Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Packing for a trip could be such a difficult process… How were you supposed to decide what was important to take, and what to leave behind? What if something was super important, but wouldn't fit in your bag? Like your favorite Pokémon doll?

But… On second thought, maybe Red was too old for things like that now. After all, he was getting ready to go on a real Pokémon journey! Giddiness fluttered up in his stomach again, and he started to rock back and forth with excitement.

He continued to ponder the book about traveling with Pokémon that was open in his lap, as he had been for quite some time now. Of course he had already read it several times over in the past, but it was good to have something to reference. Every now and then he'd look up at the arrangement of items on the floor in front of him, pick whichever one seemed the next-most important, and place it in his bag. He didn't realize how much time had passed until he heard Mom's voice echoing up the stairwell, startling him out of his thought process.

"Red! Honey! Are you ready yet?" she called.

Oh, no, he thought. He'd probably already kept Professor Oak waiting for ages! He sprung to his feet and, making a series of lightning-fast decisions, gathered up any other important things he might need. He stuffed his book and a few trainer magazines in there, too, just in case. He'd read about how to pack economically, so there was still plenty of room left for Poké Balls, and potions, and TMs, and… Ah, he was getting excited again!

He slung his bag around his shoulders and ran downstairs, the steps creaking loudly under his heavy footsteps. Mom was standing by the dining room table, waiting.

"There you are," she said, and beamed. "Look at you! You look prepared for just about anything. You've got your toothbrush, right?"

Red nodded.

"And a blanket?"

Nod.

"And you didn't forget your wallet, did you?"

He nodded once more, and sighed, irritated by his mom's fretting. Of course he didn't forget his wallet. Where would he keep his shiny new trainer card otherwise?

She fussed absentmindedly at his clothes and hair—which he tolerated with some difficulty—then stepped away, her smile gone. "I just can't believe it," she sighed. "All grown up… Everyone gets their first Pokémon at some point, but… It's just all happening so fast."

Red shuffled his feet, unsure how to tell her that she was being super embarrassing and he had places to be.

"Well, never mind my downerisms," she said. "I don't want you to keep Professor Oak waiting any longer." She put her hands on her hips. "But you have to promise me one thing, Red. You have to be careful out there, okay?"

He worked his mouth and bit lightly on his tongue. He knew he couldn't be careful all the time, but he didn't want to lie to his mom… Just a few months ago, it would have been difficult for him to communicate this, but he had another tool at his disposal now.

"I promise I'll try," he signed solemnly. Although he was still learning, using his hands was far easier than using his mouth.

His mom sighed. "I guess that'll have to do." She bent down and hugged him tightly. "You'll have so much fun. I know how much you're looking forward to this, so—"

But Red was already gone the moment she released him, having bolted from the kitchen while she was still talking.

"Don't forget that promise!" she called as the front door swung shut behind him.

The Pallet Town Laboratory was only a short walk away, not even 10 minutes, but Red's anticipation stretched every second to double its length. After years of obsessively reading any trainer guide he could get his hands on; of watching countless battles on TV; of enviously watching older trainers leave town for the first time… His dream was finally becoming reality. And…

All of a sudden, as if no time at all had passed, he had arrived at his destination. The lab, a stout gray brick building, stood neat and important—a little like Professor Oak himself. As he was reaching for the handle, the door suddenly swung open on its own, causing him to jump and cry out.

"Red!" said Professor Oak, sounding just as surprised. "Where have you been? I was just leaving to look for you."

Red could only stare up at him, bewildered.

"Did something happen? You haven't been running around in the tall grass again, have you?" When Red didn't say anything, the professor just shook his head and stepped aside, inviting him into the lab. "Never mind. Come on in, we've been waiting on you."

After a hesitation, Red adjusted his hat and followed him inside.

The lab was normally closed to guests, but Professor Oak let him visit often, as he was quiet and didn't bother the assistants. Although he wasn't allowed to be in the office area, he was familiar with much of the building. His favorite room was the library; whenever he came by, he would pick out a stack of books about Pokémon, find a corner to cozy up in, and sit and read for hours and hours. Sometimes he accidentally stayed after dark, and once he had even fallen asleep—he probably would have spent the night, too, if his mom hadn't come by looking for him.

Usually, the lab was quiet and fairly vacant, but it was busy here today, with many assistants bustling back and forth and talking loudly. Maybe it had something to do with the request that Professor Oak had mentioned. Red retrieved his special earplugs from one of his vest pockets and slipped them in. They made background noise less intense while allowing certain frequencies through, so he could still hear people talking to him. He was easily overwhelmed by noise, and these had prevented him from having meltdowns more than once.

Red followed Professor Oak to the back of the lab where all the offices were, passing the library, the test rooms, the room with the room-sized computer in it… They passed a few assistants working at monitors or studying notes and textbooks, then reached the professor's own clean, neatly organized office. Red took his earplugs out once the door shut behind them.

The first thing he noticed were the three Poké Balls on the table in the middle; the second thing he noticed was the boy standing off to the side and tapping his foot impatiently. His hair stood wildly on end, as if he'd touched a power outlet just moments before.

"Gramps!" he whined. "I've been waiting forever! Can't I just pick one already?"

Gramps? Red thought. He'd only ever talked to Professor Oak's granddaughters. Maybe his neighbors had a cousin visiting.

The professor sighed. "It's hardly been half an hour, Blue. At least let me explain to Red—"

"Red? Red is finally here?" The boy, Blue, seemed to notice him for the first time, and he grinned. "Jeez, took you long enough!"

…Had they met before? Why was he acting like they knew each other?

No, wait… Red had seen a similar-looking kid hanging around next door recently. He'd assumed he was one of the new trainers that Professor Oak tutored sometimes, though, and they had never interacted beyond passing glances. Hoping for an explanation, he looked up at the professor.

"Oh, Red, did your mother not tell you? I guess you two didn't get properly introduced." Professor Oak cleared his throat. "This is my grandson. Since you came out as transgender, he's realized that he feels the same way. He's going by Blue now."

"Ohh," Red gasped quietly. He was living next to another trans boy? It seemed almost too good to be true. The two of them had sometimes played together when they were younger and even went to the same daycare for a while; however, they'd never been particularly close. For one thing, Red still wasn't very good at making friends back then, and for another, he thought the neighbor had always seemed… sad. Nothing at all like the boy standing in front of him. Even now, Blue had his arms crossed and was staring at him keenly, like some kind of cat.

"Yeah. I picked a new name myself. Pretty cool, right?" he said, fidgeting with the fabric of his sleeve. "Hey, look, Red. Just 'cause we're both trans doesn't mean I'm gonna be your best bud. I'm gonna be the Champion." He un-crossed one arm to point a finger at him emphatically. "You better stay out of my way or else! I'll kick your butt. Got it?"

His words felt like a slap to the face. Before, Red tended to excuse Blue's often plain mean behavior as another side-effect of whatever caused his gloominess; at least, that's what his mom thought. Now, the gloominess was gone, but it seemed Blue's attitude was as bad as ever. Was he really just like that?

Professor Oak sighed and rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. "Blue…" he started.

"What?"

"Just… Don't be rude. You know I picked you two to go together for a reason."

"I'm just being honest."

Go? Together? Red thought. No… It couldn't be… 

Exasperated, Professor Oak shook his head. "Don't be that honest. Blue, sometimes… No, no, we don't have time for a lecture right now." He clapped his hands together. "Alright! Enough of that. Red, Blue… I'm sure you know I called you two here for a very important reason. It's time for you two to go on your very own Pokémon journey!"

Red exchanged a glance with Blue, who suddenly had a smug, knowing look on his face. What was that for? Was he planning something? He glared back at him.

"You may not know this, but I was quite the Trainer in my youth," Oak continued. "Those are rare Pokémon I've raised for the very purpose of accompanying young Trainers like yourselves." He walked to the table, and released each Pokémon from its Poké Ball, one by one. "Red, Blue—one of those Pokémon will be your very own partner on your journey! Now, choose!"

"Hey, Red," said Blue, "why don't you go first?" Still, that stupid smirk. Again, Red felt anger flush his face a little, but there were far more important matters at hand here. He wouldn't let his big moment get ruined.

As he went to the table, his heart began to flutter, his sour mood quickly forgotten. Just to think of it: his very own Pokémon partner!

The three Pokémon before him were Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander, easily identifiable to him although he'd only ever seen pictures. He went to them one by one.

Squirtle puffed out his chest and made a spout of water to impress him;

Bulbasaur yawned and turned away from him, entirely disinterested;

Charmander just looked at him easily, his tail slowly swishing from side to side. Red met his gaze, looking into his big, clear eyes. Was this what it felt like to be chosen? He glanced up at Professor Oak and pointed to indicate his decision.

"Ah, Charmander," the professor mused. "It's quite a difficult Pokémon to train, but it seems you two have a similar temperament. Is that the one you'd like, Red?"

Red picked up Charmander by his rump, intuitively holding him so that his fiery tail was safely facing away from his body. Charmander cooed his satisfaction.

"Alright, then!" Professor Oak nodded and handed Charmander's Poké Ball to Red. It felt natural in his hand, like it had always belonged there and had finally found its way home.

"Hmph! You're so sappy, Red," Blue interrupted. "So sweet I feel sick! I might barf!" Red glowered at him. "Now watch me choose. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from the future Kanto Champion!"

He strode importantly to the table, his mind apparently already made up. "This is too easy. Squirtle, I'm choosing you!" He picked Squirtle up and held him up high, beaming. "Hey, Squirtle! We're gonna be the best team ever, right?"

"Goo-waah!" he agreed enthusiastically.

Professor Oak handed Squirtle's Poké Ball to Blue, seeming quite proud. "I'm sure you two will take excellent care of your new partners. You already seem to have a connection with each other."

Bulbasaur returned to her Poké Ball, and Blue furrowed his brow. "Wait, Gramps… What's gonna happen to Bulbasaur?"

"I'll be taking care of Bulbasaur until it's time to entrust her to another Trainer. In fact, I may already have someone in mind."

"Oh, okay," Blue said, and immediately brightened.

Professor Oak continued, "Now… While you may consider your new Pokémon a gift from me, there is a request I have of you two in return." On the professor's desk sat a plain, unassuming package. He opened it up and removed two… bricks?

The PokéDex, he explained, was a cutting-edge, hi-tech device that automatically recorded all kinds of data about Pokémon. His dream as a young trainer was to make a complete Pokémon encyclopedia, and he was asking Red and Blue to continue this—frankly quite daunting—task in his stead. The PokéDex weighed at least a pound and was somehow even more awkward to hold than it looked. Hi-tech, indeed.

Red had mostly been nodding along to be polite; Blue, on the other hand, looked seriously elated about the idea of filling his PokéDex. Maybe it was genetic.

"All right!" he cheered. "How many different kinds did you say? 150? Sounds like a piece of cake! Leave it all to me, Gramps," he said, and shot Red a look.

"I hope you realize that I expect you two to collaborate on this project," the professor said seriously.

"Yeah, sure." Looking especially pompous, he turned towards Red, cradling Squirtle in his arms. "Hey, Red. You know that Fire-types are weak to Water-types, right?"

Red frowned. Of course he knew that.

"I bet you know that I could beat you in a Pokémon battle, then! Come on, Squirtle!"

" Gwah! " Squirtle cried, and leaped out of Blue's arms. Charmander growled, struggling to escape Red's grip. Red nearly dropped him so that he wouldn't get scratched or burnt, if nothing else… and besides, maybe getting thrashed in a Pokémon battle would wipe that stupid smirk off of Blue's face!

" No! " Professor Oak said sternly, startling everyone present. " Not in the lab!"

"Sorry, Gramps," Blue said sheepishly. He looked back at Red, quickly regained his composure, and jabbed an index finger towards him. He sure liked to do that. "You better meet me outside, then, Red. Or else you're a giant wuss!"

Red gritted his teeth.

"I'll see you on the path to Route 1 in ten minutes, got it? Smell ya later!" With that, Blue strode confidently out of the office. Squirtle looked back at Charmander one last time before following after his new trainer.

Professor Oak watched them go, then shook his head. "I apologize for his behavior, Red. He's become quite hot-headed lately. All these thoughts about being the Champion and whatnot… It's fine to have ambitious goals, but…" He clicked his tongue. "Ah, both of you have always been so competitive. I'm sure you'll push each other to grow."

Red carefully considered his parting words to the kindly professor. After a while, he looked up at him and simply signed, "Thank you."

Professor Oak seemed pleased. "You're quite welcome, Red. Go on, now. You've got nothing to be afraid of with Charmander by your side, hm?"

He smiled and rubbed Charmander's head. As he sat him down on the ground, he had to quickly catch his tail to keep the carpet from catching on fire. He'd need to spend some time teaching his friend to be more aware of his flame, it seemed.

Charmander clung timidly to his side as they left the lab. It occurred to him as he stepped through the front door that these would be the very first footsteps of a real adventure , with many places he hadn't seen, people he hadn't talked to, events he could never predict, excitement, apprehension, possibly even danger… and he felt… he felt… 

Happier than he ever had before.

His sneakers thudded rhythmically against the path leading to Route 1, now with a second, smaller set of footsteps following alongside him.

Leaning coolly against a signpost, Blue perked up and turned to face Red as he approached. He was tall—his head rested easily on the sign that read "Route 1," while Red's barely cleared the bottom of it.

"There you are!" Blue said, and snickered. "You just love to keep me waiting, huh? What are you, some kind of Slowpoke or something?" He imitated a Slowpoke's yawn, and laughed abrasively at his own joke.

Red extended his arm to show him Charmander's Poké Ball.

"Ooh, feisty! Hey, maybe you're not so sappy, after all." Blue stood upright and positioned himself in the middle of the road, one hand resting on the Poké Ball on his belt loop. "We'll see about that after this battle, though. You better be ready, 'cause here I come! Go get 'em, Squirtle! "

Squirtle came out of his Poké Ball at the peak of its arc, did a flip, and landed with a flourish. "Bwah!" he cried. Professor Oak had been right—the hotshot aura about him totally matched Blue's.

Red found that he didn't even need to think about sending out Charmander; his hand guided the Poké Ball as if it was a part of him. As he watched it arc through the air, he felt his heart begin to pound. This is it, he thought. For the first time… Not just TV, but the real thing!

Emerging with a plume of fire, Charmander landed on all fours and growled, sharp teeth bared. He turned and looked over his shoulder at Red, no doubt expecting directions of some kind. Red knew that plenty of people taught their Pokémon signs—that wouldn't be a problem. However, just like with speech, they wouldn't pick up on everything right away… He would just have to find out how quickly Charmander could understand!

"Pfft! Really, Red, you picked such a weak-looking Pokémon," Blue scoffed. "Squirtle, take it out with your… what was it… Hydro Pump! Use Hydro Pump!"

"Wah?" Squirtle seemed confused.

"What? What's the matter? Can't you use that one?"

Now! They had an opening while Squirtle was distracted! Charmander seemed to understand this, too, and Red urged him forward with an emphatic "Go!" gesture. He leaped into action and rushed Squirtle at full speed, who was just a moment too late to react. Charmander's claws dug into Squirtle's head, his weak spot unprotected by a shell. Yes! Red pumped his fist.

"What are you doing? Get him back!" Blue cried.

"Wah!" Squirtle bucked Charmander off of himself and retaliated, using his hard shell as a battering ram. The force of the blow threw Charmander to the ground, and Red waited anxiously for him to get back up. When he did so with relative ease, Red locked eyes with him and made the sign for "Scratch," hoping that he would understand. Charmander gave a little nod and rushed back in towards his opponent, bristling. Although his claws met with Squirtle's shell this time, Red's heart soared. This was unlike anything he had ever experienced before—he and Charmander were totally in sync!

"Don't you know any Water-type moves?" Blue said desperately. "I guess Tackle will have to do. Tackle! Keep going for Tackle!"

Their Pokémon continued to trade blows until they were basically rolling around on the ground, locked together and biting at each other's faces. Once they finally separated, they faced each other unsteadily, panting… Until, at last, Squirtle collapsed. He returned to his Poké Ball.

Although he was still standing, Charmander was clearly exhausted, and Red returned him, too. It was a close match, but Charmander's initial attack must have given them an advantage. Red stared at his opponent and waited for his reaction, breathing hard.

"Hm…" Blue said thoughtfully. "Well, we'll call it a draw."

His jaw dropped open. When he realized Blue was being serious, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What? What are you laughing at?" Blue shook his clenched fist at him, which just made him laugh harder. "Listen to me, Red! My goals are higher than you could ever understand. I'm gonna be the Champion, got it? The best of the best! This won't happen again! "

Not one to be unsportsmanlike, Red composed himself and, as no money was being exchanged, shook hands with Blue instead. Perhaps embarrassed, Blue would not look directly at him.

"I don't like to admit it, but I'd better get Squirtle trained up more," he said. "You and Charmander should train, too. But I won't let you catch me off guard next time. We'll be way tougher!"

Red looked at him curiously. Mom said that people with big egos were usually trying to make up for not liking themselves very much. Blue definitely had a big ego, but it sure seemed like he'd recovered quickly from that loss. It was almost disappointing.

Blue grinned. "Anyway, Red… Hey, Viridian City's just down this road, you know. Betcha can't beat me there!" In a quick, sassy two-fingered salute, he touched his index and middle fingers to his temple and flicked his wrist outwards. "Smell ya later!" he said, and he dashed off out of sight.

Not much of a runner himself, Red watched him leave. There was nothing wrong with taking things at his own pace, though.

He looked down at Charmander's Poké Ball and smiled a little when he saw himself reflected in its shiny surface. Reaffirmed by its shape and presence, he gripped it a little tighter.

Chapter Text

Route 1 was so traveler-friendly that Red had been to Viridian City by himself more than once to run errands for his mom. As long as you stuck to the road, there was next to no danger from wild Pokémon—of course, with Charmander, things were a little different.

The first wild Pokémon he encountered was a Caterpie, which he ended up using for target practice. Aiming Poké Balls was a lot harder than throwing the tennis balls he used to practice with, especially while trying to command Charmander at the same time. After several attempts and a few busted Poké Balls, he managed to hit it dead-on, and it was sucked into a Poké Ball with a beam of light.

He recorded Caterpie in the PokéDex for the professor, then harmlessly released it back into the wild. Training Charmander was hard enough work; he didn't need another one to keep up with, too. Not yet, at least.

He repeated this process a couple more times; a Pidgey was next, and then a Rattata. By the time they reached Viridian City, Charmander was already responding consistently to "Scratch" and "Growl." Red had started to work on "Ember" with him, too, as well as simple words like "right" and "left." He was a fast learner, even for a Pokémon.

With enough training, Red would be able to give Charmander fine-tuned directions in just a fraction of the time it would take other trainers to speak the same commands. They ran into another young trainer on Route 1 who expressed confusion when Red beat them without saying a single word, which made him feel… proud? It was proof that their work together was already paying off, anyway.

Something he hadn't really anticipated was how different it would feel without any adults around. He could climb as many trees as he wanted, track mud wherever he pleased, and poke bugs' nests if he wished to take the risk, just to name a few things. He was basically an adult himself now, right? Who could stop him?

Pokémon Center receptionists could, as it turned out. "Take your muddy shoes outside!" cried the lady behind the counter in Viridian. "I just mopped the floor after that last kid! Wipe them on the rug or get out! Out! Out!" Red turned and fled from her wildly waving hands with Charmander close behind.

Once he was a safe distance away, he sat down on a retaining wall with a sigh. Maybe being a grown-up wasn't everything it was cracked up to be, after all.

There was a tug on his pant leg, and he looked down to see Charmander reaching his hands up towards him. He wanted to be held. Red bent over and picked him up by the armpits, placing him in his lap. Charmander tried to curl his tail around himself as he got comfortable; since this would have set his pants on fire, Red grabbed it to stop him, and Charmander let his tail rest on the stone retaining wall instead.

"Good," Red praised with a hand gesture.

Charmander laid down across his legs and closed his eyes, tired from all the training they had done today. If only they could have accessed the Poké Center… He'd just have to try again later, preferably with some cleaner shoes.

Red began to absentmindedly run his fingers across Charmander's dry, scaly skin. When Charmander started to rumble, he withdrew his hand, surprised. The rumbling died down, and Charmander opened his eyes to look at him, as if he was saying, "Why did you stop?"

Red petted him more, and the rumbling continued. It was a low, throaty sound that vibrated in his chest, not quite a growl but not exactly a purr like a Meowth's either. Red moved his hand to Charmander's neck to scritch it, and he stretched out to enjoy a deeper scratch, a satisfied look on his face.

It means you like it, doesn't it? Red thought. That's your happy noise.

Even with all of his book knowledge, he'd never heard of a Charmander doing anything that resembled purring. Could this possibly be a first-time discovery? Or maybe his Charmander was one-of-a-kind? If only he had a way to talk to Professor Oak from here! For now, he would just have to be satisfied with his own little discovery.

The yelling Poké Center receptionist had scrambled his brain a little. Having a warm, heavy Pokémon in his lap was helping him calm down, though. He bent forward and wrapped his arms around Charmander in a gentle hug.

Red's sensory needs could be difficult to keep in check. Sometimes, even quick trips to the store could leave him panicky and overwhelmed. If he wanted to do the League Challenge—and really, who wouldn't?—he would have to pass through some big cities like Saffron and Celadon. He had done his best to prepare when packing, but he'd never been to a big city before; he wasn't exactly sure how bad it would be or what to expect. The sensory tools that helped him navigate life in Pallet Town might prove to be ineffective elsewhere. When planning out his trip, he had already reluctantly come to terms with the reality that there were probably places in the Kanto region that would be inaccessible to him.

What he hadn't understood back then, really understood, was what it felt like to be with your own Pokémon. There were some things that you just couldn't learn from reading. If he could teach Charmander to battle, who was to say that he couldn't train him in other ways, too? Pokémon were able to sense things that humans couldn't. If Charmander could learn what made Red overwhelmed, he could help him before he ever had a full-on meltdown.

He had never read about this type of training anywhere, so he'd have to figure out how to do it himself. Truthfully, there weren't many resources out there aimed at Pokémon trainers who were autistic. Maybe he could change that someday.

Following Red's brave return to the Poké Center—he was sure to make a big show of wiping his shoes off by the front door—he spent some time idling around the city. The gym was the only real point of interest, but it was closed and apparently had been for some time. It was not only disappointing, but also odd. He was sure there was some kind of League regulation to keep that from happening.

Viridian Forest was easy to get lost in, or so he had heard, but it was the only way to get to Pewter City on foot. It was getting late in the day, and the thought of being stuck out there overnight made him shudder, so he spent the night in one of the Poké Center's complimentary cots with Charmander cuddled up against his side. Normally, he didn't sleep well in unfamiliar places, but that night felt like the hardest he had ever slept in his life.

He woke up feeling incredibly refreshed and energized. None of the other trainers he'd shared the room with had woken up yet, so he got ready as quickly and quietly as he could. Breakfast was two granola bars, and he stashed lunch away in his bag, as he expected the trek through Viridian Forest to take up most of the day. He stocked up on Pokémon health items and Poké Balls and then he was ready to go.

The trail through the woods wound and wrapped its way through the brilliant green foliage, sometimes disappearing only to reveal itself again a few paces later. Red knew better than to stray from the beaten path, but it didn't make navigation much easier. He had brought a compass that he admittedly wasn't sure how to use properly; once he thought he was pointing in the right direction, he found that he had just walked in another circle instead. There was one distinctive vine-wrapped tree that he thought he probably passed by at least three times, seeming to mock him each time he saw it. The other trainers he encountered, some of whom were locals who gave him directions, kept him from giving up all hope.

"So you're from Pallet Town, are you?" remarked one of these trainers upon seeing his PokéDex. "You must have left just a couple days ago at most. Am I right? You know, apparently Viridian Forest is one of Kanto's more difficult trails, even for experienced trainers. There's no shame in turning back if you're lost."

Red pressed onwards despite his growing frustration. Thankfully, he still had plenty of Potions left to keep Charmander healthy and full of energy. He had nothing like that for himself, however, besides his lunch and some adhesive bandages.

When his stomach started to grumble its complaints, he chose a shady log alongside the path to sit on while he ate. In Viridian, he had bought several single-serving cups of dry Pokémon food. He opened one of these now and set it down for Charmander, who didn't look particularly enthused but began to eat anyway. Maybe he would like one of the other flavors better. They ate together in relative silence.

Their quiet mealtime together was suddenly interrupted by the angry scream of a wild Pokémon, far too close for comfort. His lunch instantly forgotten, Red bolted to his feet, intently scanning the spaces in between the trees for movement.

At first, there was nothing… Then he noticed a shift in the distant underbrush, and the sound of rustling leaves along with it. The rustling grew alarmingly louder and louder, and before Red could even fully process what was happening a furry yellow blur exploded from a bush directly across the path from him. It catapulted itself at him and collided hard with his right shin. He yelped. The recoil sent both of them stumbling backwards, and Red sat down heavily on the log.

He had just a moment to register the terrified expression on the Pikachu's face, and the honey smeared around its mouth. It looked like it might have been the thin kind of honey that some Beedrill made. The Pikachu squirmed past his legs to squeeze itself into a hole in the log he was sitting on.

Beedrill honey. Scared Pikachu. Running away? Just a moment before everything clicked into place, another buzzing screech made him clap his hands over his ears.

The largest Beedrill he had ever seen tore through a screen of vines only a few meters away, the space suddenly full with the drone of its giant wings. With no other target in sight, its furious red eyes immediately locked onto Red, and he felt his stomach drop into his toes.

Even overseas, Beedrill were famous for their nasty temperament. If you raised one from a Weedle and properly socialized it with humans and other Pokémon, it could become relatively tame. Wild ones were a different story, though. If their colony's nest was threatened, they would gather in a swarm to protect the eggs incubating inside. Anything and everything in the vicinity would become a target for their fury. They didn't care if you were just an innocent bystander—if something was within reach of their stingers, it would have a hole punched into it. In just a few seconds, that would include Red.

Without being told to, Charmander leapt into battle stance in front of him. Although he was trembling slightly, he stood his ground. Red trusted his partner. He had to be brave, too.

The Beedrill rushed them. "Ember!" Red commanded, but the other Pokémon was scarily fast. One of its stingers punctured Charmander's thick skin; he retaliated by swinging his fiery tail into its side. The Beedrill shrilled and withdrew, which gave Charmander a clear shot. It was blasted with a ball of flame. Even as its exoskeleton burned, it showed no signs of slowing down. There was a flash of stingers and fire as they traded blows again, and already, Charmander looked like he was in danger of collapsing.

Red's thoughts were close to being drowned out by his own pounding heartbeat. He pinched himself to stay focused. As a trainer, he knew that he himself was the main advantage that Charmander had in any battle. But what could he do? What could he use to turn the tide of battle in their favor? Suddenly, he had a very bad idea.

With his shaking hands, it seemed to take hours to open his bag and reach inside. He wrapped his fingers around a can of Repel. When the Beedrill came near again to attack Charmander, Red whipped out the Repel and blasted it.

It made a sound like a cough and veered off course midair, its beating wings momentarily slowing down. Red followed it with his hand, never letting go of the can's trigger. The weakened Beedrill coughed again and landed on the ground.

For a solid six or seven seconds, Red felt like they might pull through and win. Then the can sputtered, fizzed, and stopped spraying.

He shook it vigorously and tried again. No luck. That was the only Repel he had.

It only took a moment for the Beedrill to recover. It lifted off from the ground again and looked past Charmander, directly at Red. It seemed angrier than ever.

Oh, crap, he thought. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face with his arms, prepared for the worst.

But the worst never came. Instead, a peculiar cry came from behind him to his left. It almost sounded like pika!

He risked a look between his forearms. The Pikachu from earlier had re-emerged from the log, its electric pouches sparking. The fear that Red witnessed earlier was replaced with a look of determination.

The wild Beedrill charged at Red, but the Pikachu was even faster. Becoming little more than a yellow blur, it sprung into the air and intercepted the other wild Pokémon with a surge of electricity. Energy crackled and popped through the air, making the hair on Red's arms stand on end. By the time the Pikachu touched the ground again, the Beedrill had already fallen from the air in a twitching heap.

Red didn't have time to feel too sorry for it. He rushed to Charmander's side and knelt beside him, digging a Potion out of his bag. He wasn't hurt too badly, but he had taken some pretty serious hits.

Before Charmander had even stood up again, the Pikachu was tugging on Red's pant leg with its teeth. It was trying to get them to follow it.

Red looked apprehensively into the trees. Beedrill lived in colonies. Basic deductive reasoning told him that this Pikachu had been caught stealing honey, so there had to be more than one Beedrill on the prowl. He seriously didn't want to get caught with the thief a second time… but it had already helped them once. Deciding to trust his gut, Red quickly followed after it with Charmander right behind him.

Several tense minutes later, the Pikachu had led them to the Viridian Forest exit gate without incident. Red breathed a sigh of relief when the building came into view. He hoped he'd never have to see these woods again.

As thanks, he tossed a handful of Pokémon treats on the ground for the Pikachu to munch on. Good luck with the rest of those Beedrill, he thought. He considered trying his luck with a pet while it ate, but touching an untame Electric-type seemed like a particularly bad idea, maybe even worse than his Repel trick.

As he started to walk away towards the exit, he heard rustling behind him. He stopped and turned; the Pikachu was following him.

He made a "shoo" gesture with his hands, but instead of returning to the wild, the Pikachu inched even closer. Red kicked up some dirt to try to scare it away, but didn't really get a reaction. It crawled up to him on its belly until it was close enough to sniffle his shoes, then looked up at him with its beady eyes, its nose twitching.

Red sighed, lifted his hat, and scratched his head in indecision. He still didn't want to train more than one Pokémon at once, but it seemed like he didn't have a choice but to bring Pikachu along.

Tentatively, he reached his hand down to let his fingers be sniffed. He drew back a little at the light static shock; on the second try, though, he had no trouble touching his hand to its soft yellow fur. He stroked its forehead. It didn't make any fuss about going into a Poké Ball.

Finally emerging out of the woods on the other side of the gate, Red collapsed onto the first bench he could find. Charmander climbed up to sit next to him. His legs felt like jelly—the adrenaline from the Beedrill encounter had faded from his system quite some time ago.

He took a moment to rest and collect his thoughts. Then, he released his new pal Pikachu from her Poké Ball. The distinctive tail shape told him that she was female, which he would have recognized earlier if he hadn't been so distracted. She flicked her ears at him, then hopped up onto the back of the bench to perch behind his shoulder. Charmander eyed her a little jealously. Hopefully they could get along.

Red opened his map to study it, and his Pokémon leaned in to get a better look. They weren't that far from Pewter City now. He saw on TV that the Gym Leader there, Brock, was a Rock-type user. Red's two-man team would have a lot of trouble taking him down, especially with a double type disadvantage. Meanwhile, Blue would probably get a huge head start on the League with his Water-type partner. Red pictured him learning that he had lost his first Gym battle, and laughing in his face.

"Hmph," Red grunted, frowning.

Decisively, he re-folded his map and put it away. He didn't intend to let that happen. His best bet would be to train a Grass- or Fighting-type, but before he did that, he wanted to see how well Pikachu did responding to sign language. Tomorrow, he would focus on training with her and plan from there.

As he plodded on towards Pewter, he occasionally heard Charmander and Pikachu chattering at each other behind him. When Pikachu "spoke" ("piki-pi, piki pika-pi"—it was easy to see where the species name had come from), more often than not, Charmander would be silent. He seemed like the quiet type, just like his trainer. Red smiled. He had to wonder what they were talking about. One time he saw a special on TV about a trainer who had invented a Pokémon translation device for his Raticate, but Mom said he was a phony. If such a thing as a Pokémon translator really worked, everyone in the world would have one.

By the time they reached the city, Red had run out of Potions, and Pikachu was resting in her Poké Ball. Red was studying the map on a bulletin board near the city limits when a stranger approached him and Charmander.

"Hey there," she said conversationally. "You don't look like you're from around here. You lost?"

He wasn't, not really, but he nodded. Since he didn't talk, he had learned to take help when it was offered to him.

"Where're you headed?" She looked down at his Charmander. "The Poké Center, I'm guessing?"

He nodded again.

She gave him directions. "You've got a cute Pokémon with you. Looks tough, too," she said, and Red stood up a little straighter. "What's his name?"

That caught him off guard. Charmander's name? He'd never stopped to think of one. He found himself thinking back to earlier that day, though, when the Beedrill had attacked them. Even though he was so much smaller and weaker, Charmander threw himself in front of Red so he wouldn't get hurt. He didn't even hesitate.

"I guess he doesn't have one, then?" the stranger said, sounding a little disappointed.

Red shook his head vigorously. "King," he signed.

The stranger squinted at his hands. "Um…" she said, and then laughed awkwardly. "Can you repeat that? Sorry, I don't remember much from my sign language class."

"King," Red signed again, and feigned putting a crown on his own head.

"Oh, King!" she said. "So his name is King. That's a nice name."

Red nodded and looked down at Charmander—no, King. King looked back at him curiously. Pride in his partner warmed his heart, and he squeezed his hands together to keep them from flapping. Sometimes people asked if he'd hurt his finger when he did that.

The friendly stranger bid the pair of them farewell, and they went on their way towards the Pokémon Center. Red stayed up a little while after it got dark out, then checked himself in for a cot at the front desk. He was so excited to start training tomorrow that he was worried he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, but he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Chapter Text

After spending so long in the darkness of Mt. Moon's cave, stepping out into the sunlight again was an assault on the eyes. Leaf grimaced and shielded her face with the back of her hand. Juni, her Bulbasaur, sighed happily and swayed a little in the sunshine. She hopped up onto a nearby bench and stretched out to sun herself.

Cerulean City was only a little farther, probably only a ten-minute walk, if that—but Juni had the right idea. Besides, it was nice out, and her feet were tired. She sat down next to Juni and rubbed her damp head affectionately.

"Boy, you sure gave that nerd a piece of your mind," Leaf said to her. She looked down at the fossil in her hands and ran her fingers over the bumpy, spiral-shaped shell embedded in the rock. Someone had been hunched down in front of the exit meticulously digging it out, and wouldn't let them pass until he was done. Juni had snapped at him grumpily, scaring him so badly that he dropped the fossil and ran away. According to him, he’d actually found two fossils, and a different trainer had already taken the other one from him after "thrashing his ass" in a Pokémon battle.

"I wonder what kind of Pokémon this was? It's like a time capsule. And I wonder who has the other one." She looked over at Juni, whose sleepy eyes were only half open. "Hey, what if it was one of the other Pallet Town kids?"

"Gwrrk," Juni croaked apathetically.

"Yeah, probably not." She tucked the fossil safely away in her bag.

Professor Oak had called her to his lab just four days ago with an "important request." When she arrived, he had a Pokémon for her—Juni—and a device called a PokéDex. It was strangely sudden, but she was thrilled at the opportunity to go on a Pokémon journey nonetheless.

"You aren't the only one traversing the region with a PokéDex," the professor had told her. "My grandson, Blue, and another boy, Red, have the same task as you. I hope you'll compare your progress when you run into each other, but…"

"But what?" Leaf asked.

"I hate to say it, but I just don't have much confidence that they're taking my request seriously. Both of them are so headstrong… After seeing how they butted heads in my lab, I'm not sure their rivalry will do anything but slow their PokéDex progress. I was hoping for the opposite." He sighed, and paused for a moment before continuing. "In other words, Leaf, I'm placing my hopes on you to fill any gaps in the PokéDex that they leave. Do you understand?"

She knew Blue and Red, but she hadn't really talked to either of them since they were all still going to the same daycare—at least a couple of years ago. Blue could be a little mean, but she couldn't remember either of them being particularly rough. Could they have changed after transitioning?

"Okay," she told the professor. "I'll do my best."

Professor Oak seemed satisfied to hear that and sent her on her way with several Poké Balls and potions. So far, she and Juni were having a lot of fun. Searching for wild Pokémon was unexpectedly hard; the last several days had already been filled with enough climbing, crawling, and running to last a lifetime, and she slept like a rock every night. When she wasn't looking for Pokémon, she was cataloging Kanto's flora, although Professor Oak hadn't asked her to. She had brought her copy of Field Guide to the Plant Life of the Kanto Region and a small camera to document interesting plants. The Field Guide suggested making pencil sketches, but Leaf was a lousy artist.

She reached up to scratch her ear, and her fingers touched something hard and plasticky. She paused, confused for a moment before realizing—somehow, she’d completely forgotten that her hearing aids were still in.

The way sounds echoed in the cave had made them basically useless in Mt. Moon, but taking them in and out was such a hassle that it had been easier to just turn them off. Now that she was outside, the process of removing them and placing them in their case using her clumsy hands took at least a couple of minutes. She was still getting used to these things, not to mention that she didn't really like wearing them unless she had to. She still did pretty good as long as she could see someone's mouth while they talked; otherwise, though, she needed the hearing aids. The doc said in five or six years she might lose enough hearing to need them all the time, but the far future was difficult for her eleven-year-old brain to conceptualize.

Around the same time she got her hearing aids, her parents had started working on sign language with her. It was nice to have that to fall back on, but most people didn’t really know it. Day-to-day conversations with strangers were the worst. It didn't matter how hard she tried to be polite—people got frustrated with her if they felt like she wasn’t listening. It usually wasn’t worth the effort.

Just then, a person entered her field of view from her right, startling her. He was squinting against the sun, so he must have just come out of Mt. Moon, too. When he noticed Leaf, he approached her quickly with a squeezed look of concern on his face. He started speaking rapidly before she was ready; something about "directions" was all she was able to catch.

"What?" she asked him, bewildered.

"I said, I'm trying to get to Celadon City." At least, that's what she thought he was saying. He had a weird accent that made him hard to understand.

"Can you slow down a little? Did you say Celadon?"

"Yeah. Celadon City." He was giving her that familiar politely puzzled look.

"Celadon. Right. Let's see…" She opened her map and held it up to him. "It's south of here. You'll have to go through Saffron, but I heard the gates are closed right now for some reason."

"You serious? The lady at the Poké Center in Pewter told me to just head east." He bent over to peer at her map, then suddenly slapped his forehead as if he had made a tremendous realization. "Cerulean City! That's where I'm supposed to be. Why are the stupid names so similar?"

"Oh, well Cerulean is just down that way," Leaf said, and pointed down Route 4.

He said something else, but he spoke too fast for her to understand. Hopefully it wasn't anything important. Then, "Thanks, kid. I'm not from around here, see."

"Yeah, I can tell."

He laughed. "Is it that obvious? Here, know what? I was saving this for my friend in Cerulean, but I'll give it to you instead." He twisted around to dig something out of his backpack and handed her a shiny round plate in a protective square case.

"Um, okay. What is it?"

"That there's a TM. You're filling out a PokéDex, right? So you'll get better use out of that than my friend, anyway. He's a lost cause when it comes to Pokémon, honestly." He laughed again.

Leaf flipped the case over to look at the text on the back. It read, "Instantly teach DIG with this TECHNICAL MACHINE™!" with how-to-use instructions underneath.

"That's pretty cool," she said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he replied. He gave her a few parting words and a little wave and jogged away, which she thought was peculiar. Some people were just always in a hurry.

It was true that she usually got along just fine without her hearing aids. Without them, though, her brief conversation with the accented man had left her feeling drained. Maybe she would sit here with Juni for just a little while longer.

She pet her friend again, and her hand came away with specks of dirt clinging to it—Mt. Moon dirt, it looked like. Actually, Juni was covered in it. Leaf used her water bottle to wet some paper towels from her bag and got to work grooming.

Things like dirt and sand clung easily to Juni's amphibious skin. It obviously wasn't bad for her, but Leaf liked her to look nice. Easygoing Juni didn't seem to care either way, offering no resistance when Leaf moved her around to get her belly and feet. When she was done, Leaf used a spritz bottle to mist Juni's bulb with a water and plant food solution. This earned her a froggy smile from her Pokémon, and her heart swelled with satisfaction and pride. Leaf intended to make sure her partner the healthiest Grass-type in all of Kanto.

While she was thinking about it, she also released her new Clefairy, which she had nicknamed Peony, from his Poké Ball. He still seemed a little cautious of her, but he allowed her to use a brush to do a once-over of his fur. When she was finished, she gave him a light pat on the head.

"Pini," he squeaked.

"Peony," she replied. "That fits you."

He squeaked again and waved his arms a little. If he was trying to tell her something, she couldn't tell what. After petting him some more and playing with him a bit, she returned him to his Poké Ball.

Leaf stood up and stretched, feeling ready to move on by now. Juni didn't move. "Come on, Juni," she coaxed.

"Gwrrrrrrk," Juni complained. She yawned and stretched out her legs.

"Don't make me put you in your Poké Ball."

Juni sighed dramatically and got to her feet, hopping down from the bench to follow alongside Leaf.

The rest of the way to Cerulean was a nice, easy downhill walk. The town itself was much nicer than Pewter City; the landscaping had an organic, natural feel, and flowers bloomed everywhere. She snapped pictures of some flowers she hadn’t seen before, and even had Juni pose for some photos by the riverbank just for fun. By no means was she a pro-level photographer, but she had a pretty good eye for it. She was excited to get those developed.

In the Pokémon Center, a decorative indoor fountain stood proudly right in the middle of the entryway, the surface of the circular pool dotted with lily pads. After resting her team with the receptionist behind the counter, Leaf wandered around the recreational wing a little. There was a souvenir shop… a small coffee lounge… even a little game room that had table tennis, pool, and a single arcade cabinet, with a video game that she tried but wasn't very good at.

Eventually, she made her way into the food court. It was mostly empty, except for a boy about her age sitting at one of the tables and sharing bites of a sandwich with his Fire-type Pokémon. Dark, messy hair stuck out from under his red hat; the pockets of his red vest sagged with the weight of various bits and bobs; he was so small that his red hi-top sneakers barely touched the ground. Red hat, red vest, red shoes… It seemed too obvious to be true, but…? As she approached him, both he and his Pokémon turned to eye her warily.

"Hey, you know you shouldn't give your Pokémon people food, right?" she asked.

He blinked, looking a little surprised. His Pokémon—judging from its tail, it must be a Charmander, she thought—reached up and tore another chunk from his sandwich, which he made no effort to stop.

"Yeah, I share with mine all the time too," Leaf said, and smiled. "I know I shouldn't, but they always look so happy when you do, right?"

The boy offered no response.

"My name's Leaf. This is Juni," she said, reaching down to pat her friend's head. "It's short for Juniperus lutchuensis ."

Still, he didn't say anything. At least he seemed impressed by Juni's name… maybe. He had an honest sort of face, but his eyes were almost scarily intense. They made her think of two spears shooting out of his head to stab anything he looked at, which made him hard to read, to say the least. So far, everything about him was an exact match to the person she knew from daycare—well, except for the obvious—but she just had to be sure…

"You're from Pallet Town, right? You look familiar. What's your name?"

He hesitated, then produced a small white card from one of his vest pockets and presented it to her. She bent down slightly to read its neatly handwritten words.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Red. Please be patient with me; I don't talk. I prefer to use sign language instead."

"Red!" she exclaimed. "So it is you!"

He stared at her blankly.

"You don't recognize me? That's okay. Uh… Here." She lifted her hands from her sides. "I look pretty different now, right?" she signed. "We went to the same daycare when we were younger. My name used to be…" and she told him.

At that, his face brightened with recognition, and he nodded. "I remember!" he signed, and snapped his fingers twice as he evidently tried to recall something else. "We used to play roof drop."

Roof drop was a game they had made up. In roof drop, you snuck up to the roof and dropped things off to see if they would break. Usually they did. "That's right!" she signed.

He nodded again, more thoughtfully this time, with one hand on his chin. "It's nice to meet the real you," he signed.

"You too," she signed, which wasn't just to be polite. For the years she had known him, "Red doesn't talk" was just a fact of life. Water is wet; fire is hot; Red doesn't talk. His handwriting was awful, too, certainly not good enough to carry a conversation on paper. His mom had probably written that little card he showed off. After years of basically guessing at what he was trying to say with his vague body language, it felt almost surreal for him to be producing hand signs. Just then, she felt a slight pang of regret that they hadn't really seen each other much after she stopped going to daycare. It's not like they had been the bestest of friends, but it would have been nice to have another trans kid to talk to during that time.

"How long have you known sign language?" she asked him.

"I've been learning for almost a year."

She raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Only a year! You're pretty good at it."

He just shrugged and petted his Charmander's head. "This is King," he told her. "He's my partner Pokémon."

"That's a good name for a Charmander. So you two are doing the League Challenge?" She indicated the badge pinned to his backpack strap.

He nodded. "Aren't you?"

"Not really. It seems like a waste of time."

Red's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why?"

"I don't need a badge to prove that me and my team are getting stronger. If I want to be a Pokémon Ranger, I should be able to measure my bonds with my partners by myself. For example…" She looked down at Juni, who looked to be on the verge of dozing off. "I can tell just by looking that Juni is probably close to evolving! See how energetic she is?"

As she went on, Red's expression grew increasingly lost. Haltingly, he signed, "You want to be a Ranger?"

She frowned a little. If he was still learning, then maybe she couldn't talk to him exactly like she talked to her deaf friends. To answer his question, she signed a little more slowly, "Yeah. Or maybe a botanist. I'm not sure yet."

"That's cool," Red signed, more confidently. He thought for a moment. "I want to have lots of battles. Maybe I'll even be the Champion."

"How could you be the Champion? You're just a kid."

"So are you," he observed.

Leaf shrugged.

"How about a battle?" Red offered suddenly. "You could battle with me instead of a Gym Leader."

"Do you think having that badge is the same as being a Gym Leader?"

A little bit of color appeared in Red's cheeks. "Not exactly…"

His reaction to her teasing made her chuckle. "I'm just kidding. Sure, let's go!"

Red practically leapt up from where he was sitting. He took a moment to flap his hands eagerly before signing, "Right outside. There's an arena." Bouncing on his toes, he gestured for her to follow him.

The arena proved to be little more than a dusty rectangle with some fading lines marking the opposing sides. Compared to the rough, natural terrain that served as the arena for most of Leaf's previous battles, this was classy. She and Red positioned themselves across from each other, Poké Balls at the ready…

Some people could have all the technical know-how in the world and still be bad at putting it into practice, but not Red. Although it was clear that he was still a rookie like her, he commanded his Pokémon with the quiet fierceness she expected from a person who’d been interested in Pokémon battles for as long as she could remember. His team, clearly trained with battling in mind, seemed to overpower hers with ease. And she couldn't help but notice—not without a twinge of jealousy—he knew way more signs for moves than she did. It made sense—she was comfortable using spoken commands, so she didn't need to learn those signs, but now she’d have to if she wanted to keep up with him.

When it was over, he trotted over the new scuffs and scorch marks from their battle to stand across from her, a smile on his face. He paid no attention to the small crowd they had attracted. "That was fun!" he signed. "I like your style."

He’d just stomped her whole team. She couldn't decide if his humbleness irked her or not. "Thanks," she signed. "I like yours too."

As Leaf was handing him his prize money, an orange-haired girl wearing swim trunks emerged from the ring of people around the arena. "That was some battle, you two," she said. Her deep voice had an older-sisterly quality to it. "I was getting pumped just watching!"

"Thank you," Leaf said politely.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Leaf. And this is Red."

"Leaf…" The girl nodded, as if her name felt good to say. "I'm Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader. The way you battled was elegant, but strong, just like water… It's clear you're a talented trainer. Why don't you come train at my gym?"

"Oh, wow! Me?" Misty noticed her? Even though she lost? "Are you sure?"

"Leaf, being able to take a loss gracefully is just one of the signs of a great trainer. If you're looking to get stronger, there's a few things I could teach you. Not that there's anything wrong with training on your own." She turned her attention towards Red, and looked him up and down as if sizing up an opponent. "As for you… If you're taking the League Challenge, you can find me in my gym."

Red just shifted his weight from foot to foot, his eyes set firmly on the ground just in front of his sneakers. Leaf gave him a light nudge with her elbow, prompting him to nod vigorously, although he did not look up to make eye contact with Misty.

"I dunno," Leaf said to her. "I'll have to think about it."

"Right, of course," Misty said. "You're on a journey. You don't want to stay in one place for too long, right? Well, even if you just come by every now and then, I'd be happy to train with you." She put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Take some time to think, kiddo. The Gym'll still be here."

"Okay. Thank you, Misty."

Misty bid them farewell and walked away in the direction of the Cerulean Gym. As soon as she turned her back, Leaf turned to Red, unable to repress her electric sense of giddiness any longer.

"Was that cool or what?!" she signed, her hands moving with particular snappiness. "Can you believe a real Gym Leader just came up and talked to us?"

"It was cool," Red agreed.

"What's that look for?" Leaf asked him. "You wouldn't even look at her."

"The way she talked to me was embarrassing. Did I do something wrong?"

He had a way of getting straight to the point that kept catching her off guard. "I don't think so," she signed. Then, feeling a prick of bitterness, "Maybe she thinks she doesn't have anything to teach you."

Red shrugged impassively.

At that moment, movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. From the thinning circle of people around them, another boy had broken away and was striding this way. With his hands shoved in his pockets and a slight lean-back, he shone with self-confidence… or maybe it was more like arrogance. A mess of dark orange hair shot out from his head in every direction, bobbing cartoonishly as he walked, and a Squirtle waddled along beside him. As he approached, he coolly raised one hand in a wave.

"Look who it is! Funny seeing you here, Red," he said. "I would've bet money you were still hung up back in Pewter, getting beat by Brock for the tenth time! Hah!"

When Red saw this other boy, his mood shifted instantly. He glared at him from below the brim of his hat, any trace of bashfulness vanished.

The boy continued, either ignoring Red's glare or oblivious to it. "I guess I just barely missed Misty, huh? What a bummer! I can't believe she talked to you of all people. I mean, I stand out way more, don't you think?" He had a harsh, nasal voice, and he talked too fast. Leaf felt a headache coming on just from trying to keep up with him.

"You stand out, alright," Leaf muttered.

He shot her a look which changed rapidly from annoyance, to surprise, to a distant sort of recognition. "…Leaf?" he said dubiously.

"Red, who is this guy?" she signed.

"That's Blue," Red replied, and pursed his lips in a slight pout.

Oh. Blue. Of course.

"Leaf, it is you! That is your name, right?" He kept talking without pausing to wait for a response. "Did my Gramps give you a Pokémon too? And a PokéDex! I can't believe it! You're on a real journey, just like us!" He grinned, and splayed his hands out in front of him as if inviting them to picture something. "Look at us—the Pallet Town kids versus the Pokémon League! So, how many badges have you got?"

"I'm not doing the League Challenge."

"Oh." He stared at her as if she was a piece of a jigsaw puzzle and he was trying to figure out where she went. After apparently thinking it over, he said, "Well, you're not worth my time, then. I was gonna ask for a battle, but…"

"Yeah, you're not worth mine, either. Gosh, you haven't changed one bit, Blue. You're more annoying than ever."

"Annoying? Hmph! You don't know a future Champion when you see one, Fern, or whatever your new name was." Frowning, he crossed his arms and looked over at Red. "Hey, Red. You don't think I'm annoying, do you?"

Red grimaced slightly and lifted his shoulders, then let them drop. One might call it a shrug, maybe a shrug indicating a neutral opinion if they were feeling generous.

"I'm gonna choose to think of that as a no. Anyway, listen up. You too, Fern."

"It's Leaf."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, Misty may have noticed you first, but I'm gonna beat her before either of you. She's gonna acknowledge me as the best trainer from Pallet Town. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure she will." Leaf rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, she will. Because I am." Blue's feet inched a little further apart, and he reached for one of the Poké Balls on his hip. His Squirtle uttered a low snarl. "Actually, know what? I'll prove it right here, right now. I'll beat both of you in a double battle. Two on one. Come on!"

Leaf sighed. "Red, let's get out of here," she said. She started to walk away, but Red stayed where he was.

"I want to battle," he signed.

Betrayal. The word flashed in her mind like a neon sign. "Whatever," she breathed, and shook her head. She needed to rest her team after their battle, anyway. What were those two thinking? She walked briskly away towards the Pokémon Center without looking back.

Hours later, Leaf ran into the pair again in an unexpected way.

She had spent the rest of her day just outside of the city, hunting for wild Pokémon and doing some light training while she was at it. She was making her way back after noticing the setting sun; she didn't particularly like the idea of spending a night out in the wilderness. Coming in from the east side of town, she decided she would try taking a shortcut to the Pokémon Center through a residential street. Then, she turned a corner and there they were, standing in some person's lawn. Even from this distance and with the oncoming darkness, something was obviously wrong; both of them looked tense, and Blue was gesturing frantically up towards the row of houses. As she approached, Red noticed her coming and turned to greet her.

"What's going on?" Leaf asked him.

Blue started talking to her, but with the dimming light, she didn't have a good enough view of his mouth. "…that house … my Poké Balls … dunno what that guy wants," was all she could make out.

"I don't have my hearing aids in. What's he saying?" she asked Red.

"He saw someone breaking into that house," Red signed, pointing up the sidewalk to the house in question. The front door hung suspiciously ajar, and it was one of the only houses on the street without any lights on. "He tried to stop him, but he got shoved away. The robber told him to hand over all his Pokémon, and he tricked him by giving him empty Poké Balls from his bag instead."

"Oh my gosh," Leaf said. "Is he okay?"

Red nodded.

"Oh, gosh,” she said again. “That's so scary. I can't believe they almost got stolen!"

Blue interjected with something that Leaf correctly assumed wasn't important, but Red translated for her anyway: "He said you'd have to be stupid to give up your Pokémon to a gangster." Red paused. "Maybe he's right, but that person could have stolen other Pokémon from that house by now."

"What should we do? Should we call someone?"

"There's no time. I'm going in to stop him before he gets away."

Her eyes widened; he looked totally serious. "Uh… Don't you think that's dangerous?"

She felt a touch of the hot glare that had been directed at Blue earlier in the day. "Does it matter?"

Leaf swallowed, knowing she was about to do something very foolish. She turned to Blue.

"We're going in after him," she told him. "Go find help. There’s gotta be someone nearby."

He fearfully glanced towards the house behind her, then gulped and nodded. With barely any dignity whatsoever, he turned and ran to get someone.

Red and Leaf stepped into a foyer which was entirely undisturbed. Just when Leaf began to doubt that Blue actually saw anything at all, they entered the living room. The couch was overturned; books and VHS boxes littered the floor; picture frames hung crookedly; something that looked like shattered glass twinkled on the carpet. And at the center of it all, currently rummaging through a box on his hands and knees: a man dressed in all black. His back was turned to them, and he had not yet noticed their arrival. Leaf looked to her left just as Red was reaching for the light switch. She gasped and reached out a hand to stop him, but it was too late.

The man froze in the yellowish light that suddenly illuminated him. He turned around with mingled fear and surprise on his face, which instantly cramped into contempt when he saw them.

"Just some more stupid kids," he growled. He stood up, clenching a VHS in one hand. Now Leaf could see the giant red "R" emblazoned on his chest. "Don’t be stupid, you two. Get the hell outta here."

Neither of them moved—Leaf more paralyzed with fear than anything. Her mouth felt incredibly dry.

The man carelessly threw the VHS over his shoulder, which made her flinch. "Look, I'm trying to be nice here. At this point I just wanna do my fuckin’ job and leave. If you just run away now, maybe I won't even have to steal your Pokémon."

She chanced a look over at Red and was horrified, yet unsurprised, that he had unhooked a Poké Ball from his belt and was staring down the intruder. Every nerve in her body was telling her to turn and run, but as long as Red continued to stand his ground, she knew she couldn't do that. Stiffly, she reached into her bag and retrieved Juni's Poké Ball. Her team was still tired from training; she never got a chance to visit a Poké Center.

The man groaned. "So you're gonna be difficult, too. I'd rather not battle you brats, but if that's what it takes…"

He threw two Poké Balls at once with a technique Leaf had only ever seen gangsters on TV use. Out came two frightening-looking Pokemon, an Ekans and a Grimer—something in their eyes suggested that they were barely better than wild, denied a typical trainer's care and affection. The man gave them only one command: "Crush them!"

Despite the circumstances, battling alongside Red gave her an undeniable rush. This was different than when she battled against him; following his lead was how she imagined a bird would feel stretching out its wings to ride a tailwind. Whenever she looked over at him, something about his stance suggested that, somehow, he felt the same way.

Wordlessly, they agreed that the Grimer was the more dangerous target. Red directed King to attack, but keep his distance; Leaf told Juni to do the same. "Work together!" she encouraged them.

Juni maneuvered her vines around King's fireball to deliver a dual attack, but the Grimer was able to retaliate and attacked Juni's vines with its sludge. While she was still reeling from that, the Ekans suddenly swooped in and bodied King with its full weight, sending both of them careening into the TV stand. The TV wobbled and fell over on top of both of them with a crash that rattled the walls.

The Grimer was slow to move, which gave Juni an opening to act before it could deliver another attack. "Juni, help him!" Leaf told her, but she was already on the move. Juni dragged King out from under the TV with her corroded vines, leaving the dazed Ekans trapped. King still had some fight left in him, but seemed unsteady on his feet; Juni jumped in front of him to body an attack from the Grimer that could have finished him off. Red recalled him and sent out his Pikachu to take his place.

Red made eye contact with Leaf. He signed, "Grab it," and she understood.

"Juni!" she said. "Use your Vine Whip! Don't let it move!"

Extending her vines as far as they would reach, Juni wrapped them around her foe's gooey body and squeezed hard. Red's Pikachu had to act quickly before it could ooze between the vines and escape. She unleashed a powerful shock wave of electricity that rattled the walls and surged into the pinned Grimer. Juni grimaced as the attack flowed through her vines, but she didn't seem to get hurt too bad. The Grimer's body started to melt into a formless pile of slime; it seemed like it had fainted.

"Shit!" the man shouted. It was the first time he had spoken since sending his Pokemon out. "These Pokémon are useless! I'll just have to use these ones I stole… Uff!" He grunted loudly as a Mankey suddenly appeared in the doorway to his left and tackled him to the ground. The Mankey's trainer followed shortly after, hands in his pockets.

"Blue!" Leaf gasped. "I thought you went to get help!"

"I did," he said defensively. "They're coming now. Can't I get a ‘thank you,’ Leaf? Actually, something like, 'You're so cool, Blue, I'm so glad an awesome trainer like you came to rescue us,' would be even better. But no pressure, I guess."

He's unbelievable, Leaf thought.

He glanced down at the pile of man and Mankey rolling around on the floor. Mankey was trying to pin him down, but the size difference seemed to be making it difficult for her.

"Hey, could you get your Bulbasaur to hold that goober down?" Blue said.

"Yeah, I guess. Juni!" Leaf urged.

"Gwark!" she agreed. Her vines unfurled again and wrapped around the man's arms, pinning them to his sides. Mankey scrabbled away to stand by Blue.

"You fucking kids!" the man shouted indignantly. He tried futilely to wriggle free; even a low-level Pokémon like Juni was stronger than the average person. "Shit. Shit!"

"You need to watch your language," Leaf told him.

"I'll use whatever fucking language I want," he growled.

With the threat safely neutralized, Red was bold enough to approach him first. Leaf, and then Blue, cautiously followed suit. The would-be burglar had a bag over one shoulder, which Red was able to grab despite his thrashing and cursing. He unzipped it and dumped the contents out on the floor: various tools and other junk, as well as several Poké Balls. They must have been Pokémon that the man had already stolen from other people. Red got down on his knees and started to gather them up.

"Blue, I thought you were gonna come back with help." Leaf said.

"I did help." He crossed his arms.

"Please tell me you at least told one of the neighbors.”

"Yeah, duh. I went next door and told them what was going on. They said they were gonna call the guy who lived here, and while they were taking forever doing that, I came back. Seems like you guys were doing just fine without me, though."

"Seems like it," Leaf agreed.

Blue didn’t seem to notice her cold tone. He tapped the gangster's leg with his boot. "What a loser. You got beat by some small-town kids. And not even the best of the small-town kids."

The gangster stopped wiggling and gave all three of them an oily glare. "My boss'll be hearing about you. I might’ve lost, but I'll teach you what it means to mess with Team Rocket. Just you wait."

Blue peered down at him. "Dude, relax."

For some reason, that struck Red as funny, and he laughed. He was usually so serious that he got a surprised laugh out of Leaf too. Blue was also laughing. It seemed absurd—three kids laughing together at a grown man for failing to rob a house. Leaf was about to ask what they should do next when the front door suddenly banged open.

Later, the trio of them sat at a table together in the Cerulean Pokémon Center's cafeteria. "I'm glad the homeowner and his friend showed up right then," Leaf said, poking at her dinner. She was idly stirring the side of carrots into her noodles. Both had probably been in a freezer not too long ago. "I dunno what we would have done otherwise."

"Yeah," Blue agreed. He seemed unusually sullen now that it was all over. "I can't believe your Dig TM is what that guy was looking for all along. I bet we scared him into not robbing people for a while, though."

"Yeah, we totally thrashed his ass." The swear word felt unwieldy leaving her mouth, but it also felt pretty good, honestly.

"Yeah. Thrashed his ass." Blue smiled a little. "What gang did he say he was in?"

"I heard him call it Rocket."

"What a dumb name."

"What would you name your gang?"

"I dunno." He stared down at his plate. Something was definitely troubling him—he hadn't eaten a thing since they sat down. "Something cool. Like… Team Mega Fire Punch."

"That's the dumbest name I've ever heard."

Blue shrugged. "It's better than Rocket."

"Is it?"

Red, who was sitting to her left, tapped on her shoulder to get her attention. "I would name mine King's Gang, after my Charmander," he signed.

"What's he saying?" asked Blue.

Leaf considered not telling him out of spite, but decided to relay Red's comment.

"That's cool," Blue said, speaking around his own fingers as he chewed on his nails. "I wish I knew sign language."

I'm glad you don't, was Leaf's immediate thought, but she didn't really mean it. Instead, she just said nothing.

Blue sighed. Totally unprompted, he said, "I know you guys probably think I'm such a loser. After today."

Leaf shrugged awkwardly. "I mean, not really."

"It's just… If I was just some average dumb schmuck, my Pokémon really would have gotten stolen. And I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it." He continued biting at his nails, his face pinched with anxiety as he reflected on the events leading up to now. "Honestly, when you guys showed up, I was about to just run away. Does that suck or what?"

"I dunno. Not really. I probably would've done the same thing." If she was being totally honest, if she saw someone robbing a house, she would probably turn and run without even thinking twice. Her dad probably would’ve said that made her smart.

"I guess. That doesn't really seem like an excuse, though." He sniffled a little and tried to be subtle about wiping at his eyes with his sleeve.

"Blue, are you crying?"

"No," he said thickly. His face was turning red. He swallowed hard, then continued more steadily, "I just kinda realized that I need to try harder… For my Pokémon. You know?"

"You don't need to cry about it." Said more harshly than she intended. "I think we all did good today. We've only had our first Pokémon for, like, a week."

"That's easy for you to say, but that's not good enough for me. I have to be better. Do I even have to remind you that I'm gonna be the Champion?"

"No," she groaned.

"I dunno why I'm even sitting with you guys. Seriously, both of you are such downers. It's bad for my reputation. I'm leaving." He picked up his plate and left to eat outside, walking just a little too quickly.

What reputation? Leaf wondered. She frowned at his back as he went. "He’s weird," she said to Red.

Red stared after Blue and sipped his apple juice thoughtfully, but he didn't respond.

The rest of the night was uneventful. After they finished eating, they retired to the hostel wing that offered free beds—usually more like cots, really—to trainers every night. At Red's request, Leaf asked the receptionist if they could have a room to themselves, but they were told that there simply wasn't enough space for that. They ended up sharing lodging with three other trainers of similar age, and the two of them claimed one of the bunk beds as their territory. Blue never turned up again, which was fine by her. She had to wonder where he was sleeping, though.

Later, after both of them had their turn using the bathroom to get ready for bed, Leaf leaned over the top bunk's railing. "Goodnight, Red," she whispered. If he responded, she didn't see or hear it.

In the morning, Red and his things were already gone. He wasn't in the cafeteria or the game room, either.

She usually preferred to take her time getting ready in the morning, but for some reason, today she wanted to hurry up and leave the Poké Center behind. Only about fifteen minutes later, she stepped outside with Juni into the morning sunshine. Another day of her adventure was about to begin.