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After three years in this dojo, not much was a real challenge. Even when Master’s most stern voice made Green flinch during a match, he would not be defeated.
“Green, a word.”
Green had still been looking his sparring opponent in the eyes and watched as their sharp gaze crumbled into jealousy. It wasn’t uncommon for Green to be called out specifically, not because he was of special relations, but because he was simply better than the other disciples and he knew it. Displays of arrogance, as Master called it, were frowned upon, so he didn’t react and turned to follow Master outside.
He was led far enough from the training area to not be heard and understood this wasn’t going to be a normal word.
“I have a task for you,” Master said. “There will be an important guest arriving tomorrow, and he will be bringing his wife and son. The boy is seven years old, so he can’t be allowed to run around the city by himself.” As if Green hadn’t done just that and more when he was seven.
“What about my training?” Green already knew the answer to that, but he needed to hear it before he could get angry.
“You can take a break, only for a day.” The words were an insult. Breaks were not given when they were convenient to someone else. They had to be worked for, just like everything else on this island.
“I’m not a babysitter!” Green shouted, glaring right into his master’s stoic eyes. He rarely had outbursts these days, but this task was demeaning. He was the youngest of the disciples; that was why Master had cast it upon him. The act was beneath his master as well, whom had shown Green respect ever since he’d earned it.
Master didn’t shout back or otherwise punish him for the tantrum. He hadn’t moved a muscle since Green’s outburst. Now, he lowered himself to one knee, meeting Green’s eyes on the same plane. Even before Master started speaking, a shame Green couldn’t place formed within him. “This is a very important guest, and his family must be treated with the same regard. I am trusting you with the boy. Among every disciple, you are the best choice to keep him safe on this harsh land. You might learn something too; I have said before there is a lesson in everything if the mind is open.”
The fire was still burning in his gut, but Green could find no more reason to fuel it. All he could think to say was, “How do I watch over a seven year-old?”
“You’ll figure it out. You were seven once, and you remember it better than the rest of us,” Master reassured, and Green almost expected a pat on the shoulder, though it never came. It might have knocked him over with how weightless he felt. Master rose to his feet now that there was no argument, and left him with a command to be at the house at eight in the morning.
~
On the rare occasion Green thought about his childhood, it felt small and empty, like all of his memories would fit into the top shelf cabinet he wasn’t allowed to open. He remembered the sound of arguments, not what they were about, and he remembered pushing his sister away when she covered his ears. His parents left first, then Daisy, and finally himself. Grandpa probably also left after; Green couldn’t imagine him wanting to live in a big house by himself.
He remembered he liked pokémon. Most children did, and he made a mental note of it for the seven year-old. But children only liked docile pokémon, the ones that belonged to their neighbors or lived in and out of their yards, waiting to be hand-fed. Cianwood was an island surrounded by the unforgiving ocean and dangerous cliffs. Pokémon were a necessity for survival, not simply housepets.
In the morning, his first act was to check the time. Twenty minutes until he had to be at the house. I need to stop wasting time trying to guess the mind of a child, he thought. He dressed in the clothes he’d wear to town instead of the usual training wear and placed Scyther in its pokéball.
He arrived a minute before, and when Master brought him into the foyer of the house, their guests were already standing. He nodded to acknowledge the parents, both smiling, but his sight briefly caught the boy, noticing how he moved behind his mother as soon as Green entered. No one spoke up about the offense.
"This is one of my students, Green,” Master said. “He will be watching over you today. I hope you two will get along." Green was grateful, as always, for the omission of his last name.
The boy was shy, holding onto his mother's leg, and peeked out with half his head. Even under a cap, anyone could tell his hair was unruly and a tuft blocked part of his eye, though the eye clearly shined a bright color.
The boy’s mother patted his cap. "It's nice to meet you, Green. This is my son Gold. Go on, honey. Say hi," the mother urged, and gave her son a gentle nudge. In an instant, the boy’s look became determined.
Gold ran up to about a few feet from Green. "Hi," he said, in a not so shy tone. Green realized the boy had meant to spy rather than hide when he said next, "You look kinda mean."
Well, this was going to be interesting.
~
"What do you do here? There's no grass. How can you do anything? It's cold and smells weird." The boy continued to complain and pester Green during the tour Master had suggested Green take him on. It had only been a few minutes before Green decided he wasn’t cut out for babysitting, no matter how angry it would make his master, so he had tried to lose the boy at first, hoping he'd find something to get lost in for the next few hours. But that wasn't the case. The boy found no meaning in this place and needed to take it out on someone.
"You don't see beaches often, do you?"
"Why would I want to if they're like this?"
Green had to admit he didn't spend much time in the actual town. He mostly came down for herbs, electing to spend most of his hours in the dojo or training in the adjacent wilderness. But the boy's attitude made him want to defend the place he'd called home for the last few years. "Kids like to play games on the sand. Or swim in the water. Many of them have pokémon to teach them swimming, or surfing."
"Do you play games in the sand, or swim, or surf?"
"...No. I'm a disciple. I train to strengthen my mind and body, and that of my pokémon."
"You’re a what? Does that mean you're really strong? Could you fight a pokémon?"
"Some of them, I suppose." Like a baby Hoppip.
The boy crouched down suddenly and Green's alarms went off. "Like ones that do this? Sand-Attack!" He tossed a handful of sand right at Green's face, and though Green avoided any of it reaching his eyes, the boy lunged forward in the seconds after his attack.
Green was no fool, but his reaction was on instinct, and did not take into account that the boy was a seven year-old child that was cared more about getting the jump on him than any self-preservation. Green caught him by the wrist and flung the boy as if this was a regular match, and only realized what he'd done when he heard a thud on the shifting sand.
One baited breath later, he lowered the arm shielding his eyes to see the boy flat on the beach, eyes in disbelief that he'd just been hit. Green was nervous he might begin to cry, and Green would fail his task.
"Whoa." The boy blinked and looked at him. "You are strong. Can you teach me how to do that? That super fast karate! It was like—whoosh—and then slam! I didn't even see it. But my hand kinda hurts. Crazy." He raised his palm to the sky.
While Green was relieved the boy was resilient, he replied, "That's not something you can learn in a day."
The boy frowned and sat up to his knees. "Then what can I learn in a day?"
Manners, was Green’s first thought. But aside from the snark, he realized something else about the boy. He was seven, and on his first meeting with someone he should have shown respect to, decided to attack and demand services from that someone.
Green wasn't going to dunk the boy's head in water or hand him a sword, but he could teach him the first real lesson he'd learned here. "How do you feel about climbing a mountain?"
~
Despite the earlier comparison, Green discerned they were nothing alike past that.
"This is supposed to train my muscles, right? That's how I get stronger?" The boy's voice was punctuated with loud breaths, and Green gave him credit for not bailing at the first sign of exhaustion. They had been moving uphill for about twenty minutes. He was committed to his goal, for now.
"In one way, yes."
"What is that supposed to mean?” When Green didn’t answer, the boy asked instead, “How long does it take to get to the top?"
"About three hours at this pace." The boy would barely outpace a Slowpoke.
"Three hours?!"
"We'll be back before supper if you speed up." The sun was highest in the sky, signaling noon.
"I can't do it! I'm already tired!" And yet the boy continued to follow him further up the path, small jogs between the steps to keep pace.
With every exclamation that rattled his head, Green felt more and more like Master, repeating the words said to his past self, and trying to emulate his master's manner of speech. "You should quiet down, or the wild pokémon will be angered."
Although this boy didn't respond the same as Green had, so it could get difficult. "But you have a pokémon... I want to see you battle with it! A POKÉMON BATTLE!"
Even if Green had told him to quiet down, it was too late. He sensed danger. Out of nowhere, not one, or two... a chorus of growls followed them, echoing behind tree trunks. Black limbs were barely visible next to the dark wood and dirt. "I believe you have annoyed a Houndour pack..." The boy’s last shriek had probably been the tipping point.
"Cool! You'll fight them, right?"
Battle while he was with a reckless, unpredictable boy he had to protect? "No. We're running."
"Huh—hey!" Green had hoisted the boy over his shoulder and fled upwards. Despite the immediate concern of safety, Green was fairly confident this wouldn't affect the main goal. One just had to escape their territory and the Houndour would not pursue.
He sent out Scyther to guard their tail so he wouldn't have to look back and could focus on not tripping on the hardy pinecones and dirt trenches in his escape route. One misstep and they’d be in range of a Flamethrower. A past experience had taught him the pine trees here resisted fire unfortunately well, making this area prime hunting grounds for Houndour packs.
"I thought you were strong, and you're running away? Your pokémon looks way stronger than the little ones!"
Green ignored the disparaging comments, as well as his legs burning from the sprint. It was not often these sprints involved unbalanced weight on his shoulders.
Scyther buzzed behind them, and then joined Green's side in their flight. The boy exclaimed, "They ran away! See, they're more scared of you." That was not how to interpret a pack of Houndour fleeing, and Green looked up with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"They're not scared of me..." Green said slowly. The boy over his shoulder couldn't see what was in front of him: the leader Houndoom baring its jaws from atop a slanted boulder. It was blocking the clearing just ahead, which must have been the boundary.
Green placed the boy down feet first, and observed Houndoom's head snap towards the defenseless boy. The cause of the noise. The apparent disturbance.
"Get behind me..."
The boy's gasp was sharp, and he quickly shuffled behind Green. One of his hands tugged at the hem of Green’s sweater. "Um, that one looks stronger than your pokémon."
"And it's got its eyes set on you." Green knew the underlying message would go through without further explanation to Scyther.
Houndoom growled with its full set of teeth bared. Just one of those incisors sinking into a human could kill. A Houndoom would tear flesh relentlessly before letting go. The moment Green noticed its hind legs shift back, he told the boy, “Don’t move an inch.” Fear must have made the boy listen, even though Green would have forced him into place otherwise.
The Houndoom, eyes wide and bloodthirsty, leapt at a blinding pace from the rock. The pokémon’s muzzle enlarging to one’s entire vision alone could fuel nightmares for life, so hopefully the boy had shut his eyes for this. Before the jaws made it within a feet of them, Scyther intercepted with a Slash, its blade crushing into the side of the Houndoom with a force that sent them both tumbling away. Green had needed the boy to stay still so Houndoom would be too focused to detect the critical hit.
Still, the attack was not enough to take down the Houndoom, and it landed on all fours. Its horned head reared back, inklings of fire spilling from its snarl.
“Screech!”
Green covered the boy’s ears as Scyther’s shrill cry rang out in the open clearing, and Houndoom’s blast was delayed from the wince it made. The delay was mere seconds, and once the screech had lowered a notch, Green grabbed the boy’s hand to break for a run. The spot they had been standing was in the direct path of a Flamethrower fired an instant later, and though they weren’t cooked, the force of it sent the both of them to the ground with barely enough time for Green to tuck the boy in so he wouldn’t land face first into the dirt. Green, however, landed at an unfortunate angle and lost several breaths to recover from hitting the ground on his side, shoulder first.
“Get up, Green! It’s coming at us!” The boy shook him, but Green was no good in a fight if he simply tripped trying to get to his feet. He trusted Scyther to fight well enough to give him the time to regain balance. In one glimpse, he saw the pokémon were dancing around each other, both sharp swings and clamping jaws missing narrowly. But the strides Houndoom made were calculated, each strike bringing it closer to them.
Next time, they wouldn’t be able to outrun a Flamethrower.
The boy called for him again, and Green snapped, “I’ve got a plan!” Although it was hardly solid. Once Houndoom decided to take out Scyther first instead of seeing it as a nuisance to be dodged to get to the boy, one Flamethrower would do it, and they’d be defenseless. But Scyther needed one clean shot too. Maybe if they could get a hit on the same side of the first attack...
The shock in his arm wore off, and he forced himself up to focus on the fight clearer. However, something about the Houndoom’s movements were off. It wasn’t inching towards him anymore.
Green spun around. The boy was gone.
“Hey, big guy!” A pebble came sailing from above to bounce harmlessly off Houndoom’s head. The boy’s obnoxious voice was coming from above, and Green found him at the top of the rock. “It’s me you want, so go on, come and get me!”
By the time Green could get to the boy, it would be too late. Houndoom was incensed by the pebble and the sounds that had aggravated it to violence, yet the boy was anything but scared. He held a thumbs up to Green and a confident grin on his face. Realization dawned on Green like a bucket of water dumped on his head.
“Slash!” he yelled over the Houndoom’s roar. The Houndoom’s maw was ablaze as its powerful legs sprung it in a high arc, but its impulsive attack left it wide open.
Scyther’s blade connected in another critical hit, this time sending only the Houndoom careening, and the black body struck a hard tree trunk. The fire was snuffed out on impact.
Smoke billowed out from the failed attack as Houndoom struggled to its legs, but after a low growl, it turned and limped into the denser woods. Green didn’t let himself breathe until the sounds of foliage shuffling ended too.
The boy, placing hands on the side of his mouth, soon joined Green’s side. Before Green would so much as risk sighing in relief, he clamped the boy's mouth shut. "Do not goad the pokémon into returning."
When he let go, the boy shook his head. "I was going to say, that was so cool! Your pokémon delivered that strike like a champion! It was just like how you hit me!" That last part was said more chipper than Green would have expected.
He rushed them to the clearing, holding the boy's hand to lead him forward. Green shouldn't have let him out of sight. And yet, if he hadn’t climbed that rock... "Why did you think to call for Houndoom's attention?" he asked.
The boy shrugged. "I just thought to do it. Like... when the Houndoom jumped at us at first, it was coming for me, wasn't it? That's how your pokémon got that clean hit in the beginning." Green had never told him that was the strategy, but he figured it out?
Green paused at the edge of the clearing. "You've never fought a pokémon battle?"
"Not like that, but I definitely have battled! Aibo and the others are always fighting to steal my breakfast before I can get a bite. Aibo is an Aipom who has this grubby paw I have to be really careful about." The boy grinned proudly. Of himself for evading his pokémon' attempts, or of his pokémon for its dexterity, Green was not sure. He pointed a finger at Green. “Aha! I can tell you’re impressed, because you look like you want to tell me something.” He then whispered, “You can say how good I am. I’ll keep it between us.”
It wasn’t what Green wanted, but he did feel as though there were words to be said. Gold was just seven years old and he hadn’t cried or cowered at a Houndoom coming for his throat. Was he brave, or too foolish to know fear? Gold’s eyes bored into him and though it could have just been the sunlight, they sparkled with something akin to hope. Even with three year seniority, Green had to look away and keep walking, dragging the boy along. He said quietly, “You’re something, that’s for certain.”
Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to say. Master would have known—he handled Green at seven—but it couldn’t have been the worst thing to say when he could hear a skip in Gold’s steps.
At some point, Green was solidly ahead of Gold, who had stopped wasting his energy on hops and outbursts. "I'm so tired, are we close? Or can we turn back? I think I've gotten as strong as I can today."
Green stopped. He remembered this spot actually, where the softer earth and forest cut off and became a rocky road to the summit. The lack of greenery past this point had intimidated him as a child, and he had thought it was a good place to end as well.
Back then, Master had said he would be left behind if he didn't get up and finish the ascent. The pokémon would be harder to detect at night. It was good motivation. When Green had reached the top, he had finally felt as though he'd accomplished something on his own, and it'd cost his consciousness. He had passed out on the summit, and as the goal said nothing about making it back down, Master was lenient enough to bring him back to his quarters.
Yet, even though Green recalled the memory with pride, the same words he had been told were getting stuck in his throat. When he looked at the boy, laying on the ground and heaving for breaths, it was like being thrust back to that time, except Green was on the other side, and it no longer seemed... right, to speak to him as Master had done to Green. And not only because he was supposed to be an honored guest. The boy was just a boy, not a troubled child who needed more than a disciplining hand.
Green went down the incline and held out his hand. "Okay, you don't have to climb any further. You've done well."
Gold did not cheer up at the praise, as Green would have thought, but he took the hand and held onto it as he stood up. "Sorry I couldn't make it. What was at the top? Can you tell me?"
"It's not something I can put into words," Green said.
Gold’s face fell. He must have been disappointed. Anyone would be after getting so close only to quit. For some, it could be the last motivation to keep them moving. But that wasn't why Green had said it. He just wanted to play a trick on the boy. He wasn't certain what compelled him to do so. It seemed as though deciding he couldn’t be like Master had broken some invisible chain.
"So I'll have to show you myself."
Gold gasped, the realization shining in his amber eyes as he lifted his head. He raised his arms eagerly and Green carried him on his back. Much more comfortable than over his shoulder.
A while later, Gold asked, "How old are you, Green?" Gold's voice held much more spirit once he was being carried the rest of the way. The rest being about another twenty minutes. It was steeper than the rest of the mountain, but they could see the summit in the distance.
"Just turned ten. It was sometime last month, actually."
"Happy late birthday!" he congratulated carelessly. Thankfully there weren't too many pokémon to be bothered at this section of the mountain. "You're the greatest ten year-old ever!"
There had to be better ways to define him than by age, but Green didn't question that particular choice. "How many ten year-olds do you know?"
"Umm... probably more than one." Gold laid his chin on Green's shoulder. "How many ten year-olds do you know?"
Green had to think for a moment. Not a good sign. "Not many. I'm the youngest disciple. However... I know someone almost at ten, because there is a girl in town that has been reminding me it is her tenth birthday soon, every time I stop by the medicine shop. I've never asked for her birthday."
Gold began to laugh, very loudly, and Green wanted to ask what was so funny about being pestered with information he hadn't asked for. "You're not very smart with people. That girl likes you. She wants you to get something for her on her birthday."
"If she wanted me to get her something, she should say it directly."
"That's not how girls work, Green. Jeez, I should have asked if you know any girls."
"Of course I know girls. There is Mrs. Shijima, Mrs. Tanjiro, who manages the medicine shop, Ms. Mai, who teaches swimming—" A hand patted his face and that probably meant he had said something wrong.
"The more you talk, the less cool you're becoming, Green."
Green frowned. He was more upset that he actually felt something would be lost by becoming "less cool" in the boy's eyes.
"Then it's good that we're almost there. Look around you." They were at the final stretch, mere steps from the end.
"Wow, look at that! Green, let me sit on your shoulders! Please please please!"
Green felt a smile forming, one that Gold would not see as his attention was entirely elsewhere, and when he reached the end of the ascent, he lifted Gold to as high as he would go. One of the boy's hands was on Green’s head for stability, the other flailing wildly around.
The reward was the view, obviously. The lesson of hard work meanwhile... probably lost on Gold.
From the summit, one could see nearly all of the island on one side, and a great deal of the coast and deeper waters on the other side. Such a vast area beneath them made it feel as though they'd conquered it. That was what Green felt when he came up here, anyhow (the second time, as he had passed out the first time).
They'd come at a good hour too. The sun had not yet set, but was beginning to cast long shadows and impose a magnificent gradient of blue and orange upon the ocean, like the sea was on fire. That alone was worth the trip.
Gold did not enjoy it in silence, however, feeling the need to point out how small everything was, how there were pokémon flying at a lower elevation, and where his parents were. Green let him gush, unsure how to respond to any of those.
"I wish I could see this every day. If only I had a camera... but you come up here every day?"
"No, not every day. Just when I feel like it." When Master was personally training the other disciples, or when he simply wanted to get away as far from the world as he could.
"Oh, you know what? You could take a picture later, and send it in the mail. I'll give you my address!"
"And let you enjoy the scenery without doing any of the work?" The lesson was definitely lost on Gold.
"But I did work! And I can't come back, so I want to remember this. Pleeeease? What if I said I want it as a birthday gift?"
Gold earned a chuckle out of him for that one. He supposed he'd already given the reward for no work in that last section. "All right. Let's head back so you can write your address down."
They returned to the Master's home past sundown, which was a mistake on Green's part. He was supposed to have the boy back by the start of supper.
Green didn’t knock and used a foot to open the wooden door to the foyer. Everyone was waiting, and he wondered if he should be more wary of Master, or the parents he’d worried.
“We went up the mountain,” Green explained. Gold had fallen asleep on the descent and Green needed both arms to carry him eventually, with the occasional, necessary break. “He’s just sleeping,” he said to Gold’s mother, who hadn’t waited before rushing forward to take her son back.
“As long as he’s okay...” She examined what she could without waking him up. Green knew Gold had no injuries, yet was still waiting for the ax to drop on his neck. But her smile washed all the tension away. “Well! Young man, you must have a talent because nothing I do gets this boy to sleep before ten.”
“Yes,” the father spoke next. “Thank you for taking care of him. I’m sure he’ll tell us all about it tomorrow.”
Green waited for Master to say something, though he soon realized Master wasn’t going to tell him anything. His tardiness was a grave offense, yet the parents had commended him, so neither praise nor punishment was more appropriate than the other. Before today, Green would have thought nothing of it, but now he wondered if Master was hesitating as Green had and failed to break his own invisible chain.
With nothing more to be said, Mrs. Shijima ushered him to the table for a late dinner with the leftovers.
~
During the next morning, Green decided to remain in his quarters until the guests departed. That and his limbs were far too sore to consider any training today, so he practiced meditation in the silence. The bell tolled for morning exercises but he didn't budge. He could sense Scyther's pokéball wobble on the writing table.
Eventually, a foghorn sounded in the distance, and he assumed that meant he could leave soon. Green changed into his second set of town clothes, in case he was summoned, and pocketed Scyther's pokéball.
As he was preparing to leave, his door suddenly opened, without a warning so it couldn't have been Master or another disciple, and in came a barrel of energy.
Gold crashed into him, the cap flying off his head in the process, and swallowed Green in a tight hug, his head reaching below Green's chest. Green tensed and relaxed all within a second to avoid hurting Gold’s feelings, but he was only used to attacking people that came this close.
Green patted him back once, turning his attention momentarily on the people Gold had run from. His father seemed indifferent, but his mother was smiling. Master was not with them.
He looked down. "You're going to miss your boat."
"They can't leave without Daddy, and Daddy can't leave without me.” Gold let go, but held onto Green's hand. "You're the coolest ten year-old ever, Green. But not if you don't get me that picture! My address is right here," he said and pulled out a paper with too neat of handwriting to be his. Good to know his ranking among all ten year-olds depended on the delivery of a postcard.
“New Bark Town...” That was all the way across Johto. Gold lived very far from here.
“Yep! If you ever get off this island, you have to come visit me or else!” Another condition to maintain his arbitrary title. Gold was the most demanding seven year-old he knew.
“I’m not leaving here anytime soon, so don’t expect me.” Green bent down to pick up the cap and stuffed it over Gold’s head. “You’d better not keep your parents waiting.”
Gold pulled his cap even further down, covering his eyes. “I know. I just wanted to say... thank you for yesterday! I had a lot of fun. And sorry for calling you mean.”
“It wasn’t wrong. I was tempted to leave you by yourself on the beach,” Green said. Gold raised his head up to stare with surprised, glassy eyes, and Green almost lost his resolve to finish his thought. Almost. “But I’m glad I didn’t.”
Green saw the incoming second hug a mile away and stopped Gold short with a grasp of his shoulders. “I didn’t say I was nice.”
Gold laughed and wriggled out of Green’s hold. He didn’t make a third attempt. “Okay, I’ll see you later then! Don’t forget your promise!” He ran back to his parents, not looking back once, although Green could have sworn he’d heard a sniffle from the boy.