Chapter Text
The gym is just almost ready to open for the day. A day just like any other Green thinks, having been back to Viridian for almost a week. Today is the first day to start challenging trainers again, battling again. He has to get back in shape, back to reality from what felt almost like a dream.
Days prior Green had visited Red on Mount Silver. It was the first time the two had seen each other in what was likely more than a year, maybe two. Who even really knows, Green was just happy for the fact Red hadn't died from starvation or the cold that whole time. But who was he kidding, Red's the most skilled Pokemon trainer he knew, if he could tame ridiculously strong beasts, there's no way he couldn't take care of himself in hazardous conditions.
But he knew Red cared more about his Pokemon than his own well being. Green just had to be sure he was still there on that mountain.
Green was right, too. If it wasn't for him, Red might not have made it.
The rest of that night felt surreal. Green and Red fell asleep nestled on each other, a blanket draped over their shoulders as they laid on Snorlax's side. When morning came and Green was about to leave, he asked Red if he was coming back. Back to civilization, that is. Red answered with a simple 'I don't know, maybe.' Maybe. That at least was better than a 'no' coming from Red. It at least gave him some hope that Red wasn't planning on staying on that stupid mountain for too much longer.
The clock hands strike nine. Nine in the freaking morning, Green thinks, earlier than he's been awake the past few days. If it were up to him the gym wouldn't open until noon, but abiding to League regulations and all that yadda yadda. Green stands up from his chair in an office decorated in white with dark blue and green accents, more suitable to Green's taste than what originally was there from the previous leader. Who's going to attempt to challenge me today? Green thinks. Nobody even comes this early. Regardless of who will be there, he still has to head to the play field.
About ready to open the door himself, someone else opens it from the other side. “Leader!” A scurried ace trainer Yasutaka is there to greet Green's face suddenly. “Someone is here to challenge you already!”
“Really, already? Who the crap wants to battle at nine in the freaking morning?” Green lets out in annoyance, looking up to the taller trainer.
Yasutaka shrugs. “This guy, apparently. I think I've seen him before, he looks familiar. He said his name's Red.”
Green blinks. “Wait. What? Red? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, Red was his name. Why are you-” Yasutaka can't even finish his sentence before being shoved out of the way. Green hurries down the short hallway to the play field, and begins scanning the area for that familiar red baseball cap. Confused at Green's reaction, the ace trainer trails his leader's steps slowly.
He spots him. At the other end of the field stands a sixteen-year-old boy, yellow backpack over his shoulders and a smug grin plastered on his face.
“It's really you...” Green gasps in amazement at the trainer before his eyes. “Red! Wha-what are you doing here?” He wants to ask more questions but the words cannot escape his mouth. He has no more time to think however as Red answers back.
“I want to battle. Let's go, three on three.”
“You mean like right now?”
“The gym's open now, isn't it? You should be ready for a challenger.”
Green smirks at that comment. “Oh, you would know that wouldn't you? Alright fine, I'll accept.” Not like he has a choice in the matter anyways. He readies himself at the other end of the field, grasping the Pokeballs on his belt. Who was Red planning on sending out if he's limiting them on only three?
Still unsure of what was happening, Yasutaka inches his way into the sidelines of the field. Green finally notices him, Red wanted this to be an official gym match after all. “Hey, Yasutaka! We don't got all day. Ref for us.”
“Ah! Alright...” Yasutaka nervously grabs a couple flags from a pedestal placed at the midpoint on the side of the room. Why is Green's attitude around this Red guy so much different than other challengers? he thinks. Green wants him to hurry, so he pulls himself together for the moment. “This match will be between the challenger, Red, against the gym leader, Green. Each trainer will use three Pokemon. There is no time limit. Let the battle...” He raises the flags in his hands above his head.
“Begin!”
As he lowers the flags, Red and Green release their Pokemon onto the field. From bright red shimmering light materialize the Pokemon Lapras and Arcanine. Crap , Green thinks, I should have figured he'd send out one of his water types out first. Green knows he shouldn't give up all hope before anything's started though, as Arcanine has a trick to deal with water types.
“Body Slam!” Red calls out the first attack and Lapras proceeds to hurl its weight toward Arcanine. Lapras is stopped mid attack however as Green calls to his Pokemon an Extreme Speed, crashing into the water type at full force. Speed is definitely Arcanine's advantage over Lapras, even if it doesn't have that over typing. Red calls for another Body Slam, but Arcanine reaches her faster, this time with a Thunder Fang. Green's trump card for water types, he'd like to think. A super effective move, almost knocking her down. Lapras manages to tough it out and remains standing, albeit barely.
The two haven't battled each other in years. No one knows what to expect of each other, let alone what moves they have taught to their Pokemon. It's all a guessing game, and Red's having a lot of fun with it. He calls for a Brine this time from Lapras, with her health lowered double the amount of damage is inflicted. It's super effective, a critical hit on Arcanine! With that the fire beast looses its footing and falls to the ground.
“Arcanine is unable to battle!” Yasutaka calls out as he raises a flag signaling Lapras' victory, “Please select your next Pokemon!”
Without a moment of hesitation, Green calls back his fainted Pokemon into its ball. “You did really good. It's just Red... he... agh.” He puts a hand up to his face. I can do this, can't I? I've beaten Red before, I think... Frustrated, he swings his hand from his face to his belt, and sends out another Pokemon. “Exeggutor! You got this!”
Onto the field the coconut Pokemon lets out a cry and stares at the already weakened Lapras. Another go, time for another chance at winning. “Blizzard!” Red calls out for another attack, however Lapras struggles to reciprocate the instruction. Snow flurries attempt to encompass Exeggutor, but the grass type moves too quickly! The attack misses, this is now his chance!
“I got a different type of storm for ya, Red! Leaf Storm!” Green yells; his lips tighten in a grin. An array of leaves gather and fly rapidly through the air from Exeggutor's stalk. A powerful move on the opposing Lapras! Its body goes limp and faints from the attack.
“Lapras is unable to battle! Please select your next Pokemon!” Yasutaka raises another flag, this time signaling a victory for Green.
Red smirks and pulls on the bill of his cap as he calls back Lapras into her Pokeball. Was Green thinking straight? Red now has the counter pick advantage with which Pokemon he chooses. His hand glides over a few different options before choosing the next beast to send out.
“Snorlax, your turn!” from Red's thrown Pokeball the extra large Pokemon shakes the ground as it lands and lets out his call. Green's thoughts drift as he gazes onto the field. Snorlax, the same exact one from that night... His face relaxes, something about that Pokemon catches him off guard. He's here, and Red's using him to battle against me now... Entranced in his own mind, he almost misses the ball of energy being hurled in Exeggutor's direction.
A Shadow Ball! Since when did Snorlax know a ghost type move? The grass-psychic Pokemon staggers on its feet as it braces for impact. A super effective move! “What really? No, Exeggutor!” Green cries as he watches his Pokemon struggle to stand after the hit. That seemed to snap him back into reality. But what now? Exeggutor is on his feet still, but for how much longer? Did one hit really do that much damage?
Green grits his teeth and furrows his brow, unsure of what move to call out since apparently he missed his first chance to do so. Red grins back at Green across the field, with a face that screams 'give up?' to his opponent. Green feels a fire raise in his chest, he wasn't going to call it quits. Red wants to challenge him as probably his first mission of business back in the city, regardless if Green won or not. He might as well go all or nothing.
“E...Explosion!” Green calls for Exeggutor's next move. The Pokemon turns toward Green with one of its faces looking a little confused. “Just, augh, let's go!” Green lets out, sounding a little desperate. His Pokemon trusts him with his judgment, it doesn't matter if Green trusts himself. Exeggutor turns back to face Snorlax, and winces all its eyes to brace for what was about to happen next.
Exeggutor glows white for a mere second. A flash, and suddenly the whole room shakes from an immense pressure. Every trainer in the room squints their eyes and covers their faces with their arms from the blinding light and sharp gusts of air. An unrelenting force hits the opposing Snorlax! The humongous beast gets sent hurling to the other side of the field, its feet grazing against the floor as it moves backward. Snorlax almost hits Red in its motion, but stops short. It managed to keep its footing and stay standing, even after a move like that! After the wind fades and tension alleviated, Exeggutor drops its knees and falls forward onto the floor from the exhaustion.
Still a little shaken from witnessing the attack, Yasutaka notices the outcome and signals a flag for another victory for Red. “E-Exeggutor is unable to battle! Please select your next Pokemon.”
Green stares at Exeggutor on the field. That... didn't work? Snorlax has great defenses I guess but... now what? Now I'm down to only one Pokemon. He gets lost in his thoughts again, not realizing the seconds going by as Red waits for him to choose another monster. Red simply smiles at the gym leader and puts one hand in his pocket. He looks like he's having fun. At least one person in this gym is.
Green shakes his head and returns Exeggutor to his Pokeball. Get it together, Green! With haste he sends out another, not even trying to think about type advantages. That would only make his head hurt more than it already was. Pidgeot is released onto the field and flaps its wings in elegance as it enters the arena.
Even if Snorlax managed to withstand the explosion, it shouldn't be able to endure another attack. That's what Green thinks anyway, as he calls for his ace to use Return. Snorlax is too slow to counter! A strong bond between the bird Pokemon and its trainer makes the attack even greater. The force from Pidgeot is strong and Snorlax cannot resume any strength to keep standing. It twitches and topples over, the ground trembles like an earthquake and a loud 'thud' is echoed throughout the entire arena as Snorlax hits the floor.
“Snorlax is unable to battle! Please select your next Pokemon!”
This is it! Red's down to his final choice, and Pidgeot still has a lot of energy left in him. Maybe Green really can win, what does he have to lose? Red calls back his fainted beast into its ball and looks at the item in his hand fondly. Green feels his energy coming back to him and yells to the other trainer. “Come on, I'm ready now! What'cha got left for me?”
“You really weren't thinking this through, were you?”
Green's eyes widen. “Huh?”
Red throws his next Pokeball, and released onto the field is his ace. Pikachu, of course, how the hell could he forget about Pikachu? If it were any other Pokemon, Pidgeot would have a greater chance at winning. But no, Pikachu seemed to slip Green's mind, even if it is Red's highest level party member. He was at a great disadvantage.
Not sure what move to call for the bird next, Green issues out another Return. Too slow! Pidgeot gets hit with a Quick Attack from Pikachu. And another. And another. Really, is Green going to let this happen and have Pikachu humiliate him? Another attempt to use Return, but another counter from Quick Attack. He figures his best bet it to use Double Team, at least that way if Pikachu uses Thunderbolt it may miss.
Pidgeot creates fluttering copies of itself surrounding the other Pokemon, boosting its evasion sharply. If Pidgeot can just keep this up, that little yellow demon won't be able to reach him. Green hopes this strategy will succeed.
“Focus, Pikachu. Then use Thunderbolt!”
There it is. The call for the move Green's so desperately worried about. “Keep it up Pidgeot! He won't be able to hit you!”
Pikachu closes its eyes as if it were meditating. Pidgeot continues to circle around the mouse Pokemon. “Pika!”A flash of lightning illuminates the room and Pikachu opens its eyes. “Chuuuuu!” Electricity zaps from Pikachu's cheeks vibrantly and strikes the images of the bird rapidly.
A direct hit, it's super effective! Pidgeot himself cannot avoid the attack! The fast paced energy stops and the feathered beast becomes paralyzed flopping onto the floor, unable to move. Not down for the count yet, but certainly not strong enough withstand another electric attack.
Explosion didn't work, and now this? Even if Green calls Pidgeot's next attack, it may not be able to reciprocate it due to paralysis. Green doesn't want this to end with a forfeit though, especially not to his long-term rival. This is after all their first Pokemon battle in years, and Red had the interest to challenge Green as his first opponent being back from his stay on the mountain.
“Pidgeot, try a Steel Wing!”
Pidgeot lifts its wing ready to attack, but twitches at a sharp pain. The Pokemon's fully paralyzed, it can't move! Red calls for another Thunderbolt from Pikachu, and it carries out the next attack in a glittery blitz. Another super effective move the flying type cannot avoid. Pidgeot falls face-first onto the ground and faints from the stress of the electricity.
Pikachu's cheeks continue to create small sparks and it looks at Green and smirks. That little demon always got satisfaction from winning a battle against him, the cheeky thing. Green doesn't pay attention to Pikachu however as he stares at his Pidgeot with wide eyes, the bird motionless on the floor. That... was it?
“Pidgeot is unable to battle! Victory goes to the challenger, Red!” Yasutaka calls out as he signals a flag in Red's direction.
Green calls back his ace into his Pokeball and looks down. “You... you did your best,” he says in attempt to comfort his Pokemon, and himself. Green then looks up at Red, who had just called back his Pikachu. Red's brows relax and he gives an endearing smile at the gym leader.
“That was a great battle, I had a lot of fun. We should battle again sometime.” Red nods his head down, then turns and starts to head toward the entrance. Wait, really? Red was just going to leave after that? Red takes a few more steps as Green gawks in awe. He hasn't even told me anything yet! I can't just let him go...
“Wait, Red!” Green pulls himself together and chases after Red, crossing the terrain of the field with his own feet. Red has already opened the door to the entrance hall, Green can't miss him after something like this!
Yasutaka holds the flags tenuously as he witnesses what was unfolding before him. “Leader, wait, what's going on?” That makes Green halt his pacing for a second.
“Stop it, Yasutaka! Stay out of my business!” Green yells back and turns toward the ace trainer. Yasutaka jumps, he didn't mean to get on his bad side just by asking a question. Green then continues to follow Red and, crap, he can't see him anymore. What if he's already left the building? Making his way by he also opens the door to the entrance hall, in hopes Red hasn't vanished.
There he is! Only a few steps away from the door to the outside, Red keeps walking through the entrance hall.
“Red!” Green huffs and gasps as he catches up to Red. “You can't just leave like that after a battle!”
Red stops and turns slightly to face the other boy. “Green?”
Green hunches over and puts his hands on his knees, panting. “You... you just came back and challenged me! After being on that goddamn mountain for so long... My head's spinning, augh. I don't even care that I lost anymore. Just, just tell me...” Green straightens out his back to look at Red face to face. “Why did you come back?”
Red smiles and lowers his eyelids slightly as he looks at Green. He grabs the strap of his backpack tightly. “I... guess I just wanted to.”
“Just wanted to? You mean you didn't want to before, training in the freezing cold all the time?” Green just can't take something so simple for an answer. There had to be more.
“Well... something, er, someone made me realize I wanted to.” He averts eye contact for a second after uttering that statement. His cheeks flush a little to resemble the color that is his own name.
“W-What do you mean?” Green stutters back.
Red grips his backpack a little tighter. “I was up on Mount Silver for so long, I guess I just got used to it. But...” he reverts his gaze back to Green's eyes. “Even if I did get used to the cold, I realized it wasn't as nice as the warmth you had when you came to visit.”
Green stands speechless for a second. His face turns a bright pink, then scrunches his brow. “Red you, YOU IDIOT!!” Green yells and waves his hands frantically, flustered at such a strange comment from Red. “WARMTH? Wha... what are you on about?!”
“Green I...” Red stutters for a second and blushes a little more than before. “I realized how much I... I missed you...”
The two trainers stop all words and simply look at each other. Those were words Green didn't think Red would ever say. Those words hit Green hard. He hisses through his teeth and squints his eyes shut, trying to hold back how much he was going to possibly freak out.
“You idiot...” Green takes a step closer to Red and looks him straight in the eyes. “You have no idea!!” His voice cracks as he yells those words and he grasps the cloth of Red's shirt on his shoulder. “...how much I really missed you...”
Green takes another step and is only mere inches away from Red's face. Red's eyes widen, and Green's forehead hits the bill of Red's cap. Woah, too close. The little tap shakes Green and surprises him, making him back away from the other boy. He lets go of his shoulder and quickly shuffles his feet. Wait, what am I doing? Green questions his own actions and looks away from Red.
“Uh... that was nothing,” Green says trying to cover his own tracks. Red doesn't even blink as he just stares back at the gym leader. Then an idea hits Red, he relaxes his face and smiles.
Maybe the hat was just in the way. With both his hands he twists the cap to face backwards on his head. Red takes a step forward and clears his throat, this time he places his hand on Green's shoulder. Green looks back toward Red, flustered immensely again. “Red, wha-”
Green's words are halted as he feels Red's lips press against his. His heart races and his eyes widen. He could see Red's closed eyelids with a clarity he never could have before. Red really is kissing him! But only for a second, and Red backs his head away.
What the hell just happened? Red pulls his hand away and bites his bottom lip, he turns his head to avoid eye contact again. Green covers his mouth out of shock, he was definitely feeling light headed after that.
Red quickly adjusts his hat back to its normal position and pulls the bill over his eyes. He always did that when he was feeling embarrassed about something. He then turns around and begins to open the door to the outside with one hand, the other fidgets with his backpack strap again. Green lowers his hand from his face a bit to speak.
“Wait, Red! Where are you going?”
“I'm... just gonna go home. To Pallet.”
“...alright. I... guess I'll see you later,” he says as he smiles with a somewhat confused look.
Red turns back to glance at Green for a second before leaving the building. “See you.”
The door shuts and Green stands there, bewildered and gazing at the glass paneling. At least this time when Red leaves, he's not going far. Even so, he can't get over the fact Red freaking kissed him. He feels like screaming even just thinking about it. He covers his mouth with both hands this time, hunches over, and lets out a muffled “aaaafffgghh!!”
Meanwhile outside the gym, Red walks slowly toward his destination. He makes small steps across the sidewalk of Viridian City; his hand pulling on the bill of his cap to try and hide the color of his face from any passerby's. What came over me? Why did I do that? Red thinks as he can't even believe his own actions.
Back inside the gym, Green returns to the play field. Yasutaka was waiting for him to return, and notices Green walking in slowly with his hand covering his mouth. Maybe now is an okay time to say something, now that Red left. “Hey, are you okay? Who was that and what happened?”
Green looks up, a bit startled. He clenches his hand in a fist removing it from his face again and answers, “Oh uh, I'm fine. That was an old friend of mine. I... can't really talk right now.” He keeps walking and heads in the direction back into his office.
“Wait, the gym's supposed to be open today! You can't just call it quits after one battle.” Yasutaka takes a few steps and reaches his hand Green's way as he passes by, in a small attempt to maybe make him stay and explain more.
Green looks back to Yasutaka and slaps his hand away. “I said I can't talk! I... just want to be left alone.”
He continues to walk away and Yasutaka looks onward toward Green with a somber face. “Oh, uh... alright.” He knows Green can sometimes get snappy, he figures if he needs space it's probably for the best. He isn't sure if he should stick around the gym though, maybe he can just go home. If Green really needs him back he can just call him.
Once Green is inside his office, he sits in his chair and grabs his PokeGear sitting on the desk. Truth is, he doesn't really want to be alone, it's just Yasutaka he can't talk to. There's only one person he knows will understand all the strange emotions and frustrations he's feeling in the moment.
Bonus Chapter Art by me!
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