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Red wasn’t aware that ditto could turn into a human. When was that discovered? Or could it always do that and the ditto that Red had caught and trained just couldn’t be bothered?
Either way, the pokémon center is overrun with ditto, and thus, overrun with double the trainers. It’s eerie seeing two Misty’s and two Steven’s. The confusion is causing a bit of a panic. Ditto isn’t too rare of a pokémon, but it’s not well-known that if you make one laugh, it’ll change back into its original form. Either that, or beat it in a battle.
Red would inform his fellow trainers of this weakness, but the commotion is a bit too much. There were already too many people in the center to begin with; now there’s way too many and Red’s feeling a little overwhelmed.
The smart thing to do would be to avoid this situation entirely and leave it to younger trainers who are eager to play hero. It’s a good day to stay in bed. He should go do that.
As he turns on his heel to leave the center and this chaos with ditto behind, he bumps into—himself?
Red rubs his forehead and stares at the ditto imposter as it does the same. Mimicking him down to his mannerisms, huh.
Ditto-Red (should he refer to it as that?) leans forward and gets right into Red’s face, as if inspecting him for any distinctive features it may have flubbed up. Turns out Red’s assumption was right as Ditto-Red rubs at his nose, making it a bit more pointed than it had been before.
Red decides that he hates this.
“Ah! What’s this? Not one, but two living legends standing before my very eyes?!”
Startled at the loud booming voice, Red turns (as does Ditto-Red) to find Looker, an investigator who’d come to Pasio for…reasons. Probably to keep an eye on Lear because Lear needs to have an eye kept on him. He’s essentially a police officer but a bit cooler looking with that coat. It has large pockets and Red can respect a man who understands the many uses of large pockets.
It’s embarrassing to be caught with Ditto-Red, who has shown no signs of reverting back to its normal form. In fact, it seems committed to the whole bit, moving in the same ways as Red, being startled right along with him, crossing his arms with him. It’s unsettling, to say the least, and Red’s faced his fair share of unsettling things.
The day seems determined to get worse as Green comes walking up behind Looker. He stares at both Red’s in surprise, and Red wants to disintegrate suddenly. Or at least turn invisible. He has no idea why he’s embarrassed since this isn’t his fault.
Looker’s eyes dart between his and Ditto-Red’s. He has a hand placed under his chin as he stares at them both with scrutiny. He’s looking for something to tell them apart, like one of those ‘spot the difference’ games he and Green used to play all the time when they were kids.
Speaking of, Green hasn’t stopped looking at him. And he’s smiling as if this whole thing is funny. It’s not funny and Green wouldn’t be smiling if he had a double of himself walking around copying him!
… Well, actually, Green would like that. He’s so obsessed with his appearance, he’d just compliment himself all day.
Looker crosses his arms in frustration. “Ditto can’t speak our language, so you’d think it’d be easy to tell them apart, but Red’s not much of a talker either…”
Red and Ditto-Red sigh at the same time. Looker has a point. Red wants desperately to leave this whole problem behind, but if he went back up to his room now, Ditto-Red would likely follow, and he doesn’t want to spend all day with…himself.
But Green’s here! Maybe he can think of some joke that’ll make Ditto laugh. Though that heavily depends on the ditto’s sense of humor and it relies on the ditto actually understanding the joke. An annoying problem to deal with.
Going the extra mile, Looker circles the two of them like they’re being interrogated. But ditto already examined Red before and even fixed its nose so it’s right, so relying on physical differences isn’t going to work.
And Green isn’t doing much to help. He’s simply watching Looker walk about senselessly with amusement. He’s getting such a kick out of this. Red frowns and tilts the brim of his hat down, knowing without seeing that Ditto-Red has done the same.
“Argh!” Looker voices his frustration. “Which one is the real Red?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Green speaks up, arms crossed as he looks at Looker. “I think you might be losing your touch Mr. International Police Investigator!”
Red looks up curiously. Can Green genuinely tell the difference? He thins his lips, skeptical. They are rivals and best friends, and when Red feels the inclination for human companionship, Green is always the first person he seeks out, but, Ditto-Red is a perfect copy of him! There’s no way Green can tell the difference.
…Right?
Even Looker seems surprised. He takes a step back and allows Green to point out which Red is the real one.
Red tenses up, and, naturally, that means Ditto-Red does as well. Green moves closer to the both of them, but his eyes don’t leave Red’s. Green’s only looked at him since he showed up, and Red’s heart skips a beat at the implication.
“The real Red is…!” Green’s confidence heightens into cockiness as he makes a grand show of revealing the truth with a hand raised in the air, dramatic pause included. This works on Looker. He’s hanging on Green’s every word. Red has to admit he’s feeling the same, but he’s mostly nervous.
But Green lowers his hand and points right at Red’s face. “This guy!”
Red’s cheeks heat up and he’s smiling before he can help himself. He nods at Green, though he doesn’t need to as Ditto-Red assumes his normal form since the jig is up. It’s very relieving. Red was getting intimidated from his own intimidating aura.
But Looker isn’t done yet. Since he’s a police investigator, he wants answers. He turns to Green. “How did you know?”
Green snorts, waving a hand dismissively. “It was easy. The fake wasn’t giving off any of Red’s usual ‘battle me right here, right now’ vibes! That was plenty enough evidence for me.”
Okay, now Red is embarrassed for a completely different reason. He lowers his hat so that he can’t see anything but Green and Looker’s shoes. He didn’t know he gave off vibes about wanting to battle Green. Is he that obvious? Green’s just his favorite person to battle. They’re rivals! That’s expected!
Does he give off ‘wanting to hang out’ vibes, too? Red peaces out from the conversation and worries over how he’s being perceived. He thought he had such a great poker face, but apparently his vibes are strong enough to betray him…
But on the other hand, he’s a little flattered and surprised that Green was able to tell the difference so easily and quickly. If Green had been the one with a ditto copy, all he’d have to do was speak and the problem would solve itself, so… It’s kind of a big deal.
At least, to Red it is.
“Well, that’s one mystery down. I think I’ve got an idea on how to solve this mess!” Looker’s saying when Red picks up on the conversation again. Without so much as a goodbye to either of them, he takes off and leaves the center, keeping his solution to himself.
Green puts his hands on his hips. “That guy has so much energy for a middle-aged man…”
Red bites his lip. He’s afraid Green might leave to go help other trainers with their ditto problems, and he doesn’t want that. Not yet. He takes a step forward and grabs the hem of Green’s jacket sleeve, head bowed so they can’t make eye contact.
He feels Green turn towards him, but he can’t see his expression. He doesn’t want to. He’s too embarrassed, but he somehow wants to show that he appreciates Green being able to identify him correctly.
Green places his free hand on Red’s shoulder. “You okay?”
Quickly, Red nods, but also gets even more embarrassed. He always gets flustered when Green’s nice to him.
“What’s up then?”
Green’s expecting him to lift his head so he can read Red’s expression, but Red can’t do that right now, so…he tugs on Green’s sleeve.
“Huh?”
Red tugs again.
They stand there for a second, then Green takes Red’s hand in his and leads him through the center down a hallway.
Red has no idea where they’re going. He doesn’t frequent the center too often, and when he does, it’s just to heal his pokémon and get a quick snack. But Green’s in here all the time. They keep walking for a while until they reach a dimly lit spot that’s quieter and a good ways away from the bright lights and havoc of the main room of the center.
They stand against a wall, continuing to hold hands and—Red gets belatedly embarrassed about that. He’s never held Green’s hand for so long. But Green’s not letting go, and Red’s not going to be the first to let go, so!
“Hey…” Green whispers, and he places his hand under Red’s chin, tilting it up so he can see his face. “What’s wrong?”
That’s absolutely the worst thing Green could’ve done! Red’s already blushing profusely, but having his head tilted up and seeing the worried face of his best friend and rival so up close makes him have a meltdown.
Red forgets what he was going to express and turns away. It’s best if he leaves. He can’t form an expression to show his appreciation when he’s like this. He doesn’t even know why he’s—Green isn’t doing anything super embarrassing, it’s just that—! Red needs a minute. He’ll come back later or something.
Green is still holding his hand, though. “Whoa—wait!” He tugs Red closer, laughing a little as Red freezes in an awkward half-turned position. “You obviously wanted to say somethin’ and we’re alone now, so…?”
It’s because they’re alone that Red can’t say anything! He thought before that he’d be able to, but then the chin thing happened and they’re still holding hands, so this clearly isn’t going to work.
But Green pulls Red even closer. “Red, c’mon… What is it?”
Red huffs in frustration. Green isn’t going to let this go until he gets his answer, so he’s going to have to do something. What’s the easiest way he can show his appreciation or…whatever for Green knowing him so well he could tell from a glance? A handshake is too formal, and they’re already holding hands!
The answer comes to Red and he’s blushing all over again.
“What are you so embarrassed about?” Green asks, a laugh in his voice. “Dude—”
Red shuts him up with a sudden hug. His eyes are clenched shut and he focuses only on squeezing Green around the waist to show his appreciation.
Because it’s more than that now that Red’s thinking deeply about it. There aren’t too many people who can understand him at all, so having friends like Leaf and Green is nice. But he thinks even Leaf would have trouble distinguishing him from ditto. Green hadn’t had any. And it’s because of a feeling that he gets from Red, something that he always feels when they’re together.
It’s more than appreciation, but Red doesn't know the word for it. It’s the specific feeling of being understood and known. To have someone in his life that sees him for who he is. It’s a special feeling. Gratitude, maybe. Or…
Green’s clearly shocked from Red’s sudden action. It takes him a minute to return the hug, his hands carefully placed on Red’s back. He’s silent, too, which means he’s either thinking deeply or embarrassed.
Red’s too nervous to pull back and see for himself.
“Heh… All this because I was able to tell you apart?” Green says, arms moving to hold Red more tightly. He leans his head against Red’s, too, and Red feels like his heart is about to burst right out of his chest.
He can’t answer that. He doesn’t need to.
Green chuckles softly, and the sound is pleasant, right in Red’s left ear. “Aw, what are rivals for?”