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Chapter Text

Key:

CODA- Child of a Deaf Adult

Italics - Inner dialogue

Underline - Text messages

[Sentence case] - Sign language. I forgor how to gloss properly, so it’ll be structured like a regular sentence. Note that actual gloss is structured in Object Subject Verb order. (I haven’t taken an ASL class in a while okayyyy)

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“Well, where do you think he went?” Blue asked Leaf.

“Skipped the region perhaps? Johto? Alola? Living it up in paradise?” The girl suggested.

“Now is not the time for jokes, Leaf!” Blue grabbed her camo bucket hat and slapped her in the face with it.

“Okay, realistically, he might’ve gone to Johto or is camping out somewhere here in Kanto," she answered more seriously.

“Why Johto, though?” Blue practically pleaded to Leaf.

“Well, it’s physically connected to here, and I don’t think he’d go very far. It has practically no presence of Team Rocket, too," She explained.

“Oh yeah… who did that again? Maybe we can get them to help?” “I think his name was Gold or something?” Leaf finally took her hat back.

“He might be too busy getting rid of Team Rocket here, though."

“Fair point," Blue admitted. He stared down at his shoes.

“The only thing we can do is split up and start looking. I’ll take Johto, and you take Kanto! Bye!” Leaf sent out her Fearow. She ran up to and hopped on the great beastly bird and went flying off to the East

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Chapter Text

[2 years later]

I still haven’t found him. We’re 19 now. I had to leave the Viridian City Gym to look for him full time. I’ve travelled everywhere in Kanto. Hoenn has been requesting his presence for months, Sinnoh for nearly a year. I’ve tried to help them myself, but they declined. Leaf and I have been in almost constant contact for these past two years. Neither of us have made any progress. We’re meeting in Viridian City, the bridge between the two regions. Blue thought. He was sitting outside the Pokemon Center at a picnic table. It was nearly nighttime. The only light that Blue needed was the dim lights of the nearby building and the setting sun. He felt spaced out, just watching the people and their Pokemon partner(s) pass by. Everyone here was shockingly happy despite Team Rocket in the process of taking over the government. Wait. Is that? That looks like Gold! Blue nearly leaped from the bench over to where Gold was talking to some red-haired kid.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Gold would you?” Blue stammered. Maybe he knows where he is! 

“Who’s askin’?” The teen replied. “Oh, wait. You’re Blue."

“Is that a yes or a no?” The ginger-haired man shouted back.

“Yes. Now calm down. I got news that a Team Rocket squadron was in town. Took care of that with one fell swoop. That’s why I’m here instead of the Pokemon League. In case you were wonderin’."

“Have you seen Red?”

“Oh, him. He’s at the top of Mt. Silver. I battled him a few months ago, beat the tar out of me. He should still be up there," Gold very casually replied.

“Huh?” Blue was in disbelief. He just kind of stood there with his mouth gaped open.

“Have you been looking for him or something?”

“Only for the past two years…” Blue muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing." Blue turned his head away. “I have things to get to. Bye." He ran off.

“What’s up with him?” The red-haired guy, Silver despondently asked Gold.

“Beats me."

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting for Blue, Leaf finally met him at the picnic table. She usually flew in on her Fearow, but she was running this time. I sure hope Blue doesn’t question the lack of progress made or why I’m running instead of flying. Green considered.

“Sure is dark out here," Leaf remarked.

“I think it’s fine."

“Any updates or leads?”

“I think I got one. I found Gold. He’s here right now. At least, I think that’s him. He claimed to have battled Red on top of Mt. Silver. Do you think that’s possible?” Blue inquired.

“I have to admit something." Leaf took her hat off and fluffed out her brown bangs. “Mt. Silver is the only place I haven’t checked. I tried twice. I attempted to fly up there with Fearow, but we got blasted out of the sky. She fell hard and busted her left wing. I tried to actually climb it, but I nearly got wiped out by an avalanche."

“So he could be there?”

“Yeah." Leaf placed a hand on Blue’s shoulder. “You should be the one to get him down. He’s always had a soft spot for you," She whispered.

Blue sighed. “I should probably start preparing, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah. There’s a mountaineering store on Weedle Street. It’s probably still open?”

“It’s only 6:58. I can go now. What gear should I bring?” Blue looked more determined than ever before. Even more than his first and last champion battle.

“Just tell ‘em you plan to go to the Mt Silver campsite. You cannot tell them that you plan to go to the top. Trust me,” Leaf informed him.

“I could bring Mew with me. They can likely teleport us to the top once we get closer to the peak," Blue planned aloud.

“That’s risky, but it may pay off. The wind gets harsher and the snow thicker the farther up you go."

“Arceus, I hate the cold," Blue confessed.

“You’ll put up with it. For him." Leaf winked then took off running.

Blue grabbed at his bright orange hair. Now what could that mean?! His face flushed bright red. He started sweating. RIGHT. I have to go get my gear. Then eat. Man, I’m hungry. When he tried to get up, his legs shook so much that he nearly fell over again. His chest heaved in a huff and his breath billowed out, turning into fog in the crisp, early spring air. Blue finally mustered up enough strength to walk over to the store. The streets were completely clear, as the sun had completely vanished on the horizon. It was unsafe to walk the streets when it was dark out. That’s when Team Rocket does their most heinous crimes. Blue did not care. He was going to find Red as soon as possible. Besides, he knew that his beloved Blastoise would protect him from any grunts looking for trouble.

“Relicanth Inter-regional Mountaineering Co" Blue read aloud. Ah. Still open. Nice. He opened the large front door and stepped inside. His parents, while not doing much, had always given him enough money to stay at hotels along his journeys, so he didn’t have to sleep outside. Unfortunately, this led to him knowing next to nothing about outdoor gear. Red would probably know where to go. He took me here once before. I hardly remember it. I just remember him leading me around the store and me reluctantly interpreting his signs. I should’ve been nicer to him… 

“Excuse me? Do you need any help finding anything?” A shy-looking employee asked Blue. He jumped a little and turned to face her.

“What would you recommend for someone going up to the campsite at Mt Silver?” Blue looked down at his feet when he finished his query.

“When are you going?”

“Tomorrow,"

“I think I’d advise against that,"

“I lost something really important when I flew overhead. I really need it back." Now that was a great lie, Blue! “Please?” He pleaded.

“Oh, okay, fine. I’ll help you. Before you leave tomorrow, stop by so I can give you a detailed guide on how to not be killed." She placed her hands on her hips then gestured for Blue to follow. As the employee, named Emily, explained each piece of gear in excruciating detail, her coworker was diligently copying down every word. “Alright. The guide still needs more information, but you should be all set come tomorrow. I hope you find what you lost," Emily said at the register.

“I seriously cannot thank you enough. I hope I do too. It’s been a tough… day since I lost it. I’ll see ya guys tomorrow," Blue gushed. He tried to not pay too much attention to how much he just spent.

“Bye!” The two employees shouted, almost in sync, as Blue exited the building. As soon as Blue was out of sight, the pair turned to each other.

“That was probably the most blatant lie I’ve ever heard," Emily admitted to Dillan, her coworker.

“Yeah. We’ve seen Red come in here multiple times. He’s really not great at disguises. Blue is obviously trying to get him down."

“He’s all the way at the peak, probably. Maybe we should tell him how to not die at the peak, too?” Emily suggested.

“Yeah, totally," Dillan was a little quiet before asking, “Do you really think he can bring him down? You’ve seen Red. That dead stare leads me to believe he is not going to be willing to go down permanently…” he trailed off.

“I heard that he’s just like that, but, yeah, we can only hope Blue won’t have a hard time convincing him," The pair stared off into space. “We should go up there sometime. All the way to the peak," Emily considered.

“Maybe…”

The Pokemon Center has a few rooms for travelling trainers. Luckily for Blue, one was open, so he did not have to go back to his Gramp’s place for the night. There was a lot for him to pack. Emily did say that the pack he had on him should be large enough for all the gear, but Blue was suspicious. However, once he started putting all the ropes, anchors, and other miscellaneous climbing gear into the bag, he realized that Emily was correct. He spent a solid hour and a half packing, ten minutes eating a sandwich from the convenience store in the front of the Pokemon Center, and about 20 minutes of nervous pacing before he went to sleep. He had to get up early, and he had no time to waste.

Chapter Text

(Blue POV)

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. My alarm was ringing. It was 5:30 AM. Way too early for me. I have to wake up early for Red, though. I really hope that Gold kid was right; this gear was expensive, and even though I am a morning person, 5:30 was a little ridiculous. I am not excited to put on all the layers that will keep me warm on the peak. The weather has gotten milder as March passes on. I am going to also be real sweaty before I begin my descent. Even worse, Emily told me that I am not allowed to sweat during my trek up. I quickly put my clothes on. All four layers. I am actually allowed to keep the last one off. For now. The Pokemon Center offers a few complimentary snacks for those staying over. I made sure to grab a few before heading over to the RIM.

It’s still dark out. I’d have to be wary, especially because I need to walk slower. It took way too long for me to reach the store- about 25 mins. I decided to eat on the way. I felt way too nervous to eat much. I just cannot believe I might see him. Oh, Arceus, I miss him more than I thought. I eventually lugged myself and my pack to the front door and knocked.

“Come on in!” Emily shouted in a whispery tone. I slipped in through the ajar door. Dillan, who’s name I did not know until I looked at his name tag, shoved a thick packet into my hands.

“Wow, that’s… a lot," I remarked.

“Yup. We just want to make sure you get him back," Emily replied. Dillan elbowed her. My stomach dropped. “I mean- get it back, right? Yeah?”

“Ouh man," I muttered.

“We know you’re going to the top of Mt Silver," Dillan admitted.

“Which is fine. We think we know why, and we want you to succeed," said Emily.

“Uh." My face flushed bright red. I didn’t think my true intentions were that obvious. I turned away and started reading. A lot of the advice was pretty obvious, but some of it was unprecedented and quite useful. Avoiding avalanches can be done by outspeeding them by tobogganing on top of my Blastoise. The more you know. I guess she can move pretty fast when sliding. After about thirty minutes of scrutinizing the packet, I decided that it was time for me to stop wasting my time and start my ascent. I waved at the two coworkers when I left.

“He’ll be fine, right?” Emily asked Dillan after I was already around the corner.

“I say 50/50," He replied.

“Yeah,"

My large boots were clunking against the sidewalk. They were so large that I had to walk heel to toe. I hope that doesn’t draw too much attention to me. The entrance to the summit was a quick bike ride from Route 22 then Route 28. I had to go pretty slow, though. The cool spring breeze was quite refreshing. The sun also was not up yet. All-in-all, I was not overly hot. I used a repel to make sure no wild Pokemon would jump out at me. It smelled pretty bad. I was unfortunately still sweating from all the vigorous movement in my legs.

I left my bike in the rack and made sure to lock it. The entrance was a dreary grey gravel with a gigantic wooden arch entrance. “Welcome to the Mt Silver Summit! Stay Alert, Stay Alive!” Well, gee, that’s not exactly encouraging. I reviewed the packet one last time and put my pack on. The first little bit had ropes already built in. I’ll be making my own snow anchors after I pass the campsite. I can get Mew and maybe Pidgeot to help. I tied the knot detailed in the packet and clipped it in my carabiner. Then, I pulled out my pickaxe and began the climb. The technique of getting the climbing started was detailed in the packet, but much harder to execute than I thought. I was more wiggling up the sheer, steep slope than climbing. The relentless snow and wild winds were not helping.

I made it up to the campsite after about an hour of climbing. I still have over half of the mountain to climb up. Once I get to the ¾ mark, I’ll have Mew teleport me up. I still have another snack, and the climbing was taking all the energy I possess, so I was quite hungry. There was a bench near the path the packet told me to take. I sat down, not feeling very comfortable. I was not distinctly warm, but I was not cold either. I did not want to take my gloves off to eat my snack. The cold was as bitter as it’s been, but the snow and the wind did not follow me here. I ate my snack in a focused silence, my fingers starting to freeze. I had to make my first snow anchor after this. I read the instructions to Pidgeot so much that I have them memorized. If I do it wrong, I’ll likely fall to my death, so I better do everything right.

“Ready to come on out Pidgeot?!” I shouted in the empty snowy wasteland. I threw out the quick ball I used to catch him. He came out and fluttered down to sit next to me. “Can you make a snow anchor using this rope?” I pulled the rope out of my bag. “Up that peak. I need to go another 150m up the peak. Make sure it can hold me, my bag, and even more," Pidgeot took the rope out of my hand into his beak and started taking off. Waiiit! I have more to tell you! “Be careful! The wind and snow get worse the higher you go!” I shouted to fluttering tail feathers consumed by the blizzard above. Hope he heard me.

There wasn’t much to do while I waited for Pidgeot besides rearranging the contents of my bag and fiddling with the faux fur on my coat. He sure is taking a while. There aren’t any wild Pokemon here, right? Maybe he’s just caught in a battle. I started kicking my legs restlessly. Something on my belt started shaking. Right where I keep my other Pokeballs. A blue glow lit up my face in the dim morning light. Mew decided to come out of their Pokeball on their own. “Mew!” They shouted. The small pink creature floated around my head and nestled in my hair.

“Why are you out right now? I am gonna ask you to teleport me later, but it’s unsafe for you to be out for too long. It’s freezing out here!” I scolded Mew. They floated down to my face, looking quite mad. “Hey, I don’t want you to freeze!” I retorted. That little prick decided to stick their tongue out at me and grossly pulled their lower eyelid down. I gasped and placed my hand on my chest indignantly. “You will still teleport me up, right? Remember Red? He’s up here, at the peak." Mew sunk down on my pack, which was on my lap. Red always loved playing with Mew. I heard something above me. Probably Pidgeot. I looked up with Mew. A huge shadow was diving down towards the bench fast. Almost too fast. I grabbed Mew and the pack and leapt out of the way. However, when the large bird Pokemon dove through the cloud layer, he seemed alright and was even still carrying the rope. He abruptly folded his wings into a parasol shape to break the fall and eventually landed politely on the bench. I gave him a look of determination, knowing the grueling climb coming next.

The further up I climbed, the harder it was for me to get a grip with my pickaxe. The permafrost grew thicker, and my goggles were starting to hold on for dear life due to the wind. Mew refused to go back to their Pokeball, deciding to just hang out in my hood instead. The snow anchor was holding up so far, but I have my doubts. I have no idea how Pidgeot built it as well as it is. I’ll be sure to give him extra pokepuffs later. I looked up. I couldn’t see much above me due to the thick clouds and blizzard. I have no idea how close I am to the top. Judging by how long I’ve been climbing, I should be a little over halfway up the rope.

After another hour of cautious and grueling climbing, I reached the top. Pidgeot had made the anchor around a large boulder jutting out on the peak. It made a good resting place for Mew to focus on teleportation. They were still hiding out in my hood. Unfortunately, Mew was not the most agreeable Pokemon, so I would just have to wait until they were willing to try to teleport us up. Despite all the layers I was wearing, I was still quite chilly. It had been about ten minutes until I tried asking Mew, “are ya ready to teleport us up?”

“Mew…” They yawned. The pink bean-like critter lazily floated to my lap. They were surprised by how cold it was, as their eyes widened into huge blue circles.

“Sorry, pal… it’s quite frigid. Red may have a hideout, so the sooner you can teleport, the sooner you may get some warmth," I explained. Mew looked up at me and unleashed some of their psychic power. An eerie pink glow surrounded them, and their eyes glowed a bright blue light. “You can do it, Mew! Visualize the peak, or Red. That might work too,"

“MEW!!” Their cry echoed through the stark storm. We disappeared. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was white. My light brown eyes then focused. Below my feet was more snow. I looked to the heavens above and saw a torrent of snow and clouds. There’s no way we aren’t at the peak. I looked around from Mew. Their safety is of utmost importance being a mythical Pokemon. I found them playfully floating by my head. The teleport was not too far, so they shouldn’t be too wiped out.

“Here, go back in my hood." I gestured to my fur etched, warm coat. Mew excitedly snuggled inside. There was nothing else to do but start looking for my long lost Red. I looked around. I was close to the edge behind me. The actual highest point of the mountain appeared to be in front of me, so I pressed on forwards. The wind was actively pushing against me. Walking was exceedingly strenuous at this point. I was pressed on by a dip in the wind speed, which led to more clarity in my vision. Just over the next snowbank, I thought I saw a standing figure. That’s got to be him! There’s no way that it’s anyone else! I started running. I fell over multiple times, but I didn’t care. He was right. There! Finally, the figure became clear. He was wearing his signature black tee, a sleeveless red jacket that I had seen before, and blue and black flame pants. It was definitely him. He was turned away from me. I froze. Well, what do I say? We were a happy couple before he left, so would he even want to see me now? Just act like old times…

Chapter Text

“HEY!” I shouted. Red turned around. His hair had grown out, and he had gotten noticeably stronger. He used to be quite scrawny. His hair was also a dusky brown now. Did he stop dyeing it? “IT’S ME, BLUE! I’M NOT LEAVING UNLESS YOU GET DOWN FROM HERE!” I announced, to the detriment of Mew’s sensitive ears. Red just stared at me. I started to approach, which was a bad decision on my part, as he took off running. “Oh no you don’t!” Mew seemed to understand that stuff was going down. They blasted out of my hood, ready for my suggestion. “Use psychic on him, and get him over here!” I ordered Mew. Red stopped moving in the distance, a pink glow surrounded him, and he was dragged to where I was standing. I don’t know what I was thinking, as I jumped up to tackle him to the ground. Surprisingly, Red did not struggle much against me. He could probably kill me with his newfound strength if he tried. “I ain’t letting you go until you explain yourself," I felt him starting to move, so I tightened my grip. My arms were wrapped around his hips and arms with my full weight pressed down on him to prevent escape. He flung me off like I weighed nothing. I fell hard into the snow. Mew floated over to help me get up. My nose was bleeding, staining the snow the same name that was now ominously hovering over me. 

“Oh, I’m sorry," He just barely whispered under his breath. I looked up. He extended his hand out to me. I hesitated, but eventually took it. With the same strength, he pulled me up effortlessly. He then led me over to a cavern on the other side of the true peak. Inside were blue crystal stalactites and stalagmites glimmering through the otherwise bland, grey walls. It was nearly pitch black with the only light coming from the faint light in the entrance and the soft luminance of the crystals. After about five more minutes of walking I saw more light. It looked like a little cabin. He gently let go of my hand and opened the door. It was cozy inside. There was a very empty coat rack, warm lighting from a series of mismatching lamps, a fluffy carpet near a brick fireplace, a plush blue chair, and a very standard kitchen next to a simple bed. To my right was  presumably a bathroom. I turned to face Red, who was shutting the door behind him.

“Ah, much warme-” I was cut off by Red suddenly throwing his arms around me. I just kind of stood there in his embrace. It was quiet. I felt warm even though I could tell that he was cold. I even noticed that my nose had stopped gushing blood. I slowly crept my arms up until I had them wrapped around his shoulders. They have gotten much broader since I’ve seen him last. “You’re freezing cold, Red. I’ll send my Arcanine out; he’ll warm you right up. I’ll also have him start a fire," I scolded. Red walked off and sat down on the carpet. I reached for my belt pokeball holder, specifically for the great ball that housed my Arcanine. He’s got me outta many tough spots. Fire Blasting through Team Rocket grunts, giving me warmth on Victory Road, I could go on… I noticed a thick, tan blanket on Red’s bed. “Hey! Red! Do you want this blanket?” I shouted. I made sure to get a good view of Red over Arcanine’s massive, sprawled out body. I learned over time that if he gets overwhelmed, he seemingly loses all ability to speak and starts to sign. My Gramps made me learn sign language when his family moved in.

[Yes] Red signed, emphatically. I gave him a thumbs up. The blanket was a lot heavier than I thought. I dropped the blanket on Red’s knees, which were pulled to his chest. I took my jacket off, dropped it off on the coat rack, then took my boots and snow pants off. Lastly, I need to wash my face off, so I don’t look like I just murdered someone with my nose. Once I was done I finally got to rest and be warm. I practically sprinted over to Arcanine and settled down, resting my head on his flank. Red was close. Too close. I don’t think I’m ready to even start to forgive him yet. I heard rustling. He had turned towards me. I should probably make sure he’s okay. He felt way too frigid. I turned back. He was staring a little too intently.

“Let me feel your forehead," I requested.

[OK] I pulled my gloves off and pressed the back of my hand to his forehead, ensuring to get under his now longer hair. He was still puzzlingly cold.

“Why are you still so freezing? Is there something wrong?”

[I have the frozen status condition. Can you get me an Aspear berry, please?] He tried to smile at me. He clearly hasn’t smiled in a long time. Yikes… I have some in my bag. It wasn’t too far out of reach. I reluctantly gave it to him from the berry pocket in my bag.

“And where’s my thank you?” I snidely asked. Red quickly finished the berry.

[Thank you] 

“There we go." I crossed my arms and leaned back against my pal’s fur. “Ugh, right, let me see if your temperature has gotten better." I turned to face him. He looked expressionless but had some more color in his face. I shoved the back of my palm to his forehead. He winced. Although, he felt distinctly less like a corpse. “So now that’s settled…” I began. I eyed Red as he turned away from me. “You’ve got some explaining to do." He rotated his head, so that he could look at me with his hazel eyes. I could’ve sworn his eyes used to be red… What is going on? “Just tell me why you decided to leave when everyone needed you most. Your mother hasn’t left her house since you’ve left. My sister has been taking care of her full time while Leaf and I were looking for you." Gee, maybe that was too harsh. He’ll never give me answers like this! “I mean, you don’t have to explain now. Do it when you’re ready," I sighed.

“No, you deserve answers," Red flatly stated. He was on his back, looking with glassy eyes up at the wooden ceiling. “I guess it was just the realization. I knew that I did look a bit like him, Giovanni, that is. That’s why I dyed my hair and wore contacts. Him leaving my mom and me thinking that I had changed him was just too much. It was more than just a simple betrayal, Blue. A huge part of my life I had no idea about appeared itself to me, and I didn’t like it. My mom always told me I had his strong spirit and conviction. It made me scared when I found out that’s who ‘he’ was. Like I didn’t even know who I was. I mean, Leaf is my half sister and that Silver kid is my half brother. I don’t want to be like him, but I am,” Red word-vomited at me.

“Huh.” I was silent for a few minutes, just processing all of it. I remember now… We were visiting his mom after doing some champion business. We were finally going to tell her that we were dating. We had grown to like each other to the point of romance when I got over my defeat as Champion and agreed to assist him into becoming a more personable Champ. We attended the trainer school the day before and got strange looks like usual. People around here aren’t used to couples like us. I remember him being bothered by that, but he knew that his mother would probably just sign [I love you!] over and over while crying and giving us the biggest hug ever. When we got to his house, Giovanni was there instead of his mother. I guess that combined with the knowledge that his dad is actually Giovanni, the villain that Red thought was reformed because of him, and that his dad wanted Red to fill his shoes as Team Rocket leader was just too much. Oh, and that he has two half siblings and that Giovanni left his mother due to the language barrier, while cheating on her with Leaf’s mom. Now that I think about it, they do look uncannily similar… Wait. I’m getting off-topic. Okay, I’ll give you this one, Red, that is a lot to process. But two whole years???

“I’ve been training to come down and face him. I had gotten close to just packing up and leaving, but I got too scared every time,” Red whispered. I held my words back for once. I need to make my next sentence perfect.

“Oh. I’m still mad at you, but less. I get it. That kind of lore bomb would freak anyone out. I just wish you actually did come down on your own. I missed you, idiot.” I flicked his nose.

“I, uh, missed you too, Blue.” Red turned his face down into Arcanine’s side. “I want to stay here for a little while. You can bring your Pokemon out in the back. I’ll also make dinner for us later,” he informed me.

“Okay,” I replied. I have no idea what he means by ‘out back’. I got up anyway and looked towards the back of the cabin. There was a door between his bed and refrigerator. I walked towards it and opened it up. Inside was a very well-lit, spacious room that housed all of Red’s Pokemon, including Mewtwo. Mewtwo who slammed me and my Blastoise so hard that I ended up bedridden for months. Awkward. Beneath my feet was soft mountain grass that you’d find in a more tropical peak. The ground was warm due to a system of floor heating. There was a skylight and clearly a Sunny Day set up by Red’s Charizard to give even more warmth and light for the foliage. His Vileplume was napping, all of her limbs splayed out, and his Pikachu was seeking shade under the former's flower-like appendage. A little hot spring pool was in the back right corner and was occupied by his Lapras. My Blastoise got along quite well with her, so maybe they can share. Charizard was napping in the sun along with Snorlax, and Mewtwo was sulking in a corner. “There you are Mew!” I shouted. The little rascal was floating around Mewtwo, making a ruckus.

As soon as I let out Blastoise, Exeggutor, Pidgeot, and Machamp, they ran off, already enamored by the enclosure. I decided to sit down on the grass. Red seemed like he wanted to be alone anyway. I wonder how long it took him to build this… My thoughts were interrupted by Mewtwo walking over to me.

“What exactly are you doing here?” She said, telepathically. I’ll never get over just how freaky the whole Pokemon telepathically communicating with humans concept is.

“I’ve come to get Red to go back home,” I straightforwardly answered. Mewtwo nodded then looked over in Red’s direction.

“Do you really think you can do that? I’ve tried countless times, but he remained unconvinced.”

“I hope so. Most of the world has requested his presence as a well-respected Champion. Multiple regions are dealing with more than one outraging legendaries. Their Champions have either disappeared or have failed. Besides, everyone below misses him dearly. I certainly have.” Mewtwo closed her eyes and stood as still as a statue in front of me.

“How could I have missed this?” She asked, rhetorically. “Thank you for informing me, Blue. I should’ve picked up the psychic disturbances, but maybe not this high up…”

“You think he’ll agree to it?”  Come to think of it, I think I should tell Red that I think we should just remain friends for now. We can work out any romantic feelings after I’ve fully forgiven him.

“First idea yes, second one even I don’t know. His true feelings about others are a mystery even to me.”

“Eh?” Stupid Blue! You shouldn’t have thought about that so close to a powerful psychic Pokemon. “I hope you’re right- about the first part, that is.”

The door creaked. Both of us turned to face Red. [Now, I’m gonna cook us some soup.] he signed.

“Oh, cool. Need any help?” I questioned. Red looked down at his feet.

[Fine]

“You got it.” I returned. I got to my feet and followed Red inside. All of our Pokemon stayed outside to play. “Was it hard creating that enclosure?” I wasn’t sure if he heard me, as he was getting supplies from the cabinet beneath his stove. He sighed in annoyance, loudly placed the pots he was holding down, and indignantly turned towards me.

[No, Charizard and Mewtwo made the cavern, Vileplume helped grow the grass, and Lapras filled the spring. The only difficult part was installing the glass.]

“Gee, you didn’t have to explain the whole thing,” I teased. I opened one of my eyes to find Red giving me a signature deadpan stare. I watched as he cut up a variety of berries, veggies, and mushrooms.

[Can you boil this?] He had to gesture to the whole cutting board full of chopped up delights. I wordlessly followed his instructions.

“Is this going to be broth?”

[Yes.]

“Alrightio.” Once all the ingredients boiled, I added a pinch of salt then turned down the heat to a simmer. I took a step back to let the broth cook, as Red was preparing all the toppings for the soup. I watched him methodically cook soy protein, more mushrooms, and some leafy vegetables. I sat down on his bed, which was a lot plusher than I thought it’d be. I noticed he had a small bedside table with an overturned picture frame. I side-eyed Red, and he looked distracted enough to sneak a look at the picture. Without taking my eyes off him, I slowly reached towards the frame. My fingertips barely brushed against it when he turned to look at me, seemingly noticing my movement in his peripheral vision. He raised an eyebrow at me.

[What are you doing?] Red emphasised the question aspect of his signing to the best of his ability.

“Nothin’. Am I not supposed to sit on your bed?” I tried to innocently ask.

[I don’t care.] Red shrugged and got back to tending to the soup. “Just don’t look at that photo. I’ll just show it to you later,” he muttered. He brought up his pointer finger and tilted it outwards in an almost sassy way. That’s the most expression he’s had yet! 

I decided to leave him alone and go bother Arcanine, who was still flopped in front of the burning fireplace. “Hey there, pal.” I plopped onto the ground next to his gigantic head. I placed my hand on the mass of fur around his head. My hand completely disappeared. He opened up one eye and side-eyed me. Nothing of interest happened before Red practically whispered at me that the soup was done. I did let Arcanine outside, however.

“So, what are your Pokemon gonna eat?” I softly questioned my old boyfriend. The soup was way too hot to eat right now, but it did smell absolutely delicious.

“I have some berries and Pokemon food I give them after dinner.” He gestured to a pantry next to the stove and at the berry basket in front of the chair near the fireplace.

“Another question,” I stated, trying to provoke a response.

“Shoot.”

Should I go with the serious one in mind or the unserious one. I don’t want to stress him out, but I’m dying to know! “If I were you, Blue, I’d go with the temperature one,” Mewtwo’s voice instructed me. Hey, get out of my mind! But thanks for the advice, I guess. “You’re welcome.”

“How are you able to eat the soup? It’s so hot!”

“I don’t know. I don’t really get bothered by extreme temperatures too much I guess,” he muttered. It was really hard to hear him. Sorry, Mewtwo, but I think I’m going to mess with him.

“So.”

“What now?” He asked as I finally was able to take a bite of the noodles.

“Where am I going to sleep tonight?” I couldn’t help but to hide the smirk growing on my face. Red’s own face was slowly turning into a namesake color.

“I’m not sleeping on the floor of my own house,” he flatly declared.

“Finally sticking up for yourself, eh? You’re ready to come down,” I retorted.

“Huh? I- uhm. Wait. No, that wouldn’t make sense.” Red was seemingly panicking. It was pretty cute seeing him get all flustered, not that I want to date him again. For now at least.

“Oh, come off it. You’ll be fine. We’ll come up with a foolproof plan to take Team Rocket down once and for all! I’ll even make sure we contact Looker this time, so an arrest can actually be made,” I encouraged. “Plus, Hoenn and Sinnoh have a pretty severe case of outraging legendaries that their own Champions cannot handle. Apparently Sinnoh’s Champion Dawn is trapped in something called the Distortion World.” I ate another heaping pile of noodles and veggies. “Oh, man, you are quite the cook! This is great.”

“I’m getting too many mixed signals.” He pointedly made sure to not look at me.

“You still don’t get it? Alright. I want us to go back to being friends, Red. I don’t think I’ve forgiven you enough to go back to being boyfriends. I still care about you, and maybe we can go back to how things used to be someday, but not now. I just wanted to make sure you knew my true feelings,” I admitted. “What do ya say?” I looked at him. I still could not see his face. He may take a while to reply. I should just eat more of this delicious soup in the meantime.

“I figured that you’d say that,” he finally answered while I was in the middle of a particularly tasty bite of soup. I made eye contact with him. He grabbed my hands quite gently, but with plenty of speed. The table rattled and his chair made a loud scraping noise as he stood up. “I promise that I’m going to become someone worthy of your love, Blue. No more slip-ups, no more disappearing acts. I’m gonna be there for you and all of our loved ones, but especially you.” I smiled. There’s his fiery spirit. Welcome back, Red. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders.

“I’m looking forward to it.” We pulled apart and got back to eating our dinner. The atmosphere was still awkward, but Red was now definitely making an effort to lighten the mood. I realized right then that I really have to be direct with him when I want him to understand a point I’m trying to make. I should really pay more attention to his reactions. I never realized just how subtle his emotions can be unless I say something really out of pocket. I kind of love that about him.

“Done with your soup?” Red asked me.

“Yup.” I handed him my bowl, chopsticks, and soup spoon. “Want me to help you feed our Pokemon?”

“That’d be really helpful.” He placed the dishes in the sink for now. He opened the pantry and showed me the guide on the bags of Pokemon food for how much to feed all of his pokemon. “You should also give them a few berries. Do you know which ones everyone likes?”

“Yes.” I watched as Red grabbed a few bowls. He did not have enough for all of our Pokemon. “Ah, do you have any other bowls?”

“No.”

“Well, that’s um, not good,” Red sighed. I shrugged.

“What do we do?” I questioned.

“Pile it on the ground and add many extra apology berries.”

“I’ll get the basket.” I passed behind him and picked up the wicker bowl in my hands. It felt very new and like there were several opportunities for me to get a splinter. I hope he distributes bowl privilege evenly between our Pokemon. Mewtwo and Mew will probably get a bowl, Charizard will, my Blastoise will, his Snorlax will, and… OH Pidgeot should get one! I’ll have to tell Red. “Hey, Red!”

“What’s up?”

“Make sure to give Pidgeot a bowl! He did an excellent job making my snow anchor today,” I requested.

“Sounds good.” He gave me a cautious thumbs-up. I beamed back and skillfully opened the back door with one hand and my back.

“Hey, everyone! It’s food time. So, we don’t have enough bowls for everyone, so, sorry about that. Those without bowls will receive extra berries, do not worry!” I announced. Ah, wait. I  don’t know which of our ‘Mons to give treats to. “Let me just double check who’s getting what. Don’t eat these!” I dropped the basket on the floor and slipped inside. “Reeeed!” I shouted.

“A little help, Blue,” he pleaded. I looked over to find him struggling to hold five of the bowls on his arms and head.

“Ah! Hold on.” I shuffled to where he was standing. I took the bowl off of his hat. It wasn’t until now that I realized he was still wearing the hat I gave him when I had asked him to be my boyfriend. I was staring at him without noticing for a solid 30 seconds. “Sorry,” I muttered as I took another bowl. We’ll both carry three. I stacked the third on my nondominant right arm. I walked in front of Red and opened the door for him. “AUGH! Mew, you little rascal!” I chided. They were eating a Pecha berry and floating around near an annoyed-looking Mewtwo. I heard Red quietly chuckle. After he handed out the food, both of us went back to get the bags to feed everyone else. Once we were done handing out food and berries, we sat down against the wall, watching our Pokemon eat. Red’s Pikachu decided to take a nap on his lap and finish eating his berries. I don’t really remember much past this moment. I was exhausted from the climb and ready to go to sleep.

Chapter Text

(Red POV)

I was starting to get tired, too, after a little while of hanging out with my Pokemon. Blue was already passed out. He was leaning on my shoulder. That made me nervous. He looked really cute. I really don’t. I need to get a haircut and shave. I should also shower. Making soup always made me sweaty. I need to freshen up, but I can’t just leave him here. Maybe he should sleep out here? It’s nice and warm. The grass is soft. I can give him my pillow… Okay, it’s settled. I slowly moved under his head, holding out my arms to catch him. I braced my arms for his weight when he fell off of my shoulder. I lowered his upper body gently to the ground. I smiled. It kind of hurts. I haven’t pulled much expression in a long time. I slid into my house, grabbed my pillow, then returned outside. I kneeled on the grass next to Blue. I reached my hand out, then pulled it back. How should I do this? I don’t want to wake him up. He looks so peaceful. I had a lightbulb moment. I reached one arm around Blue’s back and softly grabbed his shoulder that was resting on the grass. I got a grip on the same shoulder with my other arm. I lifted him up and pushed the pillow under him with my leg. I set him down. A chunk of his ginger hair had cascaded over his eye. I couldn’t help but to brush it behind his ear.

I always enjoyed the steam of a nice hot shower. It was probably my favorite part of the day. I was only able to withstand the cold in my casual clothes by having Lapras place me into the frozen status condition. Once I was done with my shower, I stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was practically down to my mid back- a far cry from the kind of messy short hair that went down to my ears. The hair I used to dye black. The first time I ran into Team Rocket, they remarked at how similar I looked to their boss. They showed me a picture. The resemblance was uncanny. I started using black hair dye and used red contact lenses, mainly because I thought they looked cool, but I also wanted to distance myself from him. I’ve let that habit go. I need to learn to accept that relation is part of me, but to not have it change me. I’ve let it change me. I abandoned my responsibilities for far too long. It’s time to start anew. I pulled open the cabinet. A pair of scissors laid inside. I held them up to a long part of my hair. Snip. If I wanted to start being like my old self, I may as well feel more at home in my body.

I don’t think I did too much of a shoddy job. It looked a bit uneven, but felt much better. Now I had to shave. I didn’t bother shaving very often, but I still did it. This takes me back to when I became champion. I was 15 at the time. I had started growing facial hair and had no idea how to shave. I nicked myself several times when I tried. I had an interview that day. My approval ratings were… not that good after that day. Lance took me to the side and declared he was going to teach me everything my dad was supposed to. It really was a kind gesture. I wonder how everything is going there. 

I was finally finished getting ready for bed. I decided at that moment that I’ll also sleep out back. I’ve actually done it before. It was more comfortable than one would think. I just used my sleeping bag and pillow, which I can only use one of. I was always looking for my pack. I’ll have to make sure it’s all packed for tomorrow. I checked under my bed, not there. How is it that I lose things here? It’s so small! I checked under the chair next. Ah! There it is! I retrieved my sleeping bag from the bottom part of my pack. I turned all the lights off and grabbed the blanket from earlier before making my way out back. I surveyed all of our Pokemon passed out in the grass. My eyes wandered to where Blue was curled up. I placed the blanket on top of him and tucked it in just below his chin. I walked a few feet to the left of him and unfurled my sleeping bag. I snuggled inside of it, using my hands as a pillow. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but the floor heating made everything better. I eventually drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to the smell of something delicious, almost like pancakes. I opened my eyes and looked over to where Blue was. He was gone along with the pillow and blanket. I sat up and wiggled out of my blue sleeping bag. I came inside.

“Good morning, Red. I’m making pancakes. I hope that’s okay. I thought I’d be nice for once,” Blue expressed.

“I was gonna make you pancakes…” I admitted, sadly.

“Ohhhhh, sorry.”

“It’s okay-”

“OH SWEET ARCEUS! YOUR HAIR!” Blue shouted, not paying any more attention to the stove. “You look SO GOOD!”

“Oh, uhm. I cut it last night. It was far too long for my liking,” I explained.

“Oh wait, the pancakes!” Blue squeaked. He hurriedly put the slightly burnt round cakes on a plate. “You can have the burnt ones.”

“Oh, thank you sooo much,” I sarcastically thanked him.

“No problem!” He winked at me and started cooking his own. I made some oran berry syrup a little while ago, which Blue did find and left out for us to use. I poured some on to my breakfast and started eating. Blue eventually sat down across from me. “Pass me the syrup?”

“Yeh.” I slid the bottle across the table. I really liked the sound of the glass clinking against the different wooden boards.

“Oh, now this is good,” Blue declared.

“Yay.” The taller guy in front of me stared into my eyes. He covered his mouth with a sideways hand and chuckled. “What?” I asked.

“You said that ‘yay’ so flatly! Oh, man have I missed this!” I wasn’t quite sure what blue meant by ‘this’, but it seemed like a good thing. I just shrugged my shoulders and went back to finishing my breakfast.

Once I was finished eating my pancakes I informed Blue, “We’re going to leave today as soon as possible.” He didn’t have any response; he just smiled and made a point to devour his breakfast faster.

“Okay, I’m done, let’s get outta here!” Blue said about 45 seconds later. I was taken aback by his speed.

“Not yet. I gotta do the dishes and pack still,” I returned.

“I’ll do the dishes. You go pack.” I was surprised at the offer. I think he just wants to get me off this mountain. I sighed and went outside. I rolled up my sleeping bag, gathered my pack, and put all of my Pokemon back in their Pokeballs. Most trainers carry a clip-on Pokeball holder on their belt, including me, so I put all six of my Pokeballs into the holder. What should I bring with me? Definitely my bedding, toiletries, and, wait. That’s kind of everything I need. Oh, I need to throw away perishable foods, too. The blanket and pillow I gave Blue was at my feet from where I was standing.  I placed them in my bag. Putting the rest of my items away did not take very long either.

“Tossing this, this, not this, definitely not this, this…” I droned. Blue was holding a trash bag out for me to throw mold-hazard refrigerator items away. I think I want this place to be a haven for people who manage to wander up here. It’s cozy, has heating, and is much better than camping out. Besides, if anyone deserved to stay at a nice cabin free of charge such as this, it is someone who managed to get to the peak of Mt Silver. I made the last toss into the bag. It was small enough to fit into my pack. We were finally both ready. Blue had put all of his Pokemon away, finished the few dirty dishes left with me putting them away, and helped me tidy the place up.

“You ready, Red?” Blue asked. I couldn’t tell how he was feeling, as his face was obscured by winter goggles.

“As I’ll ever be…”

“You got this. Just remember that you have my, Daisy’s, Leaf’s, your mother’s, and everyone who adores you as Champion’s support,” He described.

“Thank you?” I tilted my head to the side in a puzzled manner.

“I’m trying to tell you that we all love you. I’m sure you’ll receive a warm welcome, so there’s no need to be scared.” I gave him a doubtful look. “If you pull off the Giovanni defeat, everyone will forget about the whole disappearing for two years thing.”

“Not helping, Blue!” I know he means well, but man, is he bad at expressing appreciation. I guess I can’t blame him. His primary caregiver, Professor Oak, was not exactly what an orphaned child such as him needed for proper development. When he lost his Championship to me, the professor chided him instead of being like, “you’ll get ‘em next time!” or, “you’re still Champion in my heart!”. The worst part was that he never got congratulated by the professor for his initial victory. No wonder he despised me for the next year. However, I can’t help but to feel bad for him- like a wet Meowth kind of way. 

“Oh, alright. I’ll just go with a generic, ‘you can do it, Red’!”

“I can get behind that. Thanks.”

“How are we getting down?” Blue asked after a very painful moment of silence. We were just kind of awkwardly standing in front of the door.

“We’re riding on Charizard,” I answered.

“Flying?! In this weather?”

“Yeah, I’ve done it plenty of ti-” I cut myself off. Of COURSE he would be freaked out! He lost his parents in a freak plane crash! Stupid, Red! GAH! “We’ll be fine, Blue. I’ll keep Mewtwo’s ball in my hand in case we need an emergency speedy teleport to the ground.”

“Why can’t we just teleport normally? Oh, wait. Hold on. She did say something about how the elevation messed with her psychic abilities.”

“Precisely.”

“Oh, all right, let’s just get this over with,” Blue sighed. I opened the door and gestured for him to go outside.

“Alright. Come on out Charizard!” I sent out his Pokeball, and with a blue flash of light, he appeared before us. “I keep his saddle here,” I added. I had a small porch with a chest on the left side. I opened it up with a key on my keyring. The saddle was fit for two people to use, and with Charizard’s larger than average size and strength, this trip will be easy for him. The large dragon-like creature had laid down, ready for me to strap it on. I placed the saddle on his back, and let him adjust the straps to his own comfort.

“You’ve never done this with two people, right?” Blue timidly asked me.

“No, but you probably don’t weigh more than the bed frame in there. You’re less clunky too. This will be a breeze for us,” I reassured.

“If you say so.” 

We started walking through the long tunnel of the cave. Blue was dawdling. I was almost tempted to just grab his arm and pull him along before I changed my mind about going down to the rest of the world. It took longer than the flight probably would, but we finally made it out of the cavern.

“Ok. I’ll help you first,” I told Blue. He nervously shifted his weight in the snow. “Be nice, Charizard,” I reminded my large, orange friend. “Oh, wait!” I nearly forgot to put his goggles on. I opened my bag after flipping it over my shoulder towards my chest. I opened the smallest pocket and got them out. Charizard got into his boarding position. I stretched the dark blue goggles around his horns and set them on his bright blue eyes. He purred in delight. It sure is strange that reptiles purr in delight. I thought that was more of a meowth thing. “You’re gonna go on the back, if that’s alright.”

“Uhm. I guess so…”

“Hey, don’t worry, your feet are always going to be buckled in. All you have to do is hold on to me, and you’ll be fine.” I gave him a thumbs up. He reluctantly gave me one back. I led him to the foothold on the back of the saddle for him to step up. “Ok. Step up here.”

“Like this?” He placed his boot on the hold.

“Yup!” I affirmed. “Now, swing your other leg over to the other side. He swung his leg around and somehow ended up kicking Charizard in the flank. Charizard grumbled in discontent.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, guy!” Blue shouted. He apologetically patted Charizard where he got kicked. “Let’s try this again,” he sighed. He pumped his leg before doing a big swing that succeeded in getting his leg over.

“Alright, let me strap your boots in, unless you want to do it yourself,” I offered.

“I don’t think I can reach that far down,” he explained.

“Ok, then just put your boots in the holds. They’re like right in front of you.” I watched him get settled quite quickly. I made sure to pull extra tight on the fasteners to ease Blue’s nerves. I got myself strapped in much faster than he did. “Are you ready to go?”

“Do you have Mewtwo ready?”

“Yeah.” I patted my pocket to where she was. “Make sure to hold on. I cannot stress that enough,” I stated. I felt his arms wrap around my waist then squeeze tight. My belt was digging into my hip bones, but I didn’t care. “Alright, let’s do this!” I shouted. Charizard took off. Blue somehow held on even tighter and made a high-pitched noise. I couldn’t really hear much due to the wind. We then dove at incredible speed over the ledge Blue apparently climbed up. I watched the fog thicken and clear out. The rocky cliffs below got clearer. Charizard stretched his wings out to break the fall. We both jerked up due to the force. Charizard then slowly fluttered to the ground. It looked like we were in a particularly grey parking lot. There was a bike rack in the distance with a green bike, the only splash of color in the entire place.

“Are we there yet?” Blue squeaked.

“Yes, now stop squeezing so hard.”

“Ah! Sorry!”

I unstrapped myself and hopped off. I watched Blue struggle to unstrap his own shoes. I looked around even more. I haven’t seen a tree in so long. And why is it so hot out? I was already starting to sweat. It was humid out, so it would not evaporate. My breathing also felt strange.

“Woah, are you alright?” Blue asked. I heard the crunches of the gravel as he ran up to me. I turned to face him

“It’s so hot out.” I pulled my hat off my head and started fanning my face.

“Yeah, agreed.”

“But you’re wearing winter clothes,” I added.

“Then let’s go to the Pokemon Center, so we can change,” Blue suggested. “I am going to take my jacket off though. You should too, but you can hold them. I’ll bike us over.”

“Oh right, that’s your bike.” I turned towards my napping Charizard. “Return.” I held out his pokeball, and with another flash of red light, he disappeared into the ball. I watched Blue take his coat off. A sliver of his stomach was visible when he reached up. I stared at my feet and took my sleeveless coat off. I also rolled my sleeves up to help with the heat.

“Alright, let’s go,” Blue said. I followed him to his bike. His walk was a little funny. His boots were way too clunky for him to walk normally. “You’re sitting in the back this time!” He playfully shoved me and started running towards his bike.

“Oh, you’re on!” I responded. I started sprinting towards the green bicycle. It was rather awkward with so many objects in my arms. Still though, I beat him there. He did look rather thin, so I’m not too surprised.

“Awh, you beat me!” Blue was holding his hands on his knees, and his head was hung low. He was breathing quite heavily. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I like it very much here. Too grey,” I agreed. 

Blue walked over to his bike and unlocked it. “Hold this,” he requested. I put it in my bag. He got on the front seat and told me to get on, so I did. He struggled with the first few pedals, but eventually got up to speed. I held on to the seat. I watched the scenery of Kanto rush past as Blue pedaled on. I didn’t realize how much I missed my home region until now. Sure I came down to buy supplies, but I never took in the sights or the feeling of being at home that was overpowering me right now. And I never realized how much I missed Blue’s company. I never expressed how much I appreciated his help for improving my image to the Kantonian people. On my second interview, I got so nervous, I ran off. It wasn’t until I got to the point where I did not leave my house, about a year after I became champion, Blue took a break from the Viridian City Gym and got me out of my funk. I really started enjoying my role as Champion.

When Blue breaked the bike, I practically fell onto him. I was so lost in my thoughts.

“Hey, get off of me will ya?” Blue complained.

“Sorry…” I got off the bike. We were right outside of the Pokemon Center. Viridian city was surely green… The Pokemon center and the Pokemart were the only buildings that weren’t green. I didn’t even notice that we passed by Blue’s gym, but if he’s been searching for me nonstop for two years, there must be someone else in charge. I’m certainly going to be glad to get out of the sun. It’s just so hot outside. “I’m excited to finally get some AC inside. It feels like a sauna out here.”

“Red, it’s like 70 degrees outside.”

“Really?” I worriedly asked.

“And it was about 40 in your house.”

“No way,” I said in shock. 

“Way,” he replied. He gestured at me to enter the automatic door. The Pokemon center was able to use the psychic energy of working Alakazam to transport one’s clothing in and out of their home inventory of clothes, meaning I can wear wherever I want that’s at home. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a Pokecenter. Nurse Joy was standing at the front like usual, trainers were playing with their Pokemon or resting, and townsfolk were gathering for fun. We both definitely got a few stares as we made our way to the changing area in the back left corner. I did look more like myself. “You go first,” Blue offered.

“No, you go. You got more clothes to change anyway,” I countered.

“But what if people try to pester you when you’re already uncomfortable?”

“I’ll be fine.” I waved him off. I probably won’t, but I’ll have to be by myself at some point. Might as well get it over with now. 

“If you say so.” Blue shrugged and entered the changing room, not before I gave him our coats. I leaned against the wall. I shifted over to where a wall was propped up past a resting area. That would work well in hiding myself. I twiddled my thumbs. I felt my pocket move after a few moments. It was Mewtwo’s Pokeball. Does she want to come out now? I can’t do that! No way I’m drawing more attention to myself. She can hear me inside the Pokeball if I speak to it.

“I can’t let you out right now. We’re in the Pokemon Center!” I whispered.

“I need to be refreshed. I want to help you fight your father, but my psychic powers aren’t there yet. Besides, it’d be good for us all to rest. We’ll need it,” she replied.

“Fine.” I sighed and trudged my way to the front.

“Hello, would you like to rest your Pokemon today?”

“Uhh.” I blanked. Say ‘yes’, Red! SAY ‘YES’! “Y-yeah?” I stammered. She stared back at me with her hands extended.

“Let me see your Pokemon.”

It seems I have forgotten to work my hands. I handed her Mewtwo’s ball first since that one was handy. I then tried to get Charizard’s, but I dropped it on the floor right on the release button. Oh no. He went out of his ball right on the floor, still sleeping. His long tail had knocked a few chairs over. No, no, no, no! The champion of Kanto, I think?,  cannot be doing this! I picked his ball up on the tiled floor and returned him with shame written all over my face. Nurse Joy was evidently trying to not burst out laughing. She does have a good poker face, I must admit… I handed her the rest of my Pokemon from the holder on my belt. If I were a Pokemon right now, I’d be Golem, and I would use Self Destruct. While my ‘Mons were in the machine, I went to pick up the overturned furniture my Charizard had caused.

“Here you go, have a nice day,” the pink-haired lady tried to say with a straight face. She handed the Pokeballs back to me. I made a point to not drop any as I put them back into my belt holder. Afterwards, I promptly ran away to where I was before. I didn’t notice that Blue was just standing in the doorway until I had fully returned to my spot. He had an expression I’ve never seen before plastered on his face. He saw everything. He walked up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

“Red,” he started.

“W-what?” I stuttered.

“Remind me to not let you interact with anyone without supervision.”

“Oh, Arceus, no. You’re going to have to re-train me to socialize aren’t you?” I asked, disparagingly.

“If I have to. I can’t let the Kantonians think even more poorly of you, since I still, unfortunately, care about you,” he replied.

“I’m going to get changed now.” I robotically stepped inside. Once the door closed, I let loose. I did my very best ‘distraught and on my knees’ pose. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, RED? WHY CAN’T YOU HANDLE THE MOST BASIC INTERACTION A TRAINER CAN HAVE? I know what to do. I’ll go up to Mt Silver again and just take Blue, Leaf, Daisy, and my mom with me! That’ll solve all of my problems! No, they’d be bored. Besides, there would be no way Blue would consider dating me if I did that. AUGH. Speaking of Blue, he’s probably getting worried by how long I’ve been in here. I should probably get changed…  I operated the screen in front of me to see what I had to wear. I think I need to ditch the flame pants. As iconic as they are, it’s time to leave that behind. But here’s the thing, I don’t have any other pants that fit me now. I had gotten a little taller since the last time I bought clothes, not to mention that my legs got a little more muscular. I can at least change my shirt though, right? I looked at the shirts I have, and sure enough, I had another black tee in the same size that was a little less sweaty. I selected that one and changed.

“Oh wow, Red, you look… exactly the same,” Blue complained.

“I don’t have any other pants. I did change my shirt though,” I replied.

“Yeah, we need to go to RIM. They have these pants there that can turn into shorts. That’d be good for you, right?”

“That sounds good.” I chuckled, nervously. “You know, I actually used to go down there to get supplies. I hope my disguise worked and the workers didn’t recognize me,” I admitted as we left.

“About that.”

“Huh?”

“They definitely recognized you. When I went there to get my climbing supplies, they talked about you, hahaha,” Blue revealed.

“Oh man. I thought I looked so different too…” I frowned and looked at Blue.

“I think it’s your mysterious and ominous aura,” he joked.

“Whatever that means.” We now were on the bike and going down the street.

“Oh, by the way! Do you know a snobby kid named Gold?!” Blue very loudly questioned.

“Yes, I battled him not too long ago! He kind of reminded me of you!”

“NO. HE WAS SO INSUFFERABLE!” Blue refuted.

“Heh,” I laughed.

“You’re gonna get it later!”

“Aww, I love you too, pal!” I crooned.

“Ugh, you, whatever, we’re here now anyway,”

I watched as we rolled up to the green building. It reminded me of a modernized log cabin. I hopped off the bike before Blue parked it in the bike racks in front of the store. He swerved a little but eventually steadied out and parked. I let him lead the way. Once he pulled the door open and walked inside, he looked towards the register and waved. The two people returned the gesture. They walked up to us.

“Hey, hey, Blue, you didn’t die! And you got your man!” The girl, who I would later figure out is Emily, remarked.

“Oh no we’re no-” Blue began.

“I had my doubts, but you did it,” Dillan added. I actually read his name tag to figure out his name. I couldn’t really see the girl’s.

“Wait, really,” stated Blue, more seriously this time.

“Anyway, what do you guys need?” Emily asked, changing the subject.

“Pants for him.” Blue pointed at me. “He doesn’t want the iconic flame pants anymore.” My face reddened. I gave the two employees a shaky thumbs up.

“Sure. We’ll lead the way, I guess,” Dillan offered.

We were not walking for long until Emily broke the silence. “I’m dying to know. What was the climb like? Was it incredibly difficult? Would you do it again?”

“It wasn’t too big of a deal. I had my Pokemon help out. Pidgeot made me a snow anchor which I climbed up. That took me nearly to the top. I had another Pokemon teleport me the rest of the way up,” Blue responded.

“Really? Interesting,” Emily commented. “Ah ha. Here we are.” She pointed her hands at all the pants neatly folded on a table with a shelf. There were also plenty of mannequins modeling some of the styles. I walked over, pretending to peruse so nobody would talk to me. I heard Blue say something in a hushed voice. I saw the two employees make some kind of an ‘I get it’ action and leave.

“Need any help?” Blue asked me.

“Uhm.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” He got much closer to me.

“I feel kind of embarrassed,” I whispered back.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’ll speak for you. Are you still going to be okay to go back home?” I watched as he ran his fingers through his bright orange hair. He rested his palm on the back of his neck.

“I don’t know. I just kind of want to disappear right now.” Blue frowned. He gave me a hug, pressing his chest against my shoulder and hooking his hands around my other.

“This will take some getting used to, I’m gathering,” he said.

“Yeah. Listen, I- uhm. I really appreciate you, or something.”

“Thank you. I or something you too.”

I sighed and shook my head in disappointment. “Let’s just get this over with.” We spent the next ten-ish minutes selecting a new style. I begrudgingly let Blue help, even though his sense of fashion is… concerning. I counted how many pockets are on his overshirt and cargo pants with a whopping total of ten. The flipped up collar on his white undershirt was no help. We eventually settled for something rather boring with a vague Pikachu tail pattern running down the sides. I waited for Blue near his bike instead of having to further interact with anyone. I really hoped no one would recognize me. I looked at my watch. Why is he taking so long? I’ve been waiting for around five minutes. I moved over to the right wall. I saw some people coming in and really wanted to avoid potential conversation.

“Huh? Where’d he go? Oh no!” I heard Blue say to himself from a distance.

“I’m here.” I rounded the wall and made myself visible. “I was just avoiding people, like usual.” I shrugged and made my way back to his bike.

“Sorry I took so long. I got you an extra something,” he informed me. “You better like it too. It was really expensive.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see once we get back to your house!” He winked at me. I scowled in a falsified annoyance. “Come on, it’s a short bike ride away, let’s go.”

“Fine.” I got on the back seat. I extended my hands to show Blue that I was ready to take the bag. He put the straps around my wrist.

“No peeking!” He shouted as we took off. I watched as the city faded away. Soon lush grass and dense forests filled in for the green buildings. We forgot to spray a repel, so a few Spearow did try to pester us. Blue just peadled harder, so we sped away from any potential battles. We passed by a few people. I pretended not to notice whenever someone said, “IS THAT THE CHAMP?”

“I really thought I’d be unrecognizable,” I sighed.

“WHAT? You said you wanted to bike now?! Okay!” Blue yelled back. What did he say? Huh?! We veered over to the side of the trail.

“What’s going on?”

“You said you wanted to bike, right?” He reiterated.

“No…” I replied.

“Well, feel free anyway. My legs are getting tired.”

“Alright.” I gave him the bag. This time I let him get on the bike first. I’ve never biked with another person like this before. I hope it isn’t too hard. If it is, I’ll have to be extra nice to Blue. I felt the bike’s weight shift as he sat on the back. I started pedaling. It was tough starting, but once I picked up speed it felt fine. We whirred past the rest of Route 1 in about 30 more minutes. The first route of any region is rather short. Eventually, I saw the Pokemon lab rise up on a hill that marked the entrance of Pallet Town. The added weight on the bike made the climb a little difficult, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Once I got to the entrance, my legs stopped. We skidded to a halt right outside of town.

“Hey, what’s the big deal?” Blue complained.

“I can’t do this.”

“We’ve gotten this far. No turning back now.”

“I guess you’re right. I’ve abandoned my responsibilities for far too long. I need to just do it,” I told myself more than I told Blue. He didn’t say anything, probably for the best. I started going on the bike again. My house was two down from the lab. I biked as fast as a Goodra’s slime moves to my house. I eventually saw the familiar yellow walls and red bricks around the other house. Daisy was likely still in the lab. There was a living quarters attached to it, where the Oaks spent most of their family time.

“Do you want me to accompany you?” Blue asked after we set the bike down in my front yard.

“Yes, please. I could really use the support,” I admitted.

“You got it. Remember, she misses you more than she’s mad at you.”

“Uh.”

“Was that the wrong thing to say?” Blue pinched the top of his nose as he rhetorically asked.

“Maybe,” I plainly stated.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed.

I just shook my head and smirked at him. I walked up to him and ruffled his hair. “Oh, you’re so getting it!” Blue declared. He put me into a gentle headlock.

“Ah! No!” I weakly protested. Blue took this opportunity to flip my hat off of my head and ruffle my hair. “Get off, Blue, this is supposed to be a serious moment!” I said with a laugh.

“Oh, all right.” He let me go and handed me my hat. “Let’s go for real.”

“Yeah.” I took the lead and walked up the stone path leading up to the front door. I pressed the button for the doorbell which didn’t actually make any noise. Instead, it flashed lights to get my mother’s attention. I happen to be a CODA. The first time I went over to Blue’s place when I was about 6 or 7, I was so surprised when his doorbell made a ringing noise. We finally made it to the dark blue door. I looked at Blue, who gave me a double thumbs up before I rang the doorbell. I saw the lights flash inside through the windows on the sides of the door. I then heard footsteps. I panic-looked at Blue one final time until the door opened. It was my mother. She looked incredibly worn out with dark bags under her eyes. She gasped when she looked up at me with the same hazel eyes as I have.

[Hi mom] After I signed, she pulled me into an incredibly tight hug. She pulled away, leaving her hands on my shoulders. She looked a little more angry this time. Oh boy. Here goes.

[I missed you] She started a new thought. [I waited 2 years for you with no communication. Everyone was worried sick!] She wiped the tears away from her face. [I’m so MAD at you, but I’m happy to see you again. Let me get it all out of my system.] She shook her hands to loosen her wrists, then she cracked her knuckles. [How could you just disappear like that? You left me behind when I was being held hostage by your father. I had to get broken out by your sister, Leaf! You know who had to keep me company? Daisy! She’s super busy, you know! Not to mention how Blue had to leave his job just to find you! The Elite Four is in a mess right now. Lance had to step up as Champion and is still trying to find another member to add to the Elite Four. Not to mention that our region is in a hostile government takeover that you could have easily wiped out two years ago!] She was huffing and puffing at the end of her signing frenzy.

[I’m so sorry, mom. When I found out about everything it made me question who I was. I don’t know why, I just freaked out. I felt like my entire existence was just a lie and that I was meant to become a mob boss just like my dad. Escaping and becoming strong enough to resist him felt like my only option. You’re right, though. I should have not been gone for two whole years.] I didn’t realize that tears were forming in the corners of my eyes until the warm tears rolled down my cheeks. Blue noticed too and placed his arm around my shoulder.

[Hi, Blue. Thank you for bringing my son home.] She bowed to him, a more old-school Kantonian expression of thanks. [Come inside, you two.] My mother offered.

[Sure.] I replied. She gestured for us to come inside. Blue let me go inside first. I watched him close the door out of the corner out of my eye.

[Please, come relax. I’m sure the journey from wherever you ran off to here was exhausting.] We sat down on the couch in the living room, which is just past the kitchen. Mom sat in the chair next to the couch. Blue sat almost uncomfortably close to me despite having plenty of room not to. [I will give you one thing, Red, I’m happy to see you home. You’ve also grown so much! It’s hard not to be proud when one sees their son has grown into a strong man.]

[Aw, mom. Thank you. I missed you too.] I turned to Blue, and to prove my dedication, I signed, [I think I may have missed Blue the most, though.]

[Really, Red. I see I’m chopped Pidgey gizzards then.] My mother sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

[Maybe not. I don’t think I’ll ever let anyone know. Oh, I need to ask, do you know Looker? We need to get in contact with him to plan a Team Rocket disbandment.]

[Yes, I do! He came by our house to ask for your whereabouts. He said that he was planning the exact same thing.]

[Great! I’m sorry to say, but we won’t be able to stay long. Once we take care of Team Rocket we have some other regions to go to. They’ve requested my presence to take care of their out of control legendary Pokemon] I gave my mother a sad smile.

[So be it, but you must visit when you two are done with your missions, and you have to call once a week at minimum!] She demanded.

[Fine by me! Right, Blue!] I elbowed the very distracted Blue. “Right?”

“What am I agreeing to?” he questioned, with a dazed stare.

“When you come with me to the regions that have been requested, call my mom once a week,” I answered.

“And who said I was coming with you?”

“You’re not?! Please do! I could really use your help.”

“Ha! I was always gonna tag along. I just wanted to hear you beg!” Blue snidely responded. I fought back by giving him a light punch on his shoulder.

[What were you two blabbing about?] Mom signed with an annoyed look on her face.

[Sorry, I know I’m going to sound like a hearing jerk, but you don’t want to know.] (AN please don’t leave Deaf people out of your conversations!) Mom shook her head in disapproval at my signs. We didn’t really do much in the next few hours, besides get Looker’s phone number.

Chapter Text

Blue POV

Red’s mom was cooking something that smelled divine. In the meanwhile, Red and I were in his room, coming up with a Team Rocket plan. Once we came up with a solid plan, we decided we were going to call Looker for further planning then.

“Well, I think we should go for the ole bait and switch,” I offered.

“There’s no way he’d buy me wanting to switch sides after I vehemently refuted his stances on pretty much everything,” Red debated.

“Maybe.”

“I think letting one of us get captured will lead us with the best chance of being successful. We’d have to use some kind of tracker though…” Red thought aloud.

“Something bad might happen to whoever is captured, though,” I argued.

“You’re right.” I flopped down on his bed. “We should get Looker to decide what’ll work best.” My weight shifted as Red sat down next to my stomach. I looked up at him. He looked exhausted. I certainly felt the same way. We’ve both had a long day of travelling. “Tired?” I mumbled.

“Yeah…” Red punctuated his reply with a yawn. “I’ve talked to way too many people today,” he added.

“Well, I hope you’re not tired of talking to me,” I snapped back, not very seriously.

“Unfortunately not.”

“Hey!” I propped up my head on my hand. “So, I’m guessing you want me to do all the talking on the call. Speaking of, when should we do it?” I got my Rotom phone out of my pocket in preparation.

“This may take a while. Besides, I’m kind of hungry. We should wait,” Red answered. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled. “How embarrassing.”

I laughed a little. “I guess that’s decided.” I watched Red lean back onto the pillows at the end of his bed. My face was mere inches away from his hip. I kicked my legs against the edge of the bed. I closed my eyes. Eventually, I saw some flashing lights. I thought nothing of it until Red gently shook my shoulder. Oh right. That’s like this house’s door knocking. I groggily stood up and stretched my arm up high on my tip toes. I had to pull down on my shirt. Both of us slumped down the stairs. It has been a long time since I ate two home cooked dinners in a row. Being on the road constantly made that impossible. I could hardly keep my head up when we sat down at the counter. Red’s mom dished the three of us some tasty looking egg dish with a side of a pancake.

[Enjoy!] She emphatically signed.

[What is it?] I signed. My signing was a little clumsier than both Red and his Mom, who have signed since they were very little. When I moved to Pallet town after my parents passed away, I stumbled across him. He didn’t speak at all at that age. I think we were both about 6 or 7 years old? He solely signed at me, and I had no idea what he was telling me. I told Gramps about my strange interaction, and he told me that our new neighbors used KSL (Kantonian Sign Language). He suggested that I learn it from the interpreter that Red’s mom used. Once I was able to sign, we became inseparable. 

[Vegetable frittata with a pancake.] she answered.

[Looks yummy!] I finally started eating. Oh man! Being a great cook must run in the family, this is so good! I looked over to see how Red was doing and came to find that he was already done. [How did you finish so fast?] I asked him. He covered his mouth.

[Sorry, I tend to eat fast.] he answered. [Nothing ever gets cold when you eat this fast.]

[I suppose that’s true] Red’s mom supported.

[Speaking of, Blue, you should eat your food while it’s still warm.] Red requested.

[You’re right.] I rubbed the back of my neck and continued eating. I thanked Red’s mom when she took our dishes when we were all done. She seemed to sense that we were both exhausted and sent us up to bed. We were sitting with our backs against Blue’s full sized bed. I was looking at his messy, but rather empty wardrobe. He had a lot of socks and not a lot of anything else. He had collected a few Pikachu plushies and figurines to line any flat surfaces in the room. This included a messy drawing table. There were piles of papers with Red’s signature neat, but tiny handwriting and some doodles. I noticed that the same picture frame that I saw in his cabin was on the table, but it was too far away to make out.

“Are you finally gonna show me what’s in the picture frame?” I asked.

“Oh, sure, as long as you show me what’s in the bag.” 

“OK.”

Red got up and grabbed the silver frame in his hands. It looks pointy. He sat down next to me again, holding the frame away from me. He turned it towards me, hiding his face behind the rectangular object. I didn’t even know this photo was taken. It was of me and Red. His Pikachu was perched on his head. His arm was wrapped around my waist. I was giving him a kiss on the cheek. We both looked so happy. I was smiling ear to ear with a healthy dusting of rouge on my cheeks from how happy I was. The closer I looked at Red the more I saw his dusky brown roots growing out on his dyed black hair. The contact lenses on his eyes were a bit harder to see through. Despite the fact, it was still an incredibly cute picture.

“I don’t remember anyone taking this one,” I pointed out.

“I asked Leaf to take a picture of us. I wanted it so if we were ever apart, I could feel like you were still with me,” he explained.

“Wait, so does that mean?” I began.

“No, no, no. I was not planning to leave early. I thought I told you it was on a whim.”

“You could have been lying!” I retorted.

“I think you would have been able to tell if I was lying,” he further retaliated.

“Ah, you’re right. You’ve never been good at lying, even when signing!” I reached over to grab the bag. “Close your eyes and hold out your hand,” I requested.

“Alright.” He did just as I asked him. I pulled out the soft plushie of a Pikachu wearing a Charmander costume. I placed it on his palm. Feeling the added weight, he opened his eyes. He didn’t say anything for a few fleeting moments.

“Do you like it?” I tried.

“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” He sniffled.

“Are you gonna be alright?”

“No.”

I yawned and decided to change the subject. “I think I’m about ready to hit the hay. Where should I sleep?”

“You can take the bed. I’ll get the air mattress and sleep on the floor next to the bed. Is that okay with you?” He asked the question so earnestly, and the expression on his face was just so cute! But there’s no way I can date him now! No how! No way!

“Yeah, that’s fine by me.” I got up and started getting ready for bed. There was a bathroom attached to his room, so I was able to shower and brush my teeth. I forgot to take sleeping clothes with me. My white undershirt and no pants will have to do. I could barely keep my eyes open as I made it back to his bed. I flopped down again on the plush bed. I sunk down instead of springing back up. The last thing I heard before going to sleep were the sounds of Red’s air mattress blowing up. I felt like I was forgetting something, however. I’ll just sleep on it…

“Blue!” It was Red’s voice calling my name.

“Huhhh?” I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. “Red? What the heck?! It’s still dark out!”

“We forgot to call Looker!” He revealed.

“OH NO! Is it reasonable to call now?!”

“Not really. It’s- ah.” He turned on his Rotom phone, which was too bright. I could make out him squinting. “4:18.”

“WHY WOULD YOU WAKE ME UP?!” I didn’t have to worry about being loud, luckily for Red’s mom.

“I don’t know. I just remembered and couldn’t get my mind off of it,” he muttered.

“You work in such mysterious ways, Red. I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand you.” I shook my head. He just looked at me with those blank hazel eyes and expressionless face. “Hey!” I felt my face flush. “S-stop that.” He was still looking at me. “I’m going back to bed.” That Red. I don’t know how he does it. How is he so… oddly charming? There’s something about those eyes. They remind me of a sad, injured Espurr. His whole face is about as blank as one’s too. I love Espurrs so much! I’ve always wanted to go to the Kalos Region… maybe I’ll bring Red with me! I really want to love him. Besides, he has a unique talent for sneaking into my heart. But, I just can’t yet. I need more time, even if things between us are mostly normal.

It took me a little while longer to go back to sleep. However, when I finally woke up, it was light out. I looked down at Red. He was still asleep. I tried to see if there was any way I could get up without disturbing him. I could slide off the end, but getting around the air mattress in his tiny room would be quite difficult. I really want to get some fresh clothes from home, though. I guess I’ll just be careful. I pushed myself off of the short end of the bed on the far end. I tiptoed around where Red was sleeping. I neatly folded my clothes in his bathroom. I put my pants on but couldn’t be bothered to put my overshirt on. I could just easily walk to my house and be back before he wakes up. I got semi-changed and exited his room, softly closing the door behind me.

The sun was slowly rising over the canopy of the trees, casting a warm, orange glow over Pallet Town. The town has certainly developed over the past two years. There used to be few houses and the lab, but now there are more houses and even a few shops. I really hope Gramps is not awake. I don’t want to deal with that right now. It didn’t take longer than ten minutes to get to the lab. I always carried the key to the back living area in my pocket. The backyard was as overgrown as ever. The forests near Route 1 had bled into our property. I dusted my boots off on the mat in front of the door, unlocked the dark, and went inside. Daisy was awake and in the kitchen, fixing herself a cup of coffee.

“Hey, Blue,” she greeted.

“Good morning, Daisy,” I returned.

“Find him yet?” She took a sip of coffee.

“Yeah. You’ll never guess where he was.”

“Woah, really? Hate to say, but I never had high hopes. Where?”

“On the peak of Mt Silver. I had to climb up myself! It was so cold,” I replied. My expression grew more severe. “Is Gramps awake?”

“Yeah, but he’s in the lab now, no need to worry,” she answered. “I have an even better question.”

“Doubtful.”

Daisy made a face at me. “What are you doing here?”

“Changing. I’m staying at his house, and I need fresh clothes so badly.” I started making my way towards my now abandoned room.

“Oho! So you brought him back with you. Make good choices!” She yelled as I closed the door to my room. Wait, did she mean? AUH! Gross! NO. I shook off the mortified feeling creeping up on me. It sure feels nice to put on a clean pair of clothes, even if those clothes are just multiple copies of the same outfit. I should take another pair with me. I stared into my closet. Inside were coathangers of the same white undershirt, black overshirt, and dark khaki pants. I grabbed a few spare pairs of undergarments too. I tried to silently sneak out of the house, but Daisy spotted me. She just waved me off while taking another sip of coffee.

My walk back to Red’s house was uneventful. I was thankful that no one locked the front door again, but then again, those two tend to sleep in. I tiptoed up the stairs in my boots still. The door creaked as I opened it. Please don’t wake up, please don’t wake up! I looked at Red as soon as he was in view. He was still sprawled out with his eyes closed. I sighed in relief. I scooched up to his bed and sat down on the edge.

“Oh, you’re finally back,” Red mumbled.

“You’re awake?” I asked. He opened an eye and glared back up at me. “Oh…right.”

“Let’s do the call now. I heard the news about Hoenn. I want to get this done today,” Red planned.

“Yeah.” He climbed up on the bed with me. He pulled up the call option on his Rotom Phone. I read the number out to him. Looker immediately answered.

“Hello, you two. I see you didn’t call yesterday,” Looker announced.

“Sorry, we forgot. Let’s get this plan on,” I sighed.

“Well, I developed a plan by myself, since you lot were no help. We will need one more person, though.”

“Who?” I questioned.

“Leaf. What we’ll do is use you as bait. Unfortunately, you’re going to need a tracker chip implanted somewhere. You see, we don’t know where Team Rocket HQ is. Once we get your location, we’ll send in Leaf to take care of all the grunts and rescue you. Red,” he pointed at Red through the screen. “You go up with me. I’ll hide out, and you battle the boss. Once you defeat him, I’ll arrest him for all the innumerable charges detailed on this paper!” He pulled out a sheet of paper with an extensive list of crimes. He shoved it against the camera, desperately pointing at each crime.

“Right…” I recalled Red and I’s conversation from yesterday. “Oh, hey. Your plan was the better one,” I pointed out. I poked at his shoulder. He nodded. “When and where should we all meet up?”

“We’ll meet at the Viridian City Pokemon Center in 30 minutes. I’ll call Leaf to let her know,” Looker instructed.

“Cool, we’ll get ready and head that way,” I replied. Looker just abruptly hung up the call. “He was never one for goodbyes,” I sighed.

“If you say so,” Red commented. Oh right, they don’t know each other. “Let’s go eat. I’m so hungry.” He patted his stomach in despair.

“Yeah.” After the two of us ate a fill of Pika Crunch cereal and me waiting a long time for Red to get ready, we stood outside. I checked the time. It’s been 27 minutes. “How are we going to get there in three minutes?” I nervously asked Red.

“Flying? Oh. Right. You can bike if you want.”

“Augh! It’ll take forever for me to bike!” I really did not want to fly. I had Pidgeot learn how to fly me around for emergencies only, so I can hop on him for a flight. This is the closest situation to an emergency, I guess. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever flown on him. “I’ll fly on Pidgeot. You go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.” I pressed the release button on Pidgeot’s Pokeball almost in sync with Red and his Charizard. I watched as he flew off in about 20 seconds flat. “Okay, Pidgeot. I need you to do me a favor.” The large and tall bird cocked his head at me, inquisitively. “I know you’ve never used fly before, but we need to go somewhere.” I crept around to the side of him. His dark eyes followed me. The plumes on the back of his head fluttered nervously. “Can you please fly us to the Viridian City Pokemon center?”

“Pidgeot…”

“Please? Red needs us, okay. We’re gonna activate our plan to take down Team Rocket for good,” I argued. Pidgeot chirped several times seemingly debating himself.

“Pidgeot!” He cried. He then pointed out his wing to the part of my bag where I carry treats for my Pokemon.

“Alright! Thanks, pal! And yes, I’ll give you your favorite Pokepuffs,” I cheered. I watched as he lowered himself to the ground, waiting for me to climb on his back. I recalled my lesson with Red. Making sure not to step on his feathers, I slid one leg over his back and eventually settled on top. “Just don’t go too fast.” I felt the bird stand up. I closed my eyes as soon as I saw his wings stretch out. I held on tight around his neck when we lifted off. I kept my eyes closed for the entirety of the flight.

“Hey, Blue. You can get off of Pidgeot right now. I think he’d appreciate it,” a voice whispered to me. It was Red. I opened my eyes to a distraught Pidgeot and the ground.

“Ouh. I’m gonna be sick,” I groaned. I practically fell off of Pidgeot. I looked up from where I stumbled down to the ground. Red was staring down at me and the bird Pokemon was using his wing to rub at where I was holding him in flight. Everyone was spinning. Red extended his hand out to me. I took it, but did not pull.

“Do I have to do everything myself?” Red whispered with a slight smile. He pulled me up with that new strength of his. I steadied myself on my feet. I took a step towards the Pokemon Center and immediately stumbled. Red lept into action, supporting me with his flank, with an arm wrapped around me.

“Thanks. I shall never close my eyes on a flight again,” I muttered.

“Let’s just sit down,” he suggested.

I looked up to where Looker and Leaf were waiting. The latter was giving me a smirk. I glared back at her, but waved at Looker first.

“Rough flight?” Leaf teased as I sat across from her.

“I never knew how dizzying it could be. I was fine yesterday too,” I reiterated.

“Let’s get on to coordination,” Looker began. “We’ll need to find out where someone can get captured, and give them a tracker.” He pointed at me. “I was thinking that Blue would be a good candidate,” he pointed at Red. “Since your father knows you two care about each other.”

“I second that decision!” Leaf shouted.

“Is that alright with you, Blue?” Looker asked. Everything was finally not spinning.

“Yeah, that’s fine, as long as where I need to go is within biking distance,” I replied.

“Just so you know, we’re going to have to inject the device in you. Also, you need to purposely seem oblivious to let them catch you,” Looker informed me.

“Got it. Where is it gonna go, if I may ask.”

“The arm is a decent place or somewhere on the ankle,” the investigator suggested.

“Why not in my clothes or something,” I countered.

“They’re going to thoroughly search and pat you down. If they find it, our whole plan is screwed,” Leaf reminded me.

“True. Better be safe than sorry.”

“I have the tools here.” Looker placed the chip and some kind of injector device. “Specially created by Clemont of the Kalos Region for this mission.” He placed his hand on his chin. “For the rest of the plan, I think Leaf should cover for Red, taking out any grunts and admins. Red will follow and take on the big boss!”

“What are you gonna do?” Leaf asked Looker.

“I will follow Blue and hide out. I’ll be ready to arrest Giovanni when Red defeats him,” he declared.

“This seems a bit over the top.” I gestured at Red. “I don’t know if he’ll be up to battling his father. He tends to get nervous.” I could feel Red glaring at me despite me not looking at him.

“We can switch the ro-” Red was signing at me. “What is he saying?” I looked over at Red.

[Blue? What in Arceus’ name are you saying? I can battle! And don’t go telling people I get nervous! I’d be really mad if we weren’t doing something important.]

“He just told me off and that he wants to battle Giovanni,” I translated.

“Wow! I had no idea he could say all of that with just his hands!” Looker remarked.

“Yeah. It makes sense to save the big battle for father and estranged son. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve messed with Team Rocket grunts,” Leaf said. She pressed her knuckles into her palm in a determined manner.

“So, where am I gonna go?” I asked.

“Mt. Moon is always a safe bet,” Looker guessed.

“Oh yeah, you’re right! And it’s not too far from here,” I replied. I watched Looker take the injecting device in his hand. I grew nervous.

“Let’s just get the injection over with. Where do you want it?” Looker questioned me.

“The arm is fine.”

“You said you’ve been to Mt. Moon, right?” He asked while preparing the device.

“Yeah. Red and I ran into each other in the deepest part. Both of us got chased by Team Rocket and decided to battle them together so we could get out. We both needed to challenge the Cerulean Gym. Despite our differences, we made it out.”

“Done!” Looker declared. I looked down at my arm. It was bleeding a little bit where the chip was. He pulled up a small screen. “See, here you are.” He pointed at a blue dot right in front of another orange dot. “And here I am.” He pointed at the orange light.

“Oh, hey that’s cool.” I peered at the screen. Red nudged my shoulder with his. “What is it?” I asked him.

[When are you leaving?]

“He just asked me when I’m leaving. I think I’ll leave now. I can get my bike from the Pokemon center.” I told everyone. “Modern technology is truly amazing,” I remarked. I stood up and entered the orange-ish red building. Just like with a trainer’s clothes, certain items can be registered with the Pokemon Center. Registered items can be retrieved by the working Alakazam for easy usage. There was a screen in the front. I scanned my Pokedex on it which brought up my Kanto League account. I selected the items tab and picked my bike from the menu. Next to the screen panel mounted on the wall was a box for items to be apparated in. A purple glow appeared in the box, then my green bicycle appeared. I took it out of the box and rolled it outside. Red was standing next to the sliding doors.

[Be careful!] He signed.

“I can’t be too careful you know.” Oh, Arceus, there’s that blank stare again. “Woah, hey! How about a warning next time!” I laughed. Red had pulled me into another hug. He let me go.

[Sorry! Sorry! I just hope they don’t do anything horrible to you.] He sighed and tugged on his hat. The pin on the front of it must’ve dug into his head.

“I’ll be fine, Red. I know you or Leaf will rescue me.” I hopped on my bike. “I’m off. Smell ya later!” I shouted as I took off. He waved at me, then turned towards the table where everyone was. Mt. Moon was a short bike ride away. It was no longer than the distance I biked yesterday. Route 2 was short and provided a good space for me to apply a repel. Viridian forest and Diglett Cave were coming up. I was standing on my bike in a field. The grass was too short for any Pokemon to be hiding in. I stared at the gargantuan trees in front of me. It was well known to Kantonians that this forest housed the oldest trees in the region.

Chapter Text

Butterfree and Venomoths were flapping above my head as I biked on. Some would fly close then retreat. I was moving too fast for the bug Pokemon and Pikachu in the tall grass to get too close. It was still quite dark in the deeper parts of the forest, where the newly growing leaves blocked out the sun. Eventually, the trees thinned out. Large boulders began appearing between trees. The grass started turning from a light green to a dead shade of brown. Bare earth was consuming the landscape. Before me was Diglett Tunnel, a large cavern in a low mountain. I know I’m not supposed to bike inside, but I was in too much of a rush to care. I reapplied a repel and got Mew’s masterball from my belt holder. I brought them out.

“Hey, Mew,” I murmured, as I pressed the release button.

“Mew!” They cried.

“I need you to float alongside me while I ride my bike and use flash. I won’t be able to see otherwise!” I explained. Mew has the rare and frankly quite broken ability to learn and use every move, being the ancestor to all modern Pokemon. Mew nodded in understanding. They clutched onto my shoulder. I entered the cave. Mew used flash as I pedaled slowly. The ground made it hard to go fast along with the several twists and turns of the cave. I didn’t see a single Pokemon with the flash and repel combo. The actual cave was decently short, but it took a while with my slow biking. Eventually, I saw a light. Pewter city was just beyond that light. I decided that I’ll rest up for a bit then go on to Route 3 which leads to the entrance of Mt Moon.

“You want that, Mew?” I asked them. We were at a vending machine near a bench. I leaned my bike up against the bench. Mew was pointing at the soda pop. I put in some pokedollars and pressed the right buttons. A soda pop fell down into the slot in the bottom. I gave it to Mew then sat down. I stretched, grateful for this moment of relaxation. Better get it now before being held captive. Mew finished the entire soda before I could even finish stretching. “So much for a break, Mew! I was gonna get going once you finish.” Mew giggled. “Well, let’s just get going.

After about 30-40 minutes, I was staring at the entrance of Mt Moon. I put Mew back in their Pokeball and pushed my bike into a nearby bush. I chose to tuck my shirt in. That way all of my Pokeballs were visible and easy to steal. I walked inside the cavern inside of the mountain. I walked around for a few minutes, then pretended to be lost. I dramatically looked around the walls of the cavern, and I scrutinized each and every turn. I eventually heard footsteps behind me. Great. They’re here. I slowly turned around. It was dark in the cave. Whoever was in here would not recognize me.

“I don’t think this person suspects a thing,” a female voice whispered.

“Let’s nab them and their Pokemon. I’m sure the boss will be thrilled!” A male voice agreed.

“Let’s do it,” another voice said. Gee, how many of them are there… Suddenly I got hit with something and blacked out.

Red’s POV

Leaf and I were sitting next to Looker on each side. We’ve been watching the tracking device for the past hour and a half. Blue was slowly moving out of Mt Moon. It was anyone’s guess if that was him wandering around or being captured. I have to admit, this is really awkward. Leaning over someone I don’t know and being next to my half-sister that I haven’t spoken to in a long time.

“Oh, he’s speeding up,” Leaf announced. Sure enough, the blue dot was speeding away towards Viridian City. What? Their base can’t be here. We busted Giovanni before at the gym and several grunts posing as staff. The gym was basically their second base. They can’t still be there?! 

“If they’re coming this way, we better hide,” Looker replied.

“Let’s go inside the Pokemon Center,” Leaf suggested. “Is that cool with you, big brother?” My skin crawled.

[Sure. Don’t call me that. I’m only a few months older than you anyways.] I signed.

“Sure, don’t tell me that? Older? Ah, my signing needs work,” she muttered. I paused in horror. “Don’t give me that. Let’s go, bro!” I looked at Looker for help.

“Embrace your newfound sibling dynamics, Red. You’ll appreciate it later,” Looker whispered to me. I looked away. We entered the building and camped out at a seat near a window. Leaf was looking out of the window to find Team Rocket while Looker and I were checking the screen. The blue dot was growing closer and closer to our orange one. “Hey, it stopped.” I watched the screen with unblinking eyes. Then, the glow moved with incredible speed to the right before stopping.

“That’s our cue to leave,” Leaf said.

“Perfect. I wonder where their base is,” Looker wondered aloud. The three of us ran out of the building, Looker in the lead. We ran for about 30 minutes, zig zagging through the trees next to the forest. Looker pulled out the screen after we slowed down, “We shouldn’t be too far now. Be on the lookout for it.” I looked around my surroundings and only found trees, bushes, and plenty of soft grass. I saw something odd. I saw half of a vertical tree and then a gap in the woods.

“Hey, take a look at that,” I whispered to Leaf.

“Woah, that’s weird,” she admitted. “Hey, Looker! Do you think it’s invisible!” She gestured at the tree.

“Hey, yeah. Let me try this,” Looker suggested. He pulled out something from his pocket. It looked like a gun, but a little different. He pointed it a little to the left of the peculiar sight. He pulled the trigger. A few orange rays flew out, and a huge concrete and glass building appeared. It had a massive, magenta letter R on the top.

“Let’s get our Pokemon out and storm in!” Leaf shouted. She pulled a Pokeball from her pocket on her coat. A blue glow appeared in front of her, and her Venusaur popped out.

“Venusaur!” He cried.

“Ready to kick some Team Rocket butt?” She asked her Pokemon.

“Venusaur! Venus!” The grass/poison type cried.

“Follow us, Red!” She instructed me. I nodded and held Mewtwo’s Pokeball close to my chest. She instructed Venusaur to bust the door open with a well-timed Razor Leaf. There were dark grey chairs on the white tiled base-level floor and multiple grunts gawking at the destruction. “Cover for us while we charge up for Solar Beam!”

“Right!” I brought out Charizard. “Get all the grunt’s Pokemon with Dragon Claw!” I watched as he slashed through multiple Persians, Crobats, Hypnos, and Muks. (AN: is that how you would pluralize them?) Charizard flew near the ceiling dodging attacks from the foe’s Pokemon and the Solar Beam released from Leaf’s Venusaur. He flew in a wide arc around the room before landing by my side.

“Let’s go!” Leaf said. I nodded and looked for Looker. He was gone. Where did he go? I was falling behind, so I sprinted to catch up with her. We ran up a flight of stairs with several disgruntled Team Rocket grunts attacking us. Leaf took care of them with bright purple Sludge Bombs. After the staircase was a long hallway with numerous rooms on each side. A few grunts were looking outside, trying to see all the commotion. “All right, Venusaur use Petal Blizzard and take care of these goons!” She ordered. For such a large Pokemon, Venusaur moves quickly. He was leading the charge for us, and we had to run to keep up with him. And now he was blustering glowing pink petals against the grunts. This cycle continued until we ran into a woman with the same color hair as that Silver kid.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.

“I don’t got time for this. Venusaur, you know what to do!” Leaf shouted. Venusaur limbered up, ready for a battle.

“Arbok! Take care of this nuisance!” The other lady returned. She sent out a great ball which housed an Arbok. It looked tough. I looked for an opening to continue. That’s when I spotted a room with double doors. The handles were ornately decorated with Rhyperior statues on the handles. That’s gotta be his room! I flung the doors open. There were empty tiles checkered on the floor. A large desk with a man sitting behind it was there. There were some potted plants on the corners. (AN: This whole fic is cringey, but get ready for some cliche and over-dramatic dialogue. Also, I know the whole, ‘Giovanni is the protag’s father’ thing is overdone, but I had to come up with a reason for Red’s disappearance. Despite the cliche, I hope I brought in some new ideas such as new familiar relationships for Red. Hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far!)

“Is that you, Red?” Giovanni asked. I didn’t say anything. If a language barrier and my mother’s Deafness tore my parents apart, I can do the funniest thing right now. 

[Yes. It’s me.] I signed. I returned Charizard back into his Pokeball with a red flash of light. I stepped forwards.

“You finally want to take over the family business?” He continued. He raised his eyebrow.

[Nah, I’m good.]

“Was that a no? Looked like one. If so, I’ll just have to get rid of you. How about a 1 vs 1 Pokemon battle. If I win, you take over Team Rocket. If I lose, you can arrest me, Looker.” He pointed towards a shadow behind me. How did he know Looker was there?! 

[OK. Let’s do it.] I nodded. Giovanni stood up and walked to the left corner. There was hardly enough room for a battle. Mewtwo’s Pokeball was quivering. We agreed that I’d battle Giovanni with her a while ago. I brought Mewtwo out first. She hovered above the black and white checkered floor.

“Go! Rhyperior!” He yelled. The brown and orange beast appeared before us. “You go first, kiddo.” Don’t call me that…

Whenever I battled with Mewtwo, I always told her what to do by letting her read my mind. Start out with Focus Blast. Mewtwo brought her hands together and blasted at her opponent with a ball of orange energy. A cloud of smoke billowed from where Rhyperior was. The opponent was still standing. Wow, that thing is a lot stronger than we thought! That move was super effective too!

“Calm down, Red, you’ll come up with a good strategy,” Mewtwo replied.

“Our turn,” Giovanni announced. “Use crunch!”

Dodge it! Move to the side and try to grab it! Mewtwo was able to avoid the attack, but ran out of space and got backed into a corner. Rhyperior attacked again, wrapping his mouth around Mewtwo’s arm and flinging her to the ground. Alright, try to land a Blizzard from the ground. You may be able to knock it down! 

“Iron Head, quick!” Before Mewtwo could summon the blast of ice and wind, she was pummeled further into the ground. Cracks appeared in the tiles.

We can’t go on like this. What to do, what to do! I know! Use Psystrike and blast the top off of this building! You’ll have more room that way! Since she was using a STAB move, she was much faster. She summoned a beam of psychic energy and pushed it around the room, blowing the roof off on the left side. She also hit Rhyperior, pushing it away far enough so that she could get up. She floated in the air, away from the confines of the buildings. 

“Blast it out of the sky with Rock Wrecker!” Giovanni ordered.

Think you can pull off a Blizzard and push that Rock Wrecker back into Rhyperior?

“You know I can,” Mewtwo told me. She started creating a storm of torrential winds and spears of ice. Her eyes glowed bright blue.

Not yet. I’ll tell you when to release it. Just keep building up power! The rock in Rhyperior’s claws grew to the point of release. Now! The powerful rock was blown back towards its creator by Blizzard. I ducked as I heard a loud crash. I felt the cold from Blizzard hit my arms. I closed my eyes from the wind. I opened my eyes to a cloud of dust diffusing from where Rhyperior was standing. He still wasn’t out yet.

“Rhyperior, let’s use our combo and finish this!”

‘Combo’? What on Earth could that mean? Mewtwo, prepare yourself! Rhyperior hit the ground. Blue stones shot up from the ground, but Mewtwo avoided them easily from the sky. Get ready! Immediately after, Rhyperior used Smack Down. Mewtwo fell down from the sky and onto the Stone Edge. Oh no! Are you alright Mewtwo?

“I’m fine. Rhyperior is weak, we can take it down in one shot. Just make it count!” Mewtwo advised.

I know what to do! Use Focus Blast on the ground, make Rhyperior fall! The ground is already weak. You can follow up with another Focus blast and finish the job! I didn’t even finish my train of thought before Mewtwo flung the move at the ground beneath Rhyperior’s feet.

“Are you stupid? You missed!” My father crowed.

[Did I?] The ground crumbled beneath Rhyperior’s feet. I sure hope no one was below him… Mewtwo gathered her strength and used another Focus Blast. I heard a BANG and felt a shockwave from the impact. I ran over to the hole in the floor, praying I wouldn't fall down. Rhyperior had fainted. I won the battle. I returned Mewtwo to her Ultra Ball. [A deal is a deal, now stand down.] My father glared at me as he returned Rhyperior to his Pokeball. I turned to where Looker was. I saw Leaf and Blue standing with him. My heart fluttered when I saw Blue. He looked a little roughed up but otherwise okay. There was something wrong though, everyone looked panicked. I turned to find Giovanni next to a black box that looked similar to a boombox. He flipped a switch on the top. I heard a certain frequency, then I blacked out.

.

.

.

“Red, wake up,” someone called out. They sounded like they were underwater. “He’s not waking up! What do we do? What do we DO?!” My head started pounding, and I groaned from the pain. Actually, everything hurts. “WAIT, he’s waking up!” I know that voice! Blue! I opened my eyes. My vision blurred then slowly went into focus. Blue’s face was hovering above mine. My upper body was resting on his legs. He cupped my cheeks in his hands. “You really scared me for a second!”

“Sorry… What happened?” I whispered.

“Well, once that machine started up, you went berserk! You turned on us and started attacking us.” He gestured to his neck. There were dark purple fingerprint marks on it. “See? Luckily for both you and me, Looker was able to destroy that mind control device with his gun!”

“Oh, Arceus! Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you too bad, right?” I blubbered.

Blue wiped the blood away from his nose. “I’ll be fine, Red!” Leaf walked up to us, but Blue didn’t notice. “Are you ready to leave this place? We should try to hurry, this place might fall down at any second!”

“Ah! Yeah! Let me get up.” Leaf offered me a hand as I stood up. “Thanks, sis,” I chuckled.

“AWH! No problem, bro!” She squealed back. She was holding me up so I wouldn’t fall to the ground again. I still tried to help Blue get up. He was shaky. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders to steady him. Just like that, the three of us inched down and out of the building, arms wrapped around each other.

“Well, I guess I should get going. I have some research to help Yellow with. You know how he gets with his bug types. They’re in Unova right now, so I need to get packing,” Leaf explained.

“Send our regards,” Blue added. He turned to me. “Should we go back to your place?”

“Sure. And yeah, do send our regards,” I affirmed. Leaf waved at us and sprinted away. “Are we gonna have to walk back?”

“No, we can fly. I’ll be fine,” he replied. I sent out Charizard, and we both climbed on to his back, a little smoother this time. Our flight was short and rather uneventful. When we got to my house, we immediately headed to my room. I flopped on my bed. I sighed from the pure exhaustion I felt. My body was melting away, and I didn’t care. Blue sat down next to me.

“I should probably clean myself up, but I’m too tired to move,” I murmured.

“Take a nap first. That way I can have the bathroom to myself, so I can freshen up,” Blue replied. I closed my eyes. I felt like I was being tossed around in a furious ocean. That reminds me, we need to go to the Hoenn region. We should do some research into how to calm down Kyogre and Groudon first, though. The lab always had a good library… I fell asleep.