Chapter Text
The Pokémon World had gone through many drastic events over the ages, but the most significant event since the end of the Anthropocene Era was the emergence of strange powers that came to be known as “Quirks”.
It all started over a century ago, when a baby Bulbasaur was born with the strange ability to convert sunlight into a powerful laser beam, and soon after, more Pokémon all over the world started manifesting strange powers, which would later come to be called Quirks, and nowadays roughly 80% of the global population had one. Unfortunately for a little Eevee with messy green fur named Izuku Midoriya, he was part of the 20% who didn’t.
Which is a huge problem when your big aspiration in life is to become a hero.
The doctor who had confirmed Izuku’s condition had told him upfront that he should give up. That his dream was impossible.
Izuku wanted to put on a brave face and keep smiling despite this, just like his favorite hero All Might did whenever he fought off villains. That was honestly the thing Izuku loved most about him: no matter how bad things looked, no matter how impossible the odds, All Might always came out on top and saved the day with a big, bright smile that brought hope on hopeless situations. And he certainly never, ever cried.
But Izuku did. Not even his favorite video, All Might’s debut as a hero, could cheer him up, and when Izuku asked his mom if he could still be a hero even without any powers, the only thing the green-furred Espeon could respond with was break down and cry with him as she apologized profusely.
It had been quite possibly the worst day in the Eevee’s life.
Now the little four-year-old Pokémon aimlessly wandered about his school’s playground, not having anything to do or friends to play with; ever since the other kids had found out that Izuku was Quirkless, they didn’t want to play with him anymore. Even Katsuki Bakugou, a Cyndaquil who used to be Izuku’s best friend, had started to shun him.
“NO! Don’t hit me! PLEASE!”
Izuku’s ears twitched in direction of the cry and his head followed soon. In the middle of the playground, next to the Roll-In-The-Dirt Patch, a Bidoof was being cornered by three other Pokémon kids, namely a Woobat, a Croagunk… and a Cyndaquil.
Izuku’s green fur bristled as he winced, unable to take his eyes off the scene.
“Why shouldn’t we?” the Cyndaquil snapped at him, his paws igniting with fiery sparks “You ruined our game!”
The Bidoof whimpered in terror and curled into a ball. And that’s when Izuku sprinted.
“Kacchan, STOP!” Izuku cried as he placed himself in front of the cowering Bidoof, facing Kacchan and his group.
“Get out of the way, Deku.” Said Kacchan, glaring at the Eevee. “He ruined my best ball!”
“I said I was sorry!” the Bidoof cried from behind Izuku “I didn’t mean to pop it!”
“Then why did you grab it with your teeth, stupid!” the Woobat, whose name was Tsubasa, shouted.
“I-it’s a force of h-habit!” the Bidoof sobbed, tears of fear streaming like rivers down his face. “I-it was an a-accident, r-really!
“Guys, seriously, leave him alone!” Izuku pleaded, feeling his eyes get heavy with tears as well. He really didn’t like to see other kids cry. “Why are you being so mean?!”
“Why do you care?” the Croagunk, Nagai, said threateningly “Just leave and go cry somewhere else!”
Izuku trembled at this, but he managed to hold his ground.
“N-no.” Izuku tried to sound brave, but his voice came out as a squeak “If-if you guys keep trying to hurt him I’ll-I’ll… I’LL F-FIGHT YOU MYSELF!” Izuku crouched into a fighting stance as he shrieked out the last bit.
Kacchan and his friends looked surprised at first, but they quickly shifted to amused smirks.
“So… you want to pretend to be a hero?” said Kacchan as he and his friends prepared to use their Quirks “You know you don’t stand a chance without a Quirk, Deku!” Kacchan flashed Izuku an unfriendly grin, showing off a row of small but dangerously sharp teeth. Izuku flinched.
What happened next could barely be called a fight; next thing Izuku knew, there was a flurry of metallic wings, poison-tipped fingers, and sparks of fire that struck Izuku repeatedly. The Eevee was pretty sure he’d screamed, though the sound had been drowned out by the explosions of Kacchan’s Lava Plume. It hurt. Moreso because this was his former friend hitting him.
Then, the pain was over just as quickly as it had started. Izuku was lying on the dirt, gasping for breath. Izuku was vaguely aware of the laughter of Kacchan and the others. He was also vaguely aware that they said something before walking away, but he didn’t really understand any of it besides the last word:
Useless.
“H-hey… are you okay?” the Bidoof kid said as he appeared in the Eevee’s line of sight, looking worried.
Izuku could only sigh dejectedly.
“Well… at least you… tried?” the Bidoof said hesitantly, then sighed “Look, those guys were super big jerks… but they do have a point: you can’t be a hero if you don’t have a power. I mean, what just happened proves it.”
Without taking his sight off the Bidoof, Izuku hastily got to his feet in shock. He almost didn’t feel the pain in his wounds.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you tried to do, but if you keep at it you’ll just get hurt again!” The Bidoof said, sounding genuinely sorry.
Izuku lowered his head, his eyes heavy with tears.
“H-hey, I… uh, I gotta go now… do… do you want me to call a grown-up?” the Bidoof said awkwardly.
Sniffling, Izuku shook his head.
“…Okay. I’ll be going now. Just… don’t try to be a hero again. For your own good.”
And just like that, the Bidoof left the playground, leaving Izuku alone with his thoughts.
Give up.
It’s not worth it.
That’s just the way things are.
Not all Pokémon are created equal.
That’s what everyone had told him ever since that fateful doctor’s visit. But it was only now that the Eevee realized he might well hear this advice for the rest of his life.
Ten years later, Izuku’s love for heroes had not waned in the slightest, and he still held onto his dream of becoming one despite the odds. He hadn’t evolved yet, which was unusual for an Eevee of his age, but then again Izuku was used to being unusual.
He had decided to take a more tactical approach towards reaching it: the Eevee got into the habit of ensuring he always had a notebook and pencil with him so that he could analyze the tactics of pro heroes he watched. Normally, for quadrupeds like Izuku it was easier to write using the tail, but that required a bottle of ink, which was difficult and impractical to bring in crowded areas for obvious reasons, so the pencil would have to do. Izuku struggled to use it at first due to his lack of opposable thumbs, but eventually, he became quite good at using it not just with his paws, but his mouth as well; his writing got cleaner and more organized as he grew. By the time that Izuku had reached journal #13, he’d started his very last year of middle school.
Right now, Izuku was sitting at the front row of his classroom (it was a rule that the order of seats in schools should be from smallest to larges, and Izuku, having not evolved yet and his species being Eevee naturally made him one of the smallest of his classmates), his ears alert and attentive while at the same time remaining as still and quiet as possible and being careful not to meet the gaze of his teacher, a Simisage named Josuke Yasai.
“Well, kids, I know the year has only just started, but it is your very last middle school year, so you’d all should seriously start thinking about your futures. Normally, I’d make aptitude tests for all of you to determine your ideal careers, but…” the Simisage paused dramatically as he looked over the group of adolescent Pokémon before smirking “I know you’re all going for the hero track, so there’s no need!”
Izuku’s classmates all cheered and showed off their powers, sending streams of fire, water, bubbles, icicles, petals, leaves, and more all over the place. As he was extremely self-conscious of his status as the only Quirkless Pokémon in Aldera, Izuku did not join in the cheer.
“Alright, settle down, everyone. I know you’ve all got great Quirks, but you know you’re not allowed to use them in school.” Yasai-sensei chided lightly, and the class obediently settled down.
“Hey, teach. Why am I being lumped together with these losers? These extras will be lucky to make it through the first semester of hero training! And even if by some miracle they do manage to graduate from a hero course, they’ll at best end up as the sidekicks to some washout nobody whose greatest accomplishment is getting a baby Skitty down from a tree once or something else equally lame.” said a confident voice a couple of rows behind Izuku.
It was Kacchan, who had evolved into a Quilava a few grades back.
The rest of the class erupted with outraged cries of “HOW DARE YOU!” and “YOU THINK YOU’RE HOT SHIT?! LET’S SEE YOU BACK IT UP!!”
“BITCH, I COULD BEAT YOU ALL AT THE SAME TIME WITH MY EYES CLOSED!” Kacchan screamed back, looking eager for a fight.
“Well, Bakugou does have the best grade average in the class. Plus, his Lava Plume his Quirk is the strongest in the school by a significant margin.” Said Yasai-sensei in a tone that suggested he was trying to dissipate a class brawl “Why, I’d even say he’s got a very good shot at getting accepted into UA High.”
At this, the atmosphere of anger and hostility towards Kacchan quickly dissipated as the teenage Pokemon started muttering to each other in shock.
“Whoa, Bakugo applied for the hero school?!”
“But I thought it was nearly impossible to get accepted there, and Aldera isn’t exactly high profile…”
“And that’s the whole reason I applied!” snapped Kacchan “I’m the only worthwhile student this shitty dumpster of a school has ever had!”
Then, Kacchan leapt from his seat to the teacher’s platform in a single powerful bound right next to Yasai-sensei, who didn’t even flinch at the young Quilava’s insubordination.
“UA is the school where the best heroes graduate from, so it’s the only place deserving of me! You’re all standing before the future most powerful hero the world has ever seen! I’ll surpass even All Might himself!”
“Oh, hey, that reminds me.” Yasay-sensei said “Midoriya wanted to apply into UA as well.”
The whole class went very quiet and laid eyes on Izuku, who could only flinch in response. Then, after a few moments, Izuku’s classmates all burst into laughter.
“Midoriya in UA?! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“I know, right?! Quirkless Pokémon never make the cut!”
“W-wait!” Izuku cried as he stood up “It’s true that there’s no precedent, but maybe I could be the first-EEEP!”
Izuku was cut off by a small but potent blast of Lava Plume going off in his face. It barely missed him, but it still grazed his fur, and the blowback was strong enough to knock the Eevee to the ground.
“Get real, Deku!” Kacchan snarled “You’re the lowest of the low in this entire fucking garbage school! What makes you think UA would let a Quirkless reject like you in instead of me?!”
“N-no, y-you’ve got it all wrong, Kacchan!” Izuku hastily tried to back away from the Quilava, only for the classmates sitting behind Izuku to block and trap him. “I’m-I’m not trying to compete with you! It’s just…”
Izuku lowered his head.
“I’ve always dreamed of being a hero… I know I don’t have a Quirk, but… I can still try my best, right?”
Izuku’s classmates laughed at him again.
“You stupid nerd, you’d die before getting to try anything!” Kacchan said amidst the laughter. “This school already sucks ass; it doesn’t need you to embarrass it even further!”
Izuku decided to not push his luck any further and simply lowered his head even further, and it was only now that Yasai-sensei finally told the class to settle down so they could continue their lessons of the day.
Yasai-sensei always ignored when Izuku was being picked on like this, as he didn’t like the Eevee anymore than the rest of the class did.
Thankfully, there were no further incidents for the rest of the class hours. After school was over for the day, however, Kacchan abruptly snatched Izuku’s Journal right as the Eevee was finishing a few additional notes in the latest entry.
“I dunno what you’re doing, Deku, but we’re not done.” The Quilava growled.
“Hey, let me see that!” Nagai popped his head from behind Kacchan and took the notebook. The Croagunk burst out laughing the instant he glanced at the title.
“Hey, Kiba, look! He’s taking notes on heroes! He’s dead serious about his stupid dream!”
“Wow, Deku. What are you, five?” said the Tyrunt as he joined in the laughter “Grow up already and drop your delusions!”
“I-it’s not funny, you guys! Give that back!” Izuku protested as he tried to reach for his journal.
Nagai just smirked and held Izuku’s journal just out of reach, teasing the Eevee with it as he tried to leap for it. Being a species of an average height of 30 centimeters could be a real pain sometimes.
“Stop fooling around.” Kacchan said dryly as he snatched the notebook back.
“Kacchan?” Izuku gave his former childhood friend a hopeful look.
And then said former childhood friend set the notebook on fire and tossed it out the classroom window. Izuku couldn’t do anything besides balk.
“Listen, Deku, only one Pokémon can be the first Aldera Middle School graduate to be accepted into UA, and that’s obviously me. So, let me give you some advice.”
Kacchan walked over to Izuku and placed a paw on the Eevee’s shoulder.
“Don’t you dare even think of applying. Or else…” Kacchan said in a faux-friendly tone that belied barely contained fury.
Kacchan’s paw tightened its grip, sinking his claws on Izuku’s shoulder as it became dangerously warm: Izuku could feel the fur on his shoulder getting singed.
Izuku was too intimidated to even try to make a retort and could do nothing but stutter and tremble, tail tucked between his legs. Kacchan looked very pleased at this and smirked.
“Good. I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement.” Kacchan gave Izuku a hard pat on the shoulder that very nearly knocked the Eevee over and started to walk away.
“Wow, that’s just sad. Can’t even make a comeback.” Kiba commented as he and Nagai started walking behind Kacchan.
“Nah, he’s just finally gotten the reality check.” Said Nagai. “He’ll never be a hero.”
Head hanging as low as his spirits and holding his dirty and wet Journal in his mouth, Izuku slowly walked to his home. It hadn’t been that difficult to retrieve the notebook, but it had turned out to land on a muddy puddle when Kacchan threw it out the classroom window.
At the very least most of the damage was to the cover, so Izuku would still be able to fill out the notebook after it dried out.
Izuku sighed and started his walk home. He decided to take the long route today, since it went through the Swamp District and Kacchan rarely ever went there since, being a Fire-type, he did not like the humidity.
As he often did whenever he had a bad day, Izuku’s thoughts turned to All Might, the #1 hero in the entire world, and the hero Izuku admired the most out of all.
Granted, it is very easy to like a hero when he happens to be an evolved form of your species, but for Izuku that was more of a nice bonus than anything else.
No, the main reason All Might was Izuku’s favorite hero was because of his character: no matter how big the odds, no matter how impossible a crisis looked, All Might never hesitated to act, he was never afraid of anything or anyone, and he and never, ever failed to save the day. There was a reason he was known as the Symbol of Peace. In fact, All Might was the whole reason Izuku even wanted to become a hero in the first place. And yes, at one point in his life, Izuku had indeed seriously considered purchasing a Thunder Stone so he could be like his idol. It hadn’t worked out, obviously, but Izuku at least still had his hero dream.
…Even if nobody else would back it up.
Izuku shook his head and forcefully suppressed his frustration and despair. All Might was always smiling and never let himself get discouraged even though he dealt with situations that were life-threatening! So, if Izuku wanted to be like his idol, he couldn’t let something as trivial as mockery get him down.
Then, just as he arrived at the end of the Swamp Trail, Izuku heard a loud squelching noise behind him.
Fur standing on end, the young Eevee slowly turned his head and saw an enormous Muk looming over him.
“Finally! A disguise!” The Muk inched closer, looking at Izuku intently “Tiny, but… you’ll still do.”
Izuku immediately bolted away. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough and was soon enveloped by the Muk’s slimy and sticky body. Izuku struggled, but of course, with the Muk’s body being basically a liquid there was no breaking free. The Muk then forced Izuku’s mouth open and began to force his body into it.
“Quit struggling, kid, you’re already a tight fit as it is, so you’re making this much harder than it needs to be.”
Izuku wasn’t even paying attention to what the Muk was saying, since he was too busy flailing as he slowly suffocated. The Eevee mentally screamed for help, for someone, anyone, to come to his rescue.
*WHAM*
A couple meters away, the ground rumbled as something huge crashed into it, sounding very distinctly like four big, powerful paws landing simultaneously.
“Have no fear, you’re safe” said a deep, booming voice “now that I am here!”
Then there was a massive gust of wind so powerful that it completely blew the Muk away, finally releasing Izuku from his grip and allowing him to take a breath. Izuku managed to catch a brief glimpse of his rescuer before losing consciousness: a huge, yellow-furred body. A wide smile. Two shining blue eyes.
Hold on, is that…?
The first thing Izuku noticed upon regaining consciousness was that his cheek was being gently tapped by a large paw.
“Psst! Hey, wake up!”
Izuku slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah, thank goodness! You’re all right!” said the humongous smiling Jolteon looking down at him.
Izuku yelped in surprise and quickly jumped to his feet, blinking rapidly several times just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. But there was no mistaking the Pokémon standing before him.
At 1.52 meters, All Might was the largest Jolteon currently alive, and his massive size was even further emphasized by his muscular build. All Might’s golden fur almost seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. His piercing eyes were a deep cobalt blue. And that smile… there was no other Pokémon who could pull off a smile like that, one that somehow showed off All Might’s sharp teeth without coming off as scary (unless of course you were a villain). Oddly, All Might was not wearing his hero outfit right now, but he did have a dark green sash -which Izuku assumed must be fitness equipment of some kind- around his midsection.
“Sorry about that back there!” said All Might in his trademark hammy voice “I usually try not to get civilians caught up in my justicing, but it turns out chasing a Muk through a swampy area isn’t very easy!” All Might laughed. sw
Izuku simply continued to stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed, as the poor Eevee’s brain was still trying to process the fact that he’d been almost suffocated to death and that his favorite hero had saved his life and was currently talking to him.
Oh-oh my Alpha… I gotta-Igottagethisautograph!
Izuku reached for his journal, which he had dropped when the Muk criminal had attacked him and opened it to find out that All Might had already singed it. His paw print was so big it took up two whole pages.
“Ah! Thank you so much! This will be an heirloom! A family treasure to be passed down for generations to come!” Izuku cried as he repeatedly bowed his thanks.
“Don’t mention it, kid!” All Might said with a good-natured laugh.
“Unfortunately, I must take my leave so I can turn this guy in to the proper authorities.” The Jolteon gestured to a pocket in his sash, where a glass bottle containing the Muk villain was nestled.
Izuku’s heart skipped a beat. Wait. He’s leaving?! Already?!
“See you later, kid!”
Without thinking, Izuku jumped onto All Might’s back just as the Jolteon made a huge leap into the air. There were a lot of Pokémon, mainly Flying-types, who always commented on how wonderful the breeze felt when one traveled through the skies at high speeds. Izuku disagreed with this notion. Luckily, All Might quickly noticed that the Eevee fanboy had clung to him and promptly landed on the roof of a nearby human-style building.
“M-my life just flashed before my eyes…” Izuku gasped as soon as he was back on solid floor.
“What the hell, kid?!” Said All Might “I love my fans but that there was way overboard! Listen, I really gotta go. Just bang on that door over there; someone will let you in eventually.” All Might turned around and walked towards the edge of the building.
“Wait, I just need to ask you something!” said Izuku, immediately getting over his lingering vertigo.
“Sorry, but no! I don’t have time!”
“But I have to know-!” Memories flashed through Izuku’s mind. The doctor bluntly telling him that he’d never develop a Quirk. His mother crying and apologizing to him for his Quirklessness. Kacchan’s constant insults. His classmates’ mockery of his lack of power. Izuku winced for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Can I still become a hero, even if I don’t have a Quirk?”
All Might stopped walking, his back still turned on the little Eevee.
“Unlike most Pokémon, I don’t have any powers,” Izuku continued “but even so, do I still have hope? Could I be someone like you?”
There was a long pause.
“…without a Quirk?” All Might asked in a hushed tone.
“Yeah.” Izuku sighed and looked at the ground, embarrassed “Other Pokémon think I don’t have a chance, that being powerless makes me weak. But of that only makes me wanna prove them wrong. Ever since I was a little kid, I always thought that helping Pokémon was the coolest thing anyone can do…” Izuku was now so caught up in his little speech that he began speaking more assuredly, and didn’t notice that there was steam coming out of All Might “I want other Pokémon to see my fearless smile and feel safe, be the kind of hero everyone in the world looks up to, just like you!”
Izuku finally raised his head to look at All Might, only to find out that the musclebound Jolteon was no longer there. In his place stood a much smaller and horribly emaciated Jolteon, with floppy wrinkled ears and sunken eyes. And everything went downhill from there.
To Izuku, the mere notion that All Might, the world’s greatest hero and his personal idol, could be injured was a true nightmare; as it turns out, the sash that All Might wore wasn’t training equipment at all, nor was it even just for cosmetics. It’s true purpose was to hide a nasty scar that was the result of multiple operations after the Jolteon had lost a good chunk of his internal organs fighting some unknown powerful villain. And to rub salt in the wound, All Might confirmed to Izuku what the Eevee had been dreading: without a Quirk he could not be a hero.
“It’s okay to have a dream, young mon. Just… make sure that dream is realistic.” That was the last thing All Might said to Izuku before leaving through the door, which conveniently turned out to be unlocked.
Of course, it made sense that All Might would try to dissuade him: after all, if even a Pokémon with superpowers could get injured or even killed in the line of duty, if even All Might, Symbol of Peace and greatest hero in the world could receive injuries as severe as what he’d shown Izuku, then a powerless Pokémon wouldn’t stand a chance. Still, hearing his idol turn down his dream dealt a heavy blow to Izuku’s spirit.
I guess I should start thinking of another career… the Eevee thought morosely as he left the building that he and All Might had landed on and continued his walk home. The Eevee’s eyes felt heavy with tears, which he fought to hold back.
Cut it out, you crybaby! Izuku berated himself, frustrated at his emotional sensitiveness. You always knew deep down that your dream was a bust! Really, the only reason you held on to it for so long was stubborn denial!
Then, just as Izuku left the Swamp District and started entering the Forest District, an explosion went off from somewhere just across the street where Izuku was walking, and the smell of smoke assaulted his nose. Another villain attack, no doubt. Despite knowing that making any analyses would be useless now that he had absolute confirmation that he couldn’t become a hero, Izuku found himself subconsciously heading towards the commotion.
Sadness immediately turned into dread and terror when Izuku got close enough to see exactly what was going on: lots of fires had broken out, the apparent cause being a Muk was causing havoc and had taken another Pokémon hostage. There were several heroes at the scene, but unfortunately none of them had the right Quirks to deal with the situation: Kamui Woods couldn’t get close due to all the fires, the fight was in a tight alley so Mt. Lady’s Dynamax Quirk was of no use, Death Ears simply wasn’t strong enough to subdue the offending Muk, Backdraft was busy trying to put the fires out, and the rest of the heroes were far too busy rescuing trapped civilians to properly engage in battle.
Izuku froze. That Muk… he was the same one that had attacked Izuku earlier. All Might had then arrived and defeated the Muk, trapping him in a bottle which he had then tucked into a pocket in his sash. Then Izuku had grabbed onto All Might as the latter tried to leave.
I made All Might drop the bottle and the villain escaped… Izuku realized with dawning horror, and I wasted his time so now he can’t power up again… this is all my fault…
Just then, the Muk turned around slightly and now Izuku could see the hostage Pokémon. A Quilava. Kaachan! No wonder fires had broken out; Kacchan must have caused them with his Lava Plume as he fought to escape. But Kacchan was not firing off any attacks anymore; his body was almost entirely enveloped by the Muk’s unrelenting grasp so that only his head remained visible, and even then the Muk had muzzled the young Quilava’s mouth shut. Izuku could see that Kacchan, as valiantly as he thrashed, was losing the struggle. No surprise there, either; Izuku had been in that very position, and he’d almost suffocated to death after only a few minutes. How long would Kacchan be able to stay alive?
Just a little more…, Izuku mentally pleaded, Kacchan, you gotta hold on long enough until the right hero shows up and saves the day…
And then, only for a moment, Kacchan turned his gaze towards the onlooking crowd of Pokémon, and there Izuku saw fear. Katsuki Bakugou, possibly the bravest and strongest of his class, afraid. He was begging. Begging silently for someone, anyone, to save him.
Izuku’s mind went blank. Instinctively, the Eevee ran at full sprint towards Kacchan and the villain holding him hostage. Several of the heroes screamed at him to stop, but Izuku couldn’t hear them over his own panicked heartbeat. Remembering a passage in one of his journals, the Eevee threw his backpack at the Muk, weakening his hold slightly and allowing Kacchan to take in some air. Izuku then leapt at the Muk and desperately began to claw at its slimy body.
“Deku?!” cried Kacchan “What the hell?! Why are you here?!”
“I don’t know!” Izuku practically screamed “My legs just started moving! I- I couldn’t just stand there and watch you die!”
“GO AWAY, YOU LITTLE PEST!” cried the Muk as he raised a slimy fist to strike Izuku, who had no time to do anything but close his eyes shut and brace himself. Instead of pain however, Izuku only felt a sudden gust of wind.
The Eevee opened his eyes to see All Might in his muscle form blocking the Muk’s fist.
“I really am pathetic.” Said the Jolteon “I told you of the traits that make a great hero, but I see now that I wasn’t living up to my own ideals!”
Although Kacchan was covered in gross-smelling slime courtesy of his captor, that didn’t stop All Might by grabbing the Quilava using his mouth and effortlessly pulling him out of the Muk’s body before blowing the latter away with a single swipe of his paw. A blow so powerful that it created a tornado and caused a downpour.
The crowd of onlookers and the pro-heroes stared in stunned awe at All Might’s power before joyously cheering. The authorities arrived soon after to arrest the Muk criminal. The press was also there, of course, eager to interview All Might. Meanwhile, Izuku got a serious scolding by the other pro-heroes for needlessly risking his life, while Kacchan was praised for lasting against such a devastating villain for so long, not to mention having a powerful Quirk. Izuku wanted to apologize to All Might for causing so much trouble and for forcing him to resume his hero form despite his condition, but unfortunately, the Jolteon was surrounded by so many fans and reporters that Izuku couldn’t even get close. So, with nothing else to do and not wanting to be a nuisance, the little Eevee resumed his walk home.
Once Izuku arrived at the neighborhood where he lived, he was confronted by Kacchan.
“Listen to me, Deku.” Said the Quilava “I would never ask for a Quirkless loser like you to help me, you got that?! You did nothing back there anyway. I don’t owe you anything!”
And with that, Kacchan turned and stormed away in a huff. Izuku remained silent throughout the rant and did not try to stop the Quilava from walking away; he hadn’t been wrong, after all: If Izuku hadn’t been such a desperate fanboy, Kacchan would have never needed rescuing to begin with. The Eevee sighed and resumed his walk.
“I AM HERE!” All Might -in his muscle form- cried as he suddenly emerged from a corner and stopped just in front of Izuku.
“A-All Might?!” cried a surprised Izuku “What are you doing here?! How’d you get away from the crowd?!”
All Might laughed “That’s the thing about fame, kid! Eventually, one inevitably learns how to slip away and keep a low profile!”
All Might then coughed roughly, spilling copious amounts of blood from his mouth, and causing him to instantly revert to his smaller emaciated form. Izuku couldn’t help but flinch at the grisly sight.
“Sorry about that.” Said the Jolteon as he hastily wiped the blood off “I came here to thank you, young mon. Also, to discuss your question from earlier.”
“Thank me?” Izuku was taken aback “But why? I’m the whole reason that Muk was there to cause trouble in the first place! I wasted your time and energy, so-”
All Might held up a paw, in a “hold on, I wasn’t done talking” gesture, and Izuku immediately went silent.
“Regardless of why that villain was there,” the Jolteon explained “the fact still stands, that you, a powerless, timid little Eevee, had the courage to try and save a life while the rest of us pros only stood watching helplessly. It was your actions that inspired me to act and save that Quilava; if you hadn’t acted the way you did, I would have been nothing but a worthless bystander.”
Izuku gasped, his heart skipping a beat from the sheer surprise.
“There are stories about heroes.” All Might went on “About how they became great. Most have one thing in common: their bodies moved before they had a chance to think, and today, that’s what happened to you.”
Realizing what All Might was getting at, tears began filling Izuku’s eyes.
“Young mon,” said All Might “You too can become a hero.”
The Eevee was now so overwhelmed by emotion that he began to sob and bawl loudly and couldn’t even remain standing anymore. Izuku was no stranger to crying; he was bullied frequently enough that sometimes he even cried himself to sleep. But this was the first time that Izuku cried tears of joy. After so many years of mockery and rejection, to hear those words from the Pokémon that he admired most, no less, it was like a dream. And Izuku hoped he never woke up if that was the case.
“I deem you worthy of my power!” said All Might “My Quirk is yours to inherit!”
Izuku abruptly stopped crying and stared at All Might, wide-eyed with shock and confusion.
“Wh-whuh?!”