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Two years. One hundred and four weeks. Seven hundred and thirty days.
That’s how long he’s been away.
A few days after stepping down as Champion, his reign only lasting a year, he just left up and gone without telling anyone. No warning. No reason. Just poof like that.
One year and 6 months. 78 weeks. 546 days
since I became the Gym Leader of Viridian City, after Giovanni was exposed.
And
one year. Fifty-two weeks. Three hundred and sixty-five days
…that’s how long I’ve lived with the truth.
A truth so heavy, it crushes me a little more every day.
I, Blue Oak, am in love with my former best friend now former rival Red.
And the worst part is I pushed him away.
I was such an asshat to him. Always throwing out those stupid catchphrases “Smell ya later!” like I was some kind of cartoon rival instead of his supposed friend. Always talking down to him, belittling him, trying to stay one step ahead just so I wouldn’t have to admit I was scared of falling behind.
Now, I can only look back and cringe at myself.
We didn’t speak a single word during Red’s entire Championship reign. Not because he didn’t try. Oh, he tried. He reached out, tried to arrange a few meetups. But I always found an excuse. Always turned him down. Said I was busy, or training, or that I just didn’t feel like it.
Instead, we stuck to texts. It was easier. Less direct. Less real. I didn‘t have to look into his beautiful eyes, lucky for me, he didn’t push. Never did. But I could read between the lines he was trying to make peace. Maybe even apologize.
But for what?
Mister Goodie Two-Shoes, apologizing for what crushing my dream? Taking the title I thought was mine?
He never gloated. Never rubbed it in. That was all me. I couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t even bring myself to enter my name in the Hall of Fame posthumously. That’s how fast I was dethroned.
Thrown aside like yesterday’s news.
I didn’t leave my room for two weeks after that day.
Not once except for the bathroom. Curtains drawn, lights off. Just me, lying in bed, listening to a lot of admittedly good music, staring at the ceiling or the wall, wishing I could shut my brain off. Pretending I didn’t hear the knocks on the door. Pretending I didn’t exist.
My sister ended up bringing water into my room just to keep me from being hospitalized. She didn’t say much. Just left it by the door like I was some wild Pokémon she was too afraid to approach. But she was worried. I could see it in her eyes the one or two times she dared to step inside.
I didn’t eat for three weeks.
Three. Whole. Weeks.
Not because I was trying to make some kind of dramatic statement. I just… didn’t care. Food had no taste. Time had no meaning. I had no appetite, no energy, no will to keep going. Everything felt numb. Empty. Almost dead.
My sister bless her did everything she could. She tried to stay strong, but I saw the cracks. The fear. The helplessness. Eventually, she resorted to spoon-feeding me, like I was a toddler again. She begged me. Cried. Shouted. Threatened to drag me to the hospital.
Eventually… I gave in.
Not for me.
For her.
After about a month, I started training again. Not because I had some sudden spark of motivation or clarity. I still felt like a ghost. But my Pokémon… they didn’t deserve to rot in the PC box just because I felt worthless. They were loyal. They gave their all for me. The least I could do was stand up for them.
Even if I couldn’t yet stand up for myself.
Eventualvly, Lance showed up. The new Champion himself, in all his majestic Dragon Master glory, swooping in with what he called "the offer of a lifetime."
The Gym Leader position in Viridian City.
Stable job. Great pay. Prestige. Potential to become a celebrity across Kanto. A dream gig for just about anyone in the region.
But not me.
I turned it down without blinking.
Why the hell should I take that job? What had I done to earn it? I was a failure Red made sure the entire world knew that. I couldn’t even keep the Champion title for more than 45 minutes. What kind of leader would that make me?
But Lance wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Instead, he issued a challenge.
“If you can beat the other seven Gym Leaders in one week,” he said, “I’ll leave you alone. No more offers. No more pressure. But if you fail you take the job.”
It sounded absurd. Paradoxical.
Why would I be rewarded for losing? Why would failing mean I had to take on more responsibility?
Looking back, I get it now. But back then, it felt like a trap. Like some kind of twisted punishment.
Did he really want to hand over a position of power to someone like me? A washed-up has-been who was known more for being the guy Red beat than for anything he actually accomplished? The so-called nepo baby, whose famous grandfather couldn’t even remember my damn name?
"It's Gary, grandpa," I remember thinking bitterly every time Grandpa gave me that confused, sheepish look.
But it wasn’t Gary anymore.
It hadn’t been for a long time.
It was Blue now.
So after a week of training it was on.
So, I traveled.
Gym to gym. Town to town. One battle after another.
I didn’t have a fancy speech this time. No bravado. No smug little smirk. Just me, my Pokémon, and the pressure of a deal I didn’t even believe in.
It was kind of funny, in a depressing way. Back in the day, I was so damn full of myself. Walking into gyms like I owned the place. Talking big, acting bigger. I used to think no one could touch me.
But back then?
At that point?
I felt like even that girl from Route 10 could’ve beaten me.
You know the one always standing near the entrance to Rock Tunnel, eyes bright, like the whole world was an adventure and she was lucky just to be in it. She didn’t have a team full of aces. I don’t even remember what Pokémon she used.
But I do remember her.
She told me after the obligatory Battle completely seriously that she wished there was a Pokémon that looked like a floating pink ball, with flowers on its back and a sleepy expression. Said it could eat dreams. Hyperspecific, right? I rolled my eyes at the time. Years later, I learned about Munna. Discovered it actually existed in Unova.
She called it. Somehow, she dreamed it into being.
If only we’d had PokéGears back then. I would’ve saved her number. Just to call and ask if she ever found out that her imaginary Pokémon was real all along.
I hope she did.
I hope it made her smile.
She took joy in something as simple as her imagination.
And truth be told… if I was going to take control of my own destiny, I needed that kind of joy, too. That spark. That belief in something, even if it didn’t make sense yet.
So I threw myself into the challenge.
Seven gyms. Seven leaders.
And surprisingly?
Most of them were a walk in the park.
It wasn’t like I bulldozed them with brute strength—I didn’t have that swagger anymore. It was something else. Something steadier. My battles were sharp, focused, surgical. I wasn’t fighting to prove I was better than them.
I was fighting because I had something to reclaim. Even if I wasn’t sure what it was yet.
Even Janine Koga’s daughter and the new poison Gym leader couldn’t stop me.
She came at me hard. Determined. Fierce. I could see it in her eyes she needed that win, needed to show she was worthy of her father’s legacy. That she could hold her own against the former almost Champion. Against Blue.
But she fell. Not because she was weak. Far from it.
She just wasn’t was as good as blue was on the Day. And like with the other battles, I didn’t gloat or rub it in. I helped her up. Told her that one day, she’d be stronger than I ever was.
But not today.
After my final match, I flew straight to the Indigo Plateau.
Didn’t wait. Didn’t rest.
Five days. Not seven.
I walked into the League chambers, exhausted, but standing tall. My team by my side, scratched up, but proud.
Lance was already there, arms crossed, that unreadable look on his face. He held up his hands as I stepped in.
“Alright,” he said simply. “I’ll start looking for someone else to take the Viridian Gym. You’ve earned your peace.”
I stood there, blinking.
Then, before I even knew what I was doing, the words were already leaving my mouth.
“Wait,” I said. “I’ve reconsidered. Could I… take the G
ym Leader position instead? Please?”
Lance didn’t smirk. Didn’t gloat.
He just nodded once, like he’d been waiting for me to say that all along.
And just like that… I became the Gym Leader of Viridian City.
Not because I had to.
Because I chose to.
So my Gym Leader career began.
It was… quiet, at first. Not in a bad way. Just different.
Most up-and-coming challengers didn’t even make it to me. Sabrina in Saffron filtered out most of the ones who lacked mental discipline. Clair in Johto caught the johto Challengers with sheer force. By the time anyone reached Viridian, it wasn’t a wave of eager kids anymore it was a trickle. A few determined trainers with something to prove.
So, I had time. A lot of it.
And I didn’t spend it cooped up in the Gym.
Most days, I wandered across Kanto and sometimes Johto. After the volcano eruption on Cinnabar, I helped evacuate residents, organize rescue missions, rebuild what little we could, which ultimately lead to the Pokemon Centre being rebuild.
And with Giovanni gone, Kanto had a new kind of problem a vacuum of Criminal Power.
Dozens of wannabe Team Rockets popped up overnight. Copycats. Kids trying to play gangster, or worse, old remnants trying to bring the organization back from the dead. I didn’t wait for League orders. I went after them myself. Cut off trouble before it could grow roots.
For the first time, people didn’t just see me as the snotty bratty kid who lost to Red.
They saw me as someone they could depend on.
And for the first time in my life, I felt like my own person.
Not Professor Oak’s grandson. Not Red’s shadow. Not the kid who lost.
Just me.
It felt good.
I even started calling Red’s mom regularly. Sometimes it was just to check in, other times… I’ll admit it, I was hoping. Hoping she’d say, “Yes! He came home,” or even just, “I got a letter.” But every time, she’d sigh gently and say, “No.”
She always played it cool. Said she trusted Red. Said he was doing what he needed to do.
But I could tell.
Behind the words, behind the smile, she was worried sick. Same as me.
So I kept moving. Kept working. Settled into my life as Kanto’s premier Gym Leader. Independent from the League’s constant scrutiny, with enough freedom to help people and battle on my own terms.
And then she showed up.
We met on Cinnabar Island, still half-ash, half-reconstruction, right where the volcano's scars met the sea.
Her name was Lyra.
She wanted to challenge me.
I was intrigued. Mostly because she’d already done what most never could: she’d become Champion through Johto’s path and collected all 15 other badges.
That alone deserved respect.
So I waited for her at the Viridian Gym. For once, I was actually excited. Genuinely curious.
And when the battle started, I was not prepared.
Her Meganium?
Terrifying.
Not because it was overpowered, but because of how precise, how intentional every move was. She knew my team. She knew my tactics. And she’d studied enough to dismantle my strategy like she was solving a puzzle she’d already figured out.
I gave it everything I had, and I lost.
And I didn’t even feel bad about it.
I congratulated her. Truly. I meant it.
She was the real deal. A student of the game.
Then I asked her, “What’s next on the agenda for you?”
She only said one thing.
“Mount Silver.”
To say I was concerned would be the understatement of the decade.
Mt. Silver was extremely dangerous for any trainer, let alone an eleven-year-old girl from rural Johto.
Blizzards. Wild Pokémon leagues above wild Pokemon anywhere else. The altitude alone could mess you up if you weren’t prepared. It wasn’t just a place you visited. It was the kind of place you had to survive through.
But I wasn’t her father.
It wasn’t my decision to make.
She had every right to decide if she wanted to climb Mt. Silver. She’d earned that right. The strength, the badges, the street smarts she’d proven she had all of it. And she had that same fire I remembered in someone else a long time ago.
All I asked was one thing before she left.
“Let’s exchange PokéGear numbers,” I said. “Just in case. Emergency only.”
She nodded. No hesitation.
I watched her walk off, her Meganium at her side, eyes forward and fearless.
I didn’t say it out loud, but part of me whispered:
Please be careful.
A week passed.
No word. No call. Just silence.
I told myself not to worry. That she was strong. That she knew what she was doing.
But every time my PokéGear buzzed, I jumped. Every time a traveler passed through town, I checked for any sign of her. Or news.
Then one day, she showed up.
Not at the Gym.
At my home.
I opened the door, surprised, but before I could even ask if she was alright, she said it.
“Blue, I met and even battled the former Champion Red. I ain’t heard of him in ages,” she told me, like it was just another item on her to-do list. “And I beat him.”
I froze.
My stomach dropped.
It took me a moment to even breathe, let alone speak.
“You… You’re sure it was really him?” I finally managed.
She nodded without hesitation.
“He showed me his Trainer ID.”
Simple. Calm. Like it hadn’t just shattered the sky over my head.
Red.
She found him.
She fought him.
And she won.
“Where was he?” I asked, maybe with too much urgency in my voice.
Lyra tilted her head, curious. “Geez, why’re you so riled up? Weren’t y’all like... bitter rivals or somethin’?”
I looked away, heart thudding against my ribs. I shouldn’t have said it. I shouldn’t even think it, let alone say it out loud. But it was too late.
“We used to be friends,” I said quietly. “And I think... unfortunately, I’ve fallen for him.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. She threw her hands up in front of her face, blushing hard. “Oh! Um... wow.”
“Damn it,” I muttered. “I spoke too much.”
Panic curled in my gut. She was from rural Johto, where things moved slower, simpler. I didn’t want to confuse her. Or scare her off. Or make her think less of me.
But then she said, “No, no, I was just stunned by the revelation.”
I let out a slow breath of relief.
Then, like flipping a switch, her eyes lit up and her fists clenched with determination.
“Well? What’re we waitin’ for? Let’s head back to Mt. Silver and get you to your crush!”
I blinked. “No. This is a solo mission, Champ.”
She pouted, refusing to back down. “But... didn’t you say it was dangerous? ‘Specially goin’ alone?”
Lyra was relentless. Absolutely unstoppable when she set her mind to something.
I cracked.
“Fine,” I sighed, looking away from her. “Call your parents and get permission before we go.”
“Yay!” she cheered, practically bouncing. Then she hugged me. Just like that.
Before she picked up her PokéGear, I stopped her.
“Lyra... there’s something you should know.”
She looked at me, curious again.
“Red never lost his Championship title. He relinquished it. Voluntarily.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“That means... by beatin’ him, you’ve become the true, undisputed Champion of Kanto and Johto.”
A slow smile spread across her face. Bright. Earnest. Powerful.
“I am?” she said, her voice soft with awe.
“You are,” I confirmed.
And she beamed.
After she got permission and we packed supplies, we left for Mount Silver. The terrain was horrible. Truth be told, I hate cold climates, which is why I’m never up here. Give me Alola over this any day.
The way up Mount Silver was tough. We battled plenty of Donphans and Ursarings, and even spotted a Tyranitar guarding her little Larvitar litter. Thank Arceus she didn’t see us as a threat.
But soon enough, we made it past all the obstacles to the top of the mountain.
There, tucked into the snow-covered silence, was a small wood-built house. It looked well constructed. Solid. Like whoever lived there meant to stay.
Lyra stepped up to the door and knocked.
“Red, I’ve brought someone who wants to talk to ya,” she called out gently.
My stomach twisted into knots.
I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
What if he hated me?
What if he opened that door and slammed it shut again?
What if he punched me?
Then the door creaked open.
And there he was.
Just as beautiful as I remembered.
His hair a little longer, his eyes still sharp beneath that familiar cap. A little older. A little more worn.
But still him.
“Blue?”
That was the first word I’d heard from him in years.
His voice quiet, low, uncertain cut through me like a blade made of every memory I had buried and locked away.
Seeing his face.
Hearing his voice.
Looking into those eyes.
I crumbled.
I dropped to my knees in the snow, the weight of it all crashing down in one unbearable wave.
And I cried.
“I’m so fucking sorry for everything I did to you,” I choked out. “You don’t have to accept this. In fact, please don’t. I don’t deserve that level of humility from you.”
I couldn’t look at him.
But to my surprise, he reached down.
And he pulled me into a hug.
Not a half-hearted one. Not some awkward shoulder pat.
A real, full, heart-filled hug.
I froze, too stunned to breathe. Then I just let go, pressing into it like I’d been waiting for this exact moment for three long, painful years.
“You have nothing to be apologetic for, Blue,” he said, his voice soft, trembling, almost shy. “It’s been three years since we last spoke. And since then, all I wanted was to speak to you.”
Red always spoke like that. Nervously. Low. Even around people he knew well.
Even around me.
But that voice, gentle, uncertain, honest, broke something inside me in the best way.
I pulled back just enough to look at him, tears still streaking down my cheeks.
“You really mean that?”
He nodded, not looking away, not once.
“I missed you,” he said.
We closed the door and sat together around the small wooden table, the warmth of the cabin seeping into our bones after the cold climb.
Each of us took turns sharing our stories.
Red spoke first, which caught me off guard. He told us about his time as Champion, the pressure, the loneliness, the lack of fun and happiness he felt all the time and the feeling that no matter how many battles he won, it never really filled the emptiness he felt inside. He talked about why he left, how leaving civilization completly behind had become easier than staying as Champion constantly full off self hate and depression.
I told him about my downfall, the weeks I spent locked in my room, the road that eventually led me to becoming Viridian’s Gym Leader. I spoke honestly, not hiding the cracks. I think he appreciated that.
Lyra, bright-eyed and unshaken, shared her journey from picking Chikorita in a little Johto town to becoming the undisputed Champion. Her excitement was infectious, her pride earned. Her voice carried us through regions and roads and the people she met along the way.
By the time we finished, the stew was ready. A hearty mix of vegetables and thick broth. Red brewed some green tea, his movements slow and practiced like he had done it a hundred times in this little cabin.
We ate quietly for a while, the steam rising gently between us.
Then Red spoke again.
“Blue, I have something to tell you.”
That alone was enough to make me stop mid-chew. He almost never initiated conversations like that.
I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. But then I remembered his mom, and I felt the need to make something clear before anything else.
“Red, you’re coming with me.”
He blinked, caught off guard. “Why? I love it here.”
“Your mom is very worried about you,” I said firmly. “You owe it to her to come back home.”
He looked anxious, shoulders tense.
“What if she’s angry at me? For running away, for having no contact with her?”
I leaned forward.
“She won’t be. She’ll just be happy to have you back, that’s all. I’m not accepting no for an answer. Red, you are coming.”
He stared at me, stunned. Then he blushed, deep and red, looking down at his bowl like it suddenly became fascinating.
“I’ll come,” he said quietly, barely above a whisper.
I couldn’t hide the joy that lit up inside me.
Then he looked up again, still blushing. “Can I tell you something now?”
His voice was soft, hesitant.
But something about the way he said it made the air feel heavier, charged with something I couldn’t quite name.
“Actually, can I show you instead?” Red asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Please promise me you won’t be angry.”
He looked impossibly cute shy, blushing, flustered, eyes flicking away from mine like he couldn’t hold the gaze for too long without melting.
My heart was already racing, but I kept my voice steady.
“I promise,” I said. “Whatever it is, I won’t be angry.”
And then it happened.
He leaned in.
Slowly, hesitantly, like he was giving me every chance to pull away.
And he kissed me.
No hesitation, no words. Just him, closing the distance, his lips pressing softly against mine.
It felt like a dream. Not the loud, cinematic kind. The quiet kind. The kind that wraps around your heart like warmth after a long winter. The kind you don’t realize you’ve been waiting for your entire life until it’s finally there.
My eyes slipped shut.
I kissed him back.
The kiss deepened.
At first, it was soft. Hesitant. A quiet question passed between us, answered only in the way our lips met, pressed, lingered.
Then something shifted.
Red leaned in more, and I responded in kind, our mouths parting slightly, breath mingling. His hand came to rest on the side of my neck, thumb brushing just under my jaw. I felt his tongue, cautious but certain, and I welcomed it, my own moving to meet his.
It wasn’t clumsy. It wasn’t perfect either. But it was real.
A tangle of nerves and emotion and the kind of electricity I hadn’t felt in years. His tongue brushed against mine again, slow and exploratory, like he was learning me piece by piece. I responded in kind, matching his rhythm, our kiss deepening with unspoken years of things we hadn’t said.
There was heat, a steady thrum of it spreading from where our bodies met to the tips of my fingers. I brought a hand up into his hair, threading through the dark strands, grounding myself in the feeling of him. The kiss was tender, but hungry, too. Like we were both afraid to stop. Like stopping would mean it hadn’t really happened.
And then I remembered we weren’t alone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Lyra.
She had turned her head to the side, not watching directly, but clearly aware. Her face was red, eyes wide, hands gripped tightly around her tea. She was frozen, a bizarre mix of intrigue and discomfort, trying her best to look anywhere but at us.
I gently pulled away, breathless, lips tingling, trying not to laugh from the rush of adrenaline and the awkward realization.
Red was still blushing, avoiding my eyes now like he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
And honestly?
Neither could I.