "If you were insecure about my affections, all you needed to do was ask. I would've happily showed you how much I care about you—"

"I don't want your bloody care! Holy—may Zapdos strike you down—! Tom, get your bloody hands off of me—Raichu, Focus Blast this bastard—"

His partner surveys the situation and squeaks. When Tom clearly isn't being beaten up by his Pokémon for sexually harassing him, Harry has enough time to shout a "traitor!" toward the mouse before fully concentrating on fleeing from his stalker's advances.

"Come now, darling—no need to be shy—"

"You're a bloody menace, Tom! You hear me?! As bad as a Zubat!"

"And you're as adorable as a Mareep, Harry—fluffy and innocent and so corruptible—"

"Get the hell away from me!"

"Mmm… but your hair is so soft. Like Mareep wool. I just want to fall asleep on it—"

"You weirdo Zubat! I swear I'm never going into a cave again—"

Tom darkly chuckles. "Oh, that won't save you from me—"

While his trainer play-squabbles with his stalker, Raichu wanders over to an opposite corner of the cave, sniffing around on the ground. He finds a loose stone, grabs it, and slowly extracts it from its resting place. The stone glows a milky white, and the Pokémon rubs one yellow cheek against it as the glow fades.

Harry will be happy, Raichu squeaks. He's found what they came to Mt. Moon for.

Forgot I haven't posted this to FFnet yet. It was first posted on Ao3-this is a cross post. Thanks guys~

Sincerely,

R.R.