Chapter Text
Silver doesn’t have an interest in traveling. Learning about the differences in other regions' battle techniques, evolutions, gym challenges, etc- Sure. But the World Wide Web was there for a reason. There’s no need for him to pack a suitcase and buy a ticket to someplace he learns different social cues. He doesn’t even like socializing with people in the region he was born in. Libraries (and in turn the internet) were invented for homebodies like him to get the same knowledge people from other sides of the globe receive.
This is exactly why he’s sitting on his (Gold’s (But he picked it out, so let’s say it belongs to both of them.)) sofa, late into the Saturday night evening, reading a magazine instead of going out and having fun. Or whatever. He’s pretty sure people don’t even read magazines anymore.
When he was younger, he remembered the highlight of Gold’s career was shoving him out onto the street to show off his latest photoshoot (“A whole rack of pictures of me! Ain’t it amazin’?” “More like nauseating…”). Nowadays a magazine featuring Gold was equivalent to a paperweight in their shared apartment. But this magazine didn’t feature Gold- it did, but just a written interview- it was about a particular pokèmon transformation;
Terastallization.
Akin to Dynamaxxing, which Silver thinks is kind of fucking stupid, it changes the appearance of a pokèmon to a jewel. A hard, glittering exterior. The headpieces are a bit overkill though, if he says so himself.
That can’t be natural- But Silver would be lying if he said it didn’t interest him. Pokèmon worldwide are becoming more and more different, it’s truly a wonder. Even the notion of regional evolution amazes him. He’s not a lab nerd like Lyra is, so his interest doesn’t delve into the researching aspect.
He was never one for the showy aspect of battles. For him, the strength put into the battles is the flair. Silver never understood the appeal of dressing up in hard-to-maneuver outfits for televised matches.
On extremely rare occasions, Gold managed to convince (beg) him to show up for shared interviews where he at the very least would put on a nice (ironed) button-down. Most of the questions directed towards him would be about Gold anyway, essentially reducing him down to his rival, when in reality Silver would probably level a whole town with his team if he wanted to. Whatever. He hates being in the public gaze anyway. That was always Gold’s thing.
“Tell me again why you absolutely need me for this?” Silver huffed as his eyes skimmed over sheets of predetermined questions and answers for him and Gold to parrot. Whoever wrote his responses down clearly had no clue what he was really like apart from his bitter attitude. More than half of his lines were akin to a stereotypical rebel character on a children's cartoon network- minus the sucking of his teeth. Silver did do that a lot.
“Because you’re my rival and I love ‘ya?” Gold offered him a half grin as he adjusted Silver’s tie for him, laughing when his joke only got him an irritated glare.
“If you loved me you wouldn’t be making me do this.” Throwing the paper on top of their laundry basket. He refuses to follow a script and have someone tell him what to do, let alone say.
“You agreed to it, first of all, and come on.” He draws out the last bit. ”Fans are really startin’ to dig into me about ‘ya. After seein’ the drama between Red an’ Blue, they wanna know what we got goin’ on. Help me convince ‘em you’re not my pool boy.” Gold soon turned to their bathroom mirror, making sure his hair was perfect. He hadn’t put on the top half of his outfit yet- His shirt hung by a hanger over the shower curtain rod behind them- he didn’t even have a top on.
Silver gagged. “That sounds awful. Don’t ever say that again.”
“Don’t act so repulsed. Bein’ my mistress is super high praise.” Silver leaves the bathroom before Gold can harass him any longer.
Silver involuntarily perked up at the sound of keys jingling in the door. Gold was out visiting his mother, so for the whole day, Silver was alone. It was bliss; nice and quiet without his irritating roommate to come and annoy him. Despite this, Silver doesn’t leave his spot on the couch. It’s his apartment too. Technically, it was Gold’s apartment and only under Gold’s name- but he picked out almost all the furniture and was asked to move in. So.
“Honey, I’m home!” The Champion's energetic voice bounced off the walls, taking no concern to how late it was. “Aaaaand I brought nomel berry loaves! Your favorite!” A bag rustled in his grip.
Silver didn’t turn to face his rival, instead opting to close the magazine. He stares at the cover, a group picture of the Paldea region’s Elite Four, and tosses it onto their coffee table. “I don’t like nomel loaves, Gold.”
“You say that, but when I go to eat some in the middle of the night, there’s always a few missing.”
Crap. He knew? Silver still doesn’t look back at Gold, pretending like he didn’t just get caught in the act by nonchalantly stretching his back. “Maybe you’re such a fatass that you can’t recall eating them all beforehand.”
“Hey! I count my calories, thank you very much. Either way, they’ll be in the fridge.” Mock offense. Rather than pressing it, he just moves into their kitchen.
Being the Champion of Johto came with some serious privilege. Was Gold fit to be Champion? Debatable, but we’ll get into that later.
Since the gym challenge was open to challengers from all around the region, there needed to be a plan for what would happen if someone dethroned the previous Champion. Handing over the title and responsibilities was hard enough, but it then came down to where they would reside. No one wants to do a several-hour commute to work every morning, right? Which is where Gold and Silver’s humble abode comes in.
If needed, the League rents out an apartment to the Champion by taking a small portion of their winnings from every battle- and trust, Gold gets challenged quite a lot- and allows them to reside much closer to the Indigo Plateau. A nice place in Cherrygrove. Gold’s childhood home was a fraction of a distance closer to the Plateau, but he claimed he wanted to live on his own.
Plus, having a… Social life like Gold’s would be considerably awkward in a shared home with his mom.
“How was your mother?” Gold’s mom might just be one of the only adults Silver cared for as a child. She didn’t poke too deeply into why he was the way he acted, and instead always offered a place to go or a hot meal when he needed it. She was a very kind woman.
“Good! I brought some leftovers too, but ’m stuffed. You can have ‘em.” Both of them knew it was an extra plate made for Silver. The sound of the fridge opening and closing is heard over his voice. “We spoke about Lance.”
“Lance?”
“Yup.”
“She’s looking to finally make him your new stepfather?”
“Shut the fuck up.” Gold’s voice gets a bit higher from annoyance. It was no secret to him that Lance had an interest in his mother. Silver thought it was hilarious; Gold did not.
“Hey, you brought it up.” Silver’s laughter was slipping through his words, finally turning his head just a little to face the sound of Gold’s voice. “I’m sure there are worse stepdad’s out there.”
“Whatever.” Defeated. Silver was right, but there was zero chance Gold would say it. “She brought up my cousins too.”
“Something wrong?”
Gold shakes his head, moving to sit next to Silver. “Nah, nah, they’re doin’ good. They moved to Paldea a while back. One of ‘em’s even tryin’ the Gym challenge over there.” He places a drink next to the magazine. One remains in his hands- He brought Silver one without being asked to.
“You think they’ll make it through?”
“Maybe not as fast as I did, but yeah. I got faith. She’s real determined when it comes to stuff like that. Real stubborn.”
“Where have I heard that before…” A roll of the eyes.
Gold lets out a soft laugh. “We’re getting old, Silv. She’s probably got a bratty lil’ redheaded friend too.”
And he’s right- they are getting old. Not old old, but they’re much older than they were when they met. Gold isn’t the same arrogant little 11-year-old he was when they first butt heads, and Silver has learned to stop being so closed off. Just a little bit. It’s unsettling to remember that they’ve been best friends for well over half of their lives together. Silver swallows. “Sure.”
Gold doesn’t notice. “The leagues a bit different over there though. Instead of only one Champion, they grant it to whoever can beat like… The main Champion. They don’t really have the names of all of ‘em listed though, just the head of the league.”
“So any average trainer can just be a Champion walking around? Without the diligence?”
“Crazy right? Imagine how borin’ that must be.”
“No… No, I like it.”
“We really are opposites then. I like my fangirls.”
“Not all of us are so conceited. Some people don’t want the fame that comes with the title.”
“Boooring.”
“I’d do their gym challenge.”
Gold pauses for a second. Suspicious. “Yeah?”
“...Yeah.”
“Well…” Here he goes. “I’ve been meanin’ to ask. I was thinking about checking it out.”
The redhead raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
Staring down at the bottle in his hand. Gold still hasn’t opened it. “I dunno. I’m getting bored. I think it’s time for me to move on from being Johto’s little errand boy.”
“...You’re not an errand boy,”
Interrupted. “Red doesn’t get asked to do half the bullshit jobs I do. He gets to go randomly show up in tournaments, he even gets his own battle facility. In Alola!” Throwing his arms up in the air. “Do you know how crazy high rent is over there?!”
Silver purses his lips. Before he can get a word out Gold continues.
“Sometimes I think about just runnin’ off the way he did. Not to some snowy mountain, somewhere with nice weather. I dunno. I want to do somethin’ worthwhile. I’m tired of standin’ in the same place.”
“As in?”
“I dunno.” He repeats himself, sighing heavily. “...You’d follow me though, right?” Looking over to Silver for consolation.
Silver blinks, deciding to answer as honestly as he can. “As long as it’s not self-destructive, sure.” He didn’t say dangerous or crazy; just not self-destructive. “Maybe something new will help me get one over you.”
That comment elicits a small giggle out of Gold. “You wish.”
His rival cracks a smirk. “One day, Gold. Don’t get too comfortable.”
“Too late for that.” Tanned hands move to ruffle Silver's hair, which immediately gets rid of any semblance of a smile on his face, replaced with an all too familiar scowl. “If I up and ran to Paldea you’d follow me right there, right?”
“Maybe.”
“Good enough for me.” The Champion moves to finally open his drink, ripping the bottle cap off with his teeth. He leans his torso back, and Silver follows suit, grabbing his drink as well. “Maybe I’ll do just that.”
The sofa is soft under their shared weight. Maybe it was time for something new. You can never grow if you don’t change, right?
Silver doesn’t mind changing his view on traveling if it means he can grow with Gold.