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Yellow and Orange were on their way to Pallet Town to visit Red, but Yellow only managed to convince him to come with her because of the distraction she told him it would provide from his racing thoughts. His hand instinctively went to his shoulder, where Pikachu usually sat, but upon feeling nothing there, he remembered what racing thoughts Yellow wanted to distract him from. He sighed, worried about his best friend as he turned to his sister.
“...Yellow nee-chan…?” he asked, hesitant.
“What’s wrong, O-chan?” Yellow asked, worried about her brother.
“Is Pikachu really okay?” Orange asked, finding it even more difficult to make eye contact than usual.
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Yellow said knowingly. “I can feel it.” Indeed, the telepathic connection between the two Children of Viridian Forest (and Orange’s inability to close off his side of the bond) caused Yellow to be able to feel her brother’s emotions.
Orange nodded. “She told me t’go with ya while she stays with her mama…but…” he trailed off, shaking ever so slightly while rolling his hands to try and calm down.
“You’re worried she’s having a hard time without you, right?” Yellow asked, confirming his worries as Orange just nodded in response and looked down sadly. “Well, that’s understandable…” Yellow said. “It IS the anniversary of her brother’s death, after all…but she told you to come with me so it’s less hard on you, didn’t she?”
Orange nodded again. “It’s even harder on HER though!” he burst out. “It just don’t feel right not bein’ there for’er…” Yellow sighed and knelt down to his level, giving him a deep pressure hug to help him calm down.
“I know, O-chan…” she said. “But you have to respect her wishes…it’s BECAUSE it’s a hard time for her that you need to give her time to process and grieve.” she explained. “I know it’s been three years since it happened, but this kind of stuff can stick with someone for a long time, and she’s clearly not over it yet.” Yellow ruffled Orange’s hair a little, just to try and make him smile again as she continued. “Besides, she’s not alone, she has her mother…and you two are gonna spend the night in your secret base tonight to make up for the time lost today, right?” she asked.
“...Yeah…” Orange said, nodding.
“There you go, that’s something to look forward to after this!” Yellow exclaimed. “Now, let’s go to Red’s house, I’m sure he and his Pokémon will be happy to see us!” She gave Orange one of her gentle, calming smiles, and it made Orange finally smile back.
“...Yeah…let’s go!” he agreed. “Let’s go see Red nii-chan!” He reached out to Yellow’s hand as they continued walking. Soon they arrived in Pallet Town and Orange broke free from Yellow’s hand and bolted off straight to Red’s house, excited to see his big brother again.
“Whoa, slow down, O-chan!” Yellow exclaimed, breaking into a run herself to catch up to him. By the time she caught up, he was already at Red’s doorstep.
“Knock knock.” he said, pointing to the door, as Yellow knocked to let Red know they had arrived.
“Coming!” Red called from inside. Orange flapped his hands in excitement. His big brother’s voice was something that he would never not get excited hearing. Red opened the door with a big grin. “Hey Yellow! Hey Orange!” he greeted them.
“Hey Red nii-chan!” Orange exclaimed, grinning back.
“Hi Red!” Yellow said, blushing slightly, like she always did whenever Red was around.
“Glad you could come today!” Red exclaimed. “Everyone got all excited once they heard Orange was coming over again.”
“Oh, I can imagine!” Yellow giggled, knowing how well Orange always got along with Red’s Pokémon. “He loves Pokémon, and they love him!”
“Yeah!” Red agreed, before noticing that something was missing from Orange’s shoulder this time. “And speaking of Pokémon…where’s your wild Pikachu friend, Orange…?” he asked, confused since he’d never seen him without her before.
This wiped the grin right off of Orange’s face as he patted the shoulder his best friend usually sat on again. “Couldn’t come today…busy.” he said in a monotone voice.
“That’s right, O-chan.” Yellow said, nodding. “And you know she’s okay, right…?” Orange just nodded in response, not wanting to talk about this anymore. Red gave Yellow a confused look, wanting to know what was going on as she got on her tip-toes to whisper into his ear. “I’ll tell you everything once O-chan is busy playing with your Pokémon…” she whispered. “It’s a long story…”
Red nervously swallowed upon hearing that it was a long story. “...Okay…” he said, hesitant. ‘I don’t know if I like where this is going…’ he thought to himself, as Yellow turned back to Orange.
“O-chan…” she said. “Why don’t you get the berries out and go outside with the Pokémon, okay? We’ll come join you in a little bit.”
“‘Kay!” Orange exclaimed, nodding while flapping his hands in excitement. “Berries, berries, berries…” He began repeating the word berries over and over as he took them out of his backpack and went outside to see the Pokémon.
Once the seven-year-old was out of sight, Yellow and Red began making tea for themselves as Yellow mentally prepared herself to tell Red about what happened. “This isn’t gonna be easy to tell…” she sighed, as Red gave her a worried look.
“What is it, Yellow…?” he asked, worried, but curious at the same time.
Yellow just sighed again as she answered his question…with another question. “Well…you know how O-chan is terrified of Ghost-types, right…?” she asked.
“Yeah…” Red said, wondering what this had to do with anything.
“...And you remember how Team Rocket attacked Viridian Forest three years ago, right…?” Yellow asked.
“...Yeah…” Red said, starting to feel uneasy.
“...And you know how O-chan spends almost all his time in Viridian Forest…right…?” Yellow asked.
“...Yeah…” Red said, his eyes suddenly widening in horror as he began putting the pieces together. “Oh…Oh no…don’t tell me…he was THERE?!” he asked, hoping his assumption was wrong, but by the way Yellow just hung her head in sadness, his stomach churned with worry as he began panicking at her solemn silence. “Answer me, Yellow!” he burst out, eyes widened. “Was! He! THERE?!”
Yellow looked into his wild, panicked eyes, and confirmed his fear. “...Yeah…” she said, ever so quiet. “Yeah…he was…he even tried to drive Team Rocket out by syncing with the wild Pokémon in the forest and directing them in battle using telepathy while using the destruction to keep himself hidden…” she explained. “He did a great job battling though, by the time I got there he had already taken out a few grunts on his own, and I could feel his power gathering the forest’s energy to power up his friends’ attacks. He was just as angry and upset about it as I was…maybe even moreso…” she trailed off, thinking about how much of a safe haven Viridian Forest was for the seven-year-old. “I told him through telepathy that I was proud of him and that I would take it from there…and, well, you know what happened next…”
Red gasped in horror and covered his mouth, suddenly feeling quite nauseous. “No…no…no…” he repeated in disbelief. “No…Arceus, that’s WAY too much for a four-year-old to be involved in!”
“Tell me something I DON’T know…” Yellow agreed. “He’s been scarred deeply by it and it shows…so has Pikachu…she lost her brother that day after all…that’s why she couldn’t come today.” she explained. “She’s taking time to grieve with her mother since it’s the third anniversary of the attack…of her brother’s unfair death…” Yellow put a hand over her heart in sadness for both Orange and Pikachu. “...It really isn’t fair…” she sighed.
“...Ugh…” Red groaned. “I feel like I’m gonna be sick…I hate Team Rocket, I hate Team Rocket, I hate Team Rocket…” He began repeating those words as he continued spiraling downward into a panic. “IhateTeamRocket IhateTeamRocket IhateTeamRocketIhateTeamRocket…” He kept saying it faster and faster without stopping to breathe as the panic really set in. Yellow immediately noticed and knew she had to do something.
“Red?” Yellow asked, concerned as Red continued to spiral. “Red, calm down, you need to calm down!” Yellow shouted in alarm. “Come on, breathe! Red, breathe! Look at me.” Yellow stood in front of Red and gestured to herself to get him to look at her. “Breathe with me, come on.” she instructed. “In for five…hold for five…out…” Red followed her instructions, and she visibly relaxed a bit. “There you go…” she sighed in relief. “Team Rocket isn’t here, everyone’s safe, now keep breathing with me. In for five…hold for 5…out…” Yellow continued leading Red through the breathing strategy until he finally calmed down again. “...Are you okay now…?” she asked, still clearly worried, before hearing the tea kettle. “Here, the tea’s ready, let’s go sit down for a bit.” She poured the hot water into two mugs and handed one to Red as they went to sit down on the couch.
“I…I think so…” Red said, visibly calmer as he took the mug into his hands. “I-I still can’t believe Orange had to go through that though…the amount of destruction and innocent Pokémon that lost their lives that day was just…” he trailed off, shuddering a bit at the thought.
“I know…” Yellow said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It took me a long time to process that whole attack myself…and O-chan saw all of it happen right in front of him…and worst of all, he blames himself for not being able to save all the Pokémon…” Yellow began to tear up as her thoughts ran wild again. “...If only I had gotten there sooner…I could’ve gotten him out of there before it happened…” she sniffled. “I could’ve saved him, I could’ve spared his innocent soul from seeing all that destruction and carnage…”
“Yellow…” Red said. “Don’t start blaming yourself now…you know as well as I do that he doesn’t blame you at all…” Red needed to make sure that Yellow didn’t forget the facts of the situation. “He doesn’t have it in his heart to blame anyone but himself and Team Rocket…we both know that about him a little too well…and you know everything about him!” Red pointed a finger directly at Yellow as he said this. “You have a TELEPATHIC CONNECTION with him, for Arceus’ sake!”
“I know…” Yellow sniffled. “And he shouldn’t blame himself either…he couldn’t have predicted that, even with his powers…” She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, they overflowed and ran down her face as she began sobbing. Red quickly put his mug down on the coffee table and brought Yellow into a comforting embrace.
“...It’s okay, Yellow…just let it all out…” Red whispered in a soothing tone, as Yellow continued to cry in his arms, making it hard for Red to keep his own emotions in check. “...Orange can probably feel your emotions and you wanna be happy when we go outside to see him, right?” he asked.
“Y-Yeah…you’re right, Red…he can…” Yellow said. “I-I don’t wanna cause him distress…” Red continued to hold Yellow to comfort her until her cries died down.
“Feeling a little better?” Red asked as he let go of Yellow, picking up his mug again and taking a drink of his tea.
“Yeah…thanks, Red.” Yellow said, giving him a grateful smile, causing him to blush slightly.
“N-No problem, Yellow.” he said, handing her her mug again. “I’m glad you’re okay now.”
Yellow nodded while wiping the last of her tears away, and gave a much happier grin this time. Red’s blush deepened a bit, but he shook his head to clear his mind as he asked another question.
“S-So is all of that what caused Orange to be so scared of Ghost-types…?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“...Actually…” Yellow corrected him, “It’s not just Ghost-types…but anything to do with death in general…” Red’s eyes widened as Yellow continued. “O-chan’s TERRIFIED of places like Lavender Town because it has a resting place for deceased Pokémon…good thing for him that those Pokémon in Viridian Forest were all wild so they don’t need to be buried there…and I hope he NEVER has to go there! I even TOLD him to skip that town when he becomes a Trainer since there’s not much there aside from that anyway. I know he’d freak out even just being IN that town.”
“Yeah…that place IS pretty creepy…” Red agreed, nodding. “I don’t blame you for telling him to skip it.”
“And he gladly said he would, too…” Yellow said. “He said, and I quote, ‘If there’s nothing there besides…THAT…then I don’t WANNA go there!’ This was after he had a complete and total PANIC ATTACK just HEARING about Lavender Town from a random passerby on the street…THAT WASN’T EVEN TALKING TO HIM!” Yellow sighed and dragged a hand down her face in frustration and worry. “He shouldn’t have had to go through all that…do you know how many times I’ve had to help him calm down from panic attacks and other freak-outs?!”
“No…” Red said hesitantly. “But I’m guessing A LOT…”
“A lot is right…” Yellow sighed. “And he has this strange power that takes effect when he’s in that specific state of overdrive…I don’t know what it is, but it’s dangerous. His body glows even more intensely than usual and he emits these pulsing shockwave sort of things that damage anything they touch…and it’s all involuntary, he can’t control it when it happens, and he hates when he gets into that specific overdrive state that makes these shockwaves happen…” she explained.
“...That’s weird…” Red said. “I wonder what that’s all about…” He was genuinely confused and curious about it, but Yellow shut down his train of thought right then and there with her next words.
“I have no idea, and neither does O-chan…” she said, looking genuinely puzzled. “We can’t tell you anything because we don’t KNOW anything. I’ve spent lots of time with him teaching him about his Viridian-granted abilities and how to control them, but this is something different altogether.”
“Hmmm…” Red pondered on it for a minute before Yellow spoke again, interrupting his train of thought once more.
“A-Anyway…” she hesitantly said. “Long story short, O-chan is scarred from that attack and so is Pikachu…”
“No kidding…” Red agreed. “That’s a lot for a four-year-old and a young Pokémon to go through…they shouldn’t’ve been caught up in all of that…Arceus, that’s WAY too much…” Red sighed and shook his head. “Hey Yellow…you think he has that thing I have…?” he asked. “You’re studying to become a mental health professional…”
It took Yellow a moment to understand what Red was trying to say in all his socially awkward glory, but she did catch on quite fast. “You mean PTSD…?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s it!” Red said, nodding.
“Unfortunately…he most definitely does…” Yellow sighed sadly. “Pikachu does too…they both meet the criteria for it.”
“And Pikachu’s grieving today…” Red said, deeply concerned. “I can’t believe she lost her brother that day…that’s not fair!” He clenched his fists trying to keep himself from getting too upset.
“I know it’s not…” Yellow agreed. “But O-chan has already planned to spend the night with her tonight in their secret base, so they won’t be alone during the night, which is the hardest time for both of them on the anniversary of the attack…”
“Well, that’s good at least.” Red said, before his eyes widened in shock at something Yellow had said. “Wait…they have a secret base?!” he asked. “That’s cool!”
Yellow nodded. “They do!” she exclaimed. “You really should spend a day with them in the forest sometime, maybe O-chan’ll show it to you!” She gave Red a smile and a wink as a hint to definitely do that.
“Wait…when did he show YOU?!” Red asked. “That’s not fair!”
“He showed it to me one day when we were caring for the saplings he planted while we were off fighting Team Rocket and then were…turned to stone…” Yellow trailed off, shuddering at the memory. Red however, completely froze up as his mind became trapped in that time once again.
Red’s mug fell to the floor, shattering into pieces as Red just sat there with glazed over eyes and a vacant expression. He was having flashbacks again. Yellow quickly realized that Red wasn’t looking AT her, but instead it seemed as if he was staring THROUGH her! Yellow began to worry, realizing what was happening.
‘He’s dissociating!’ she thought to herself in alarm. ‘Not good! Gotta calm him down!’ She took a deep breath to calm herself down before trying to get his attention. “Red!” she called. “Red! Listen to me! Can you hear me?”
Red however, couldn’t hear a single thing she had said, as he quietly muttered to himself. “No…no…don’t wanna be stone again…don’t wanna be useless again…”
‘He’s having a flashback so bad he thinks he’s back in that time!’ Yellow thought to herself, worried. “Red!” she called again. “Red, it’s Yellow, listen to me! You’re not useless, and you’re free from petrification! It’s been three years since that happened!”
Red still couldn’t hear anything Yellow was saying, as his mind continued to spiral out of control. “...Deoxys…why…?” he muttered to himself again. “My whole team is…is…” Red could barely get those words out, he was tearing up now thinking about the beatdown Deoxys had given his team. He felt like he was drowning and it was hard to breathe as his emotions ran wild. “I-I’m sorry everyone…you all got hurt because of me…” he choked on a sob as his mind continued down traumatic memory lane. “Please…please…forgive me…” Red was full-on crying now, he wasn’t even aware of anything that was going on around him, all he could see in front of him were his Pokémon, all battered and bruised and brutally wounded from the battle against Deoxys. He grabbed a pillow from the couch, thinking it was Pika, his Pikachu, and buried his face into it as he cried. “Forgive me!” he shouted, begging his team for forgiveness all over again even though they weren’t actually there with him at the moment. Yellow was extremely concerned and worried for her friend as she continued trying to get him to come back to reality.
‘Oh, Red…’ she thought to herself. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that your first fight with Deoxys was also still bothering you…?’ “Red, you’re safe!” she exclaimed. “You’re safe, your Pokémon are safe, they’re outside playing with O-chan right now, remember? Everyone is safe!” Yellow desperately tried to jog his memory and get him to come back to reality again, but to no avail.
“I…I…” Red muttered quietly to himself once more before squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to escape everything as he continued to cry and apologize to his Pokémon.
“Red!” Yellow shouted. “Everyone is safe!”
This continued for a few minutes as Yellow desperately tried to get Red to come out of his flashback-induced dissociation. Eventually though, Red finally came back to reality.
“Huh…?” he asked, looking around the room, confused. “I’m at…home…??? I could’ve sworn I was fighting Deoxys…” He scratched his head in confusion as he tried to piece everything together again, but couldn’t.
Yellow sighed in relief that Red was back, but immediately started tearing up again as she hugged him, not wanting to let go. “You…You SCARED me…” she said. “You had an episode again…a BAD one…I didn’t know if I’d be able to bring you back this time!” she exclaimed in both relief and worry. “That’s…that’s how O-chan usually is when he has his episodes, but he’s so much younger and doesn’t know how to handle and process things yet. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. “I’ve never seen YOU have one like this, Red…I’m really sorry if our talk today triggered you too much.” She hung her head, ashamed of herself for triggering Red so much.
“It’s okay, Yellow.” Red said, truly sincere about it. “I know you didn’t mean to…and I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“Red…” Yellow said, wiping her tears. “How many times do I have to tell you, you don’t have to apologize for things you can’t help. It’s not your fault at all. I’m just…I’m just glad you’re okay now.”
“Thanks to you, Yellow!” Red exclaimed with a grateful grin. “You’ll make a great mental health professional, I just know it!” Yellow couldn’t help but blush at how supportive Red was, how much he believed in her.
“I-It was nothing, really…” she said. “But you’re welcome.” She felt her face burn again and quickly finished the rest of her now cold tea in embarrassment as Red noticed his shattered mug on the floor.
“Aw man, there goes another mug!” he groaned. “Well, time to clean that up!” He clapped his hands together as he got up to go get the broom and dustpan. Yellow started to get up and go help, but Red put his hand out in a ‘stop’ gesture. “Stay there, Yellow! Don’t want you getting hurt!”
Yellow giggled at Red’s antics but still followed his order to stay put nonetheless. Red made quick work of the broken mug and after he safely disposed of it, he and Yellow decided to just sit in silence for a few minutes in order to relax after that heavy conversation. After a few minutes passed and they were both visibly calmer, Yellow spoke up again.
“Hey Red…wanna go outside and join O-chan and the Pokémon?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure!” Red exclaimed, getting up immediately. “Let’s go!”
Yellow smiled and took Red’s hand, leading him outside to join their brother. Orange noticed them coming and waved to them.
“Yellow nee-chan! Red nii-chan!” Orange exclaimed. “Finally ready t’play?”
“Yeah!” Yellow exclaimed, smiling at the seven-year-old. “Sorry we took so long, O-chan!”
“It’s okay!” Orange reassured her, grinning. “You’re here now!” He gave Yellow a comforting hug, not wanting to admit the fact that he sensed she was crying earlier, along with all her emotions. He also did not want to admit that he heard the Lavender Town discussion and did not appreciate it.
“Yeah, and I’ve got an idea for a game!” Red announced.
“Ooh! What game?” Orange asked, excited to hear his big brother’s game idea.
“Glad you asked!” Red said with a grin. “It’s a Pokémon air race! Aero can take you, Gyara can take me, and we’ll race around the skies of Pallet Town! First one back to my house after ten laps wins!” Red explained the rules of the game before pointing to Yellow. “And Yellow, you can be the referee!”
“Wow, great idea, Red nii-chan!” Orange exclaimed, starry-eyed with excitement and enthusiasm at his brother’s creative idea. “Let’s do it!”
“Okay, then!” Red chuckled at Orange’s enthusiasm, before turning to his Pokémon. “Aero! Gyara!” he called. The two Pokémon came over to Red upon hearing their names being called. They looked at their Trainer with curiosity. “All right, you two! Me and Orange need you guys for a new game!” Red explained.
“Yeah! An air race!” Orange exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.
“Yep!” Red said, nodding. “All right, Aero, you take Orange, and Gyara, you take me! We’ll fly ten laps around the skies of Pallet, and then come back here! First one back wins!” Red explained.
Aero and Gyara looked at each other, then towards Red and Orange, and roared in agreement. Aero took Orange in his talons while Red climbed up onto Gyara’s back. The two Pokémon got into starting position as Yellow cleared her throat to announce the start of the race.
“All right, guys!” she exclaimed. “Ready…set…GO!” she shouted as the race began. The two Pokémon took off flying as their passengers cheered in excitement. Yellow looked on fondly as they disappeared from sight. “I’m glad they can have so much fun with each other…” she said to herself. “They both need to have fun after all they’ve been through…we ALL need to have fun after all we’ve been through…Arceus, we’ve all been through A LOT…” Yellow waited for Red and Orange to come back so she could announce the winner. Soon enough, she saw Aero and Orange come into view, with Gyara and Red a few seconds behind. She watched intently as the two Pokémon flew as fast as they could towards Red’s house, ready to announce the winner.
“And the winner is…” she said with suspense as they approached. Aero and Orange touched down first, followed by Gyara and Red a few seconds later. “Aero and O-chan!”
“OH-HO YEAH!!!” Orange cheered as Aero set him gently on the ground. “YES!!! We won, we won!” He started jumping up and down in excitement as his eyes turned the color of his namesake and he began talking to Aero in his language. “Aero! We won!” he exclaimed as the Aerodactyl gave a proud smile. “You’re one fast flyer!”
“Thanks, Orange!” Aero said. “Flying IS my specialty, after all!”
“Ya weren’t kiddin’, that was awesome!” Orange cheered, as Red got off of Gyara and walked over to Orange.
“Good race, little bro!” Red exclaimed with a grin as he held out his fist.
“Yeah, good race!” Orange agreed, grinning back and giving Red a fist bump.
“That was great, you two!” Yellow exclaimed, clapping her hands as she ran over to them.
“Thanks, Yellow!” Red said with a smile.
“Yeah, thanks, Yellow nee-chan!” Orange agreed, but instead of a smile, he gave her a pleading look since he sensed her feelings of wanting to fly with them. Red noticed the way Orange was looking at Yellow and got another idea.
“Hey, Yellow…” Red said. “Do you have your Pokémon with you?”
“Yeah, they’re right here…” Yellow said, pulling out her Poké Balls. “Why though…?” She was confused.
“Why don’t you get Kitty out and we can all go flying together?” Red asked, pointing at the Butterfree’s Poké Ball specifically.
Orange gasped, happy that Red caught onto his hints. “Yeah, c’mon Yellow nee-chan!” he encouraged, flapping his hands in excitement. “Let’s fly together!”
“Okay!” Yellow agreed, grinning. “Let’s do it!” She threw Kitty’s Poké Ball in the air. “Kitty! Come on out!” The Butterfree emerged from the Poké Ball in a flash of light and looked down at his Trainer.
“Free free?” (What’s up?) Kitty asked.
“Kitty, let’s go for a flight with Red and O-chan!” Yellow said.
“Free…free freeeeee!” (Okay…let’s go!) Kitty agreed, grabbing Yellow with his hands. “Freeeeee!!!” (Ready!!!)
“Kitty’s ready!” Orange translated, before turning to Aero. “Aero, ya ready too?” Aero gave an affirmative shriek in response. “Aero’s ready too!” Orange translated, turning to Gyara. “How ‘bout Gyara?” The Gyarados in question gave a roar of excitement and a nod. “Gyara’s ready too!” Orange translated, before realizing something. “Wait a minute…we’re all goin’ flyin’ this time…so who’s gonna count down…?”
Red and Yellow looked at each other, then pointed to Orange and said, “You should do it this time, Orange/O-chan!” in perfect unison.
Orange was surprised. “M-Me…?!” he asked, pointing to himself just to make sure.
Red and Yellow just laughed. “Yeah, you!” Red exclaimed. “Who else here is named Orange?”
“No one…just me!” Orange said.
“Well, there you go then, O-chan!” Yellow said. “Ready to do the honors?”
“Yeah!” Orange exclaimed, grinning. He took a deep breath to get ready for the countdown. “‘Kay everybody! In 3…2…1…”
“TAKE OFF!!!” they all shouted in unison.
As Aero, Gyara, and Kitty took off flying, each member of the little found family were as happy as could be. They felt their tragedies and traumas, at least for the time being, lifting off their shoulders, in the very same way they themselves were lifted off the ground, flying freely together through the vast, open sky.
Bonus:
Orange and Yellow were on their way back home to Viridian City after their day with Red in Pallet Town. Orange was still feeling a bit off because of the conversation Yellow had had with Red while he was off in the backyard playing with Red’s Pokémon.
“Yellow nee-chan…why…?” Orange asked, feeling betrayed and giving his sister a suspicious look.
“O-chan, what’s wrong…?” Yellow asked, concerned.
Orange pointed an accusing finger at her. “Told Red nii-chan everythin’!” he burst out. “Even ‘bout…” he gulped before he could continue. “Lavender Town…” It took no time at all for Yellow to figure out what Orange was so upset about.
“Oh no…you heard everything didn’t you…?” she asked, worried about her brother’s mental state.
Orange covered his ears and shook his head rapidly to explain his point easier. “Thoughts were goin’ NUTS!” he said, irritated. “Hard t’play with th’Pokémon…had t’try REAL hard t’block ‘em out!”
“O-chan, I’m so sorry…” Yellow said sadly. “But he had to know…”
“Why’d he hafta know…?” Orange asked, frustrated and confused.
“Because he’s your brother and he CARES about you, O-chan!” Yellow exclaimed, wanting to make sure he knew that fact. “We both love you and care for you more than you can imagine! We want you to be HAPPY! We want you to have FUN! We want you to be able to depend on us! We just wanna HELP you, and Red can’t help if he doesn’t know anything!” Yellow explained. “Red isn’t a Child of Viridian Forest, so the only way for him to know is by telling him…”
Orange narrowed his eyes and tapped his head, still irritated. “I know that! Ya take better care o’me than Mama an’ Daddy!” he burst out. “An’ it ain’t like we dunno nothin’ ‘bout each other!” He pointed to his head and then hers, symbolizing their strong psychic connection. “We can actually FEEL each other! All th’time! Like right now!” His eyes narrowed again in a challenging manner. “What’m I thinkin’ about right now?” he asked. “I KNOW ya know!”
Yellow was suddenly overwhelmed by Orange’s thoughts and emotions. “O-chan, your thoughts are really intense right now…calm down!” she exclaimed, but then gasped and closed her eyes as a memory was sent to her. “O-chan…” she said, shocked. “You got expelled from school and didn’t tell me?” She wondered why he didn’t say anything, but then realized an important factor. “No…it’s not your fault…your mind completely shut down, didn’t it…?”
Orange just nodded and looked down as he sent another memory to Yellow.
“Your parents were that angry over something you literally couldn’t control?!” she asked, shocked and a bit angry with Orange’s parents.
Orange nodded and took a deep breath before speaking again. “Had Pikachu…” he said quietly. “She helped me…” He took another deep breath as he sent another memory to Yellow.
Yellow gasped and covered her mouth with her hands in shock as she saw her brother’s broken state in her mind through the memory he had sent her. “O-chan…” she said, opening her arms. “C-Come here…”
Orange hesitated a bit, but he was able to feel Yellow’s sincerity, love, and guilt rushing through every fiber of his being. “...’Kay…” he eventually said, leaning into her as she hugged him tight.
“I’m so, SO sorry, O-chan…I should’ve asked you first before telling Red everything…” Yellow said, those same emotions clear in her voice as well. “I had closed off my side of the link so I wasn’t paying attention to what you were feeling…but deep down I knew that you were feeling off…I won’t do anything like that again, I promise, especially not without your permission first. I was just worried about you and Red was too, that’s why I told him. I didn’t mean to make you uneasy, I promise!” she explained, then realized something important regarding the link they shared. “And I’ll definitely teach you how to close your side of the link too.” she declared. “That way you won’t be feeling mine or Pikachu’s feelings all the time like that. And yes, I know you have a link with her too, your bond is just that strong and you sometimes accidentally send her thoughts to me instead.”
Orange gave a slight smile, finally returning the hug. “I know.” he said. “I know you’re sorry, I can feel it…an’ I can also feel ya gettin’ all worried…calm down!” He took a deep breath before finally addressing the apology. “I forgive ya, Yellow nee-chan…” he said. “An’ I love ya too…”
Yellow sighed in relief and ruffled Orange’s hair fondly. “Thank you, O-chan.” she said. “That means a lot.” She pointed to the remainder of Route 1 ahead. “Now, let’s go home.”
“‘Kay.” Orange said, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”
As the two of them walked back to Viridian City, Orange sent Yellow an important telepathic message.
“I trust ya an’ feel safe with ya, you’re my home, Yellow nee-chan.” he said telepathically.
“Aww, O-chan…you’re such a little sweetheart!” Yellow said telepathically as well, sending a message back to him. “Such a good kid.”
Both of them laughed as they approached Viridian City, and started making their way to Orange’s house at the north end of the city, closest to the forest. Soon they reached his house and as Yellow dropped him off and they waved goodbye, they sent each other one final telepathic message for the day.
“I’m glad you’re my little brother.” Yellow said to Orange.
“Thanks for bein’ my big sister.”
Orange responded back to Yellow, as the sun began to set, turning the daytime into night.