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The Viridian Forest was the perfect area to train as a young and starting trainer. However, for someone who had caught and evolved his Pokémon to become the strongest that they could ever become, it was just a forest full of pests and trainers that were completely unaware of the level they would be up against.
Ash Ketchum had finally defeated the Elite Four and had gone on to the other regions and islands, catching every Pokémon he could lay his hands on. He had finished training and just when he wanted a reason to return home, Professor Oak tracked him down via Pokémon Centre video chat and asked him to return so that he could talk about some of the Pokémon Ash had seen and captured recently over his travels.
Without further ado, he turned heel and ran to the Kanto region where his journey had first begun.
It had been quite some time since he had visited his hometown, Pallet Town, and was looking forward to a good home-cooked meal.
At first, he had thought it’d be fun to back-track his progress by walking. Which meant having to take boats and other means of transportation to try to speak to old friends that he hasn’t seen in a while and also possibly catch whatever Pokémon he had missing from his Pokédex. It hadn’t been as much fun as he had hoped, though, since all the Pokémon he encountered were much weaker than his Pokémon team, and even though he got to speak with Brock and Misty in the gyms, they were too busy with an order sent out from the Elite Four to assemble.
While going through the forests, he had thought it’d be best to take a somewhat longer route to avoid the bug catcher trainers, the trainers that really were just starting out and wouldn’t be able to make even a scratch on Ash’s Pokémon. It seemed to work too, since his Pikachu and he never encountered anything except for a large grove of trees.
The eighteen year old Pokémon Trainer had taken to wearing his Pokémon League official hat, a shirt with the sleeves black and a white stripe running down the middle with the rest bright red, blue pants, and carrying his yellow bag everywhere with him. Minutes of exploring the woodlands revealed to him the exit from the forest from the off-road path, and he smiled, jumping out from the bushes and starting toward it.
On his shoulder, his electric mouse began to squeak, attempting to tell him something, but he was focused on getting through the forest and with it in view to actually pay mind to it, thinking it was best to continue.
However, Pikachu would not be ignored, quickly biting the ear of the inattentive trainer, receiving a cry of pain and the attention that it had been wanting.
“What’s wrong with you, Pikachu?” He turned his head round to face the bright yellow creature, following its outstretched arm to see where it was pointing with its small clawed hands. “What is it…?” He turned around, his eyes widening as they focused on his old friend and rival.
Gary Oak was Professor Oak’s grandson who had come to wear loose purple pants and wristband, black t-shirt, and cami-coloured belt. He and Ash had been rivals since the day that they were born. It was just the way that the world wanted them to be. They fought to be the best every day and when it came to Pokémon, Gary had an unfair advantage, having a world-famous professor of Pokémon as a relative.
“Well, well. I wondered when you’d see me, Ashy-boy.” Gary’s snide remark made Ash frown.
The nickname “Ashy-boy” had always bothered him. It was meant to be something like “Ashley,” but he added “boy” on the end to make the insult all the more clear. Though they were relatively the same age and he was only a month or so younger than him, it was just insulting and he wouldn’t stand for it.
“Shut-up, Gary.” Ash folded his arms before him, glaring daggers at him. “What are you doing here? Following me?”
He only smiled, clearly finding ammunition to fuel the fire. “Do you really think that I’d need to follow you into a forest full of wimps?”
Pikachu growled at Gary and jumped from Ash’s shoulder.
Ash frowned, staring down his opponent, narrowing his eyes and balling his fist. He looked down at his Pokémon and looked over the Eevee, sizing it up before he did something like command his Pikachu to attack.
“Are you sure that you’re prepared for the humiliation of losing to me again?” He pulled a Pokéball from his belt and twirled it on the tip of his index finger. “Unlike you, I’ve been able to train my Pokémon to be the strongest in the world. Do you really think a pesky Pikachu will be able to face what I’ve got?”
The younger smirked. “Say what you want Gary. I’m going to beat you today. You’ll lose here and now.”
“Confident. Surprising words from someone without his little friends to wish him luck.” He tossed his pokéball in the air and caught it. “I declare a one-on-one match. First Pokémon unable to fight loses.” Gary raised his head, his back straight as he threw the ball toward his rival, watching as it flew through the air and into the grass between them.
The ball opened and a blinding red light erupted from inside it and shot out, moving about in random jerks before coming to form his Eevee.
Eevee mewled happily, cocking its head to the side as its Pokéball slowly floated back to Gary, who caught it and minimized it. “My most skilled and first Pokémon, what do you think, Ashy-boy?”
His first Pokémon? Ash grit his teeth. He remembered their first battle with that Pokémon. He’d lost then too.
Ash decided to take the first attack, thrusting his finger out and pointing at Eevee. “Pikachu use thundershock!”
The electric mouse nodded, scrunching up his arms and feet inward toward its body as it was surrounded by electricity that came from its small red sacks in its cheeks. There was a flash of light as the shocks burst into twelve separate entities and shot at the opponent’s Pokémon.
Gary was almost amazed by the strength of such a simple attack. It crackled through the air, but it was much too slow for his precious beast.
Eevee’s super speed allowed it to jump back and dodge the bursts with ease, but the power of the attack was probably designed to hurt the Pokémon if it managed to connect and to also shoot aftershocks.
“That rookie attack has that much power? What have you been doing, charging it every night?” Gary was a little taken aback, but smiled as he felt the challenge of the battle surging throughout his veins. “Too bad my Pokémon is too quick for such a simple attack. Go Eevee! Use your quick attack!”
The furry creature complied even before Gary completed the sentence. It bowed its head and used its back feet for a quick start, shooting forward, aimed directly for the Pikachu. Eevee’s attack barely missed the mouse as it jumped into the air and somersaulted behind.
“Counter with quick attack, Pikachu!”
Pikachu dashed forward, hitting the Pokémon with its small head.
Eevee flew through the air and was about to take the damage of hitting a tree as well. It recovered, landing on the trunk of the tree and then jumping down onto the grass below. “vwee..,” It cried, saying a portion of its name with a twitch of its tail. The attack seemed to do very little other than a small pain in its chest. The tail twitched back and forth in thoughtful way.
Gary smiled proudly that his Pokémon was able to take such an attack at close range and still stand at the ready. “Tackle!”
Ash would’ve been a fool to expect that attack to bring the Pokémon down to its knees, but for it to recover and attack that quickly was mind boggling. Gary had really trained his Pokémon well.
His Pikachu reacted too slow and was sent flying, falling onto its back.
“Pikachu, are you okay?”
The little creature wasn’t about to quit, pushing itself to stand on its two small feet and close its hands toward its body.
“It’ll take more than an attack like that to bring Pikachu down! Show ‘em what you’ve got!” Ash pointed his finger at Eevee once more, smiling. “Thunder!”
Once more the Pokémon pulled its limbs into its body and flashed in bright yellow.
Lightning flashed around them. Illuminating the whole forest in a blaze of electricity.
==========================
Ash and Gary ran from the forest, cradling their Pokémon in their arms as they dashed passed the on-lookers that had been drawn by the intense battle.
It had been a long tiring fight that tested their strategies and strengths, neither trainer would back down, pushing themselves just as much as they were pushing their Pokémon to beat the other. Even if they had wanted to stop the fight, their Pokémon wouldn’t have allowed it.
They ran down the road toward the Pokémon Centre, bickering as they went.
“I won, Gary!” Ash shouted, hugging his beaten and bruised Pikachu in his arms, the creature sleeping peacefully in his arms. “Eevee fainted before Pikachu did.”
“I call bullshit. Eevee obviously won!” Gary shoved Ash in frustration, but it didn’t do much to shake the boy’s nerves.
The two of them ran through the centre sliding doors and dashed to the main desk.
“Nurse Joy!” Ash held out his yellow mouse for her to examine. “Can you please take care of my Pikachu?”
Gary was well in tow, but slow enough that he had to chip in his two cents and gain Nurse Joy’s attention. “Eevee too, please.” He was calmer about the situation now that he was in the Pokémon Centre. There wasn’t much need to worry now that they had a professional Pokémon nurse at their side.
“Oh, my.” She walked around the desk, examining the two Pokémon before looking up at the two of them, deciding that their injuries weren’t life-threatening. “Were you the two trainers battling in the Viridian Forest?” She seemed torn. “You are both extremely powerful trainers if even I could see it from this far away.” Nurse Joy knelt down and used her stethoscope to check the condition of the Pokémon further.
Ash looked concerned; after all, it was his best friend that lay in his arms.
Gary was rather put off, but looked down at this Pokémon when the nurse checked its vitals. He’d lost a Pokémon to the pains of death before. Even if he had been pushing his Eevee to the brink, he always knew where to stop. He couldn’t let it happen again, especially to his first.
“Still, you both should be ashamed of yourselves for pushing your Pokémon to this state!” She stood, hands on her hips, finally over the initial admiration.
“Wha-?” This wasn’t the first time he’d be told off for battling too harshly.
“I only see these two; did you even use any of your others for this battle?”
Gary found the courage to take on her words. “It was a one-on-one battle. Even if one of us had called our Pokémon back, there was no way that they’d listen to us. If you saw it from here, you know that it was more than just a typical battle. They fought for more than just us, they fought for themselves.”
Nurse Joy was taken aback and she even allowed a wry smile to break her expression. “I suppose I can understand that. It’s been a long time since the two of you fought, isn’t that right?” She gently placed her hand on Ash’s head before moving to take his Pikachu and turned to place the creature on a gurney that a Chansey brought behind them. Next she took Eevee and placed it on a separate gurney and proceeded to take them into the back. “You two play nice now. There’s been enough battling today.”
“She’s right…” Ash bowed his head and was silent for a moment. “Do you remember when we came here as kids?” Ash smiled. “I’ve certainly met a lot of Nurse Joys, but she’s my favourite.”
Gary watched him as he spoke, scoffing at his words and cocking his head as he slapped him on the back and headed toward the door. “You’re still too soft.”
“W-who’re you calling soft?” Ash growled, walking after him.
His rival chuckled, taking a left and heading to the secluded picnic bench that they used to sit on. “Ya know, it’s too bad that after all this time I still won.”
Ash stopped in his tracks, initially his eyes widened before they narrowed and his expression became indignant. “Don’t try and pull that, we both know that I won. Eevee fell first.”
“Like Hell Eevee fell first. Pikachu was on the ground before Eevee even thought about falling.”
They stood there for a good half-hour, simply pointing at one another accusingly and fighting about who was the better trainer of the two.
Though neither of them would admit it, they really respected the other. It was an amazing battle, something that they would always remember for the rest of their lives. Whether they decided on the outcome or not.
It would be a never-ending fight, one that they would only solve by running back into the Viridian Forest and asking someone who they thought was the winner. That was the problem with unofficial referees not judging a fight. But, if they did that, they would have to interrupt their meaningless bickering. Why would they do that? It was much too fun.
The two teenage Pokémon trainers sat down on the bench and sighed, taking a break from their verbal battle to catch their breath. Their pants filled the air, but soon it was just the tweeting of birds that filled the silence.
“It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Gary smiled, glancing at his best friend. “We haven’t fought in some time, especially over something so trivial.”
“Yeah…” Ash sighed, chuckling.
They both laughed, to the point that Gary was left clutching his stomach in pain and tears appeared in both their eyes.
Gary calmed himself down and wiped the tears from his eyes, standing up and offering a congratulatory hand.
Ash took it, smiling as he pulled himself up with Gary’s help. “I suppose we should go and check on our Pokémon-?”
He tripped on the front leg of the picnic bench, falling forward, colliding into Gary’s body and sending them both tumbling down.
The brunette cried out, slowly opening his eyes and seeing that the raven haired male on top of him. He blinked, surprised at their closeness and felt his head shift to the side with a pinkish hue rising in his cheeks.”A-are you okay?”
Ash pulled himself up, looking down at Gary. “Um… yeah, s-sorry.”
The younger moved to stand, but Gary’s hands reached out and gripped the back of Ash’s neck. “Gary?”
He lifted his upper back up and kissed Ash’s lips, pulling him into it and moving to wrap an arm around the other’s neck.
At first, Ash seemed wary of it, meaning to pull back, but he soon kissed back almost curiously, moving his head to the side to get at a better angle.
They pulled apart; both trainers blush a deep shade of crimson, but continued to stare into each one another’s eyes. It was almost as if they were locked in the moment, looking into their souls.
Gary’s right hand raised and touched his friend’s cheek, leaning in and kissing him softly.
Ash kissed back, simply pushing Gary back so there wasn’t as much strain on his end.
They hadn’t really thought about how these feelings had manifested or that Ash had fallen to the point that he was straddling Gary’s mid-drift. It didn’t really seem to matter as they just locked their lips together, applying pressure and becoming more passionate as they continued on. All those years of rivalry mattered little, because now they were here. Ruining it all with a simple kiss.
There was a soft giggle from behind them and they froze with their tongues touching between their mouths.
Ash moved, falling back.
Both turned their eyes onto where Nurse Joy now stood, smiling at the two of them.
“When you’re ready, your Pokémon are healed. Oh, and you might like to know that Professor Oak is waiting for the two of you in the lobby. Seems he heard about the commotion you made in the Viridian Forest as well.” She walked away, mumbling something along the lines of “I always knew that they were in love with one another. I always did. Fighting like that. I just wish they hadn’t brought their Pokémon into it all.”
Gary and Ash burst into laughter, now separated and clutching their stomachs just as before. It was hard to see through their teary eyes, but it was just hard to believe that they had just been kissing and that their first kiss was walked in on by the woman they had known almost as long as they had known each other. Not to mention that the kiss had grown out of hand and they’d been in a rather interesting position. It might have also been that Nurse Joy had been encouraging this behaviour from the beginning and that she still stuck true to her personality.
They stifled their giggles and laid there on the grass, fingers almost touching. It was like they knew each other’s feelings right off the bat. They had known each other for a good number of years. It’s what made their Pokémon battles so interesting. They could read each other like a book.
“Hey… does this… mean something?” Ash rolled his head to look into Gary’s face and see the distant expression he’d donned.
“Maybe…” He smiled. “I… would like it to. We’d have to keep this from gramps.” Gary looked over at him. “Not because I’m embarrassed… but he’s old. He might not be able to take it well.”
Ash shrugged, moving to rest on his side. “I don’t want to tell mom either.”
“In that case, the three of us should be the only ones that know, agreed?”
The teen nodded, punching Gary’s shoulder playfully. “Race you to the Centre!” He stood and then took off.
Gary grinned hurriedly rushing to stand and followed suit, catching up with him in seconds and the two of them pushing at one another light-heartedly to try and get the other to fall.
They entered the Pokémon Centre happy, but their faces fell when they saw a disgruntled Professor Oak standing before them.
Nurse Joy stood in the background with a knowing smile of her face, humming to herself as she began typing something on the computer.
“Honestly, I wish the two of you would stop all this rivalry! You’re much older than you were before; I thought you’d have grown out of this.” His lecture started the moment that they were in sight. “Putting your Pokémon through this just to satisfy your egos is not very mature.”
Gary smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, gramps. I couldn’t help myself. We were just having some fun.”
“I apologize too, Professor.” Ash shrugged his shoulders as he knelt down and picked up the mouse that had jumped from the counter and walked to his feet and cutely called to him.
Professor Oak handed his grandson the Pokéball that contained his Eevee and sighed, shaking his head and leaning against the counter tiredly. “I’m too old to keep up with you two.”
Nurse Joy came around the main desk and put a reassuring hand on Professor Oak’s shoulder. “I’ve already lectured them plenty for the fight. At least there’s no permanent damage to their Pokémon.” She seemed to stress the way she said Pokémon.
The elder frowned, nodding his head in a sleepy way. “Yes, you’re right. Thank you for looking after their Pokémon for them.”
She nodded happily and turned to face the other two. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to talk to them about, Professor? Other than the battle, that is. It’s going to get dark soon and perhaps it’s best that you head off to Pallet Town, unless you plan to spend the night here.”
Professor Oak looked somewhat flustered at the thought of it being dark soon and nodded vigorously. “No, thank you for the offer, but we had best be going. Come now, boys. I need you to…” His voice became muffled as the two boys tuned him out and mechanically followed him from the Pokemon Centre and onto the path that would lead them home.
As they walked to the town of Pallet, they held hands behind the Professor’s back, only half-listening as their mentor went on about something called a “Master Ball” and how he wanted to get his hands on it, but the other Professors were being stingy.
It didn’t matter though.
The best prize they could have asked for was given to the both of them. Something more than friendship.