Victory Road-VLD
Pokemon AU. Lance finally arrives at Victory Road, only to find his Rival is one step ahead of him again, as usual.
Written in response to a request on Tumblr.
Victory Road
—
"What? No way! How did you beat me to Victory Road?!"
Lance raced up the steps to plant himself right in front of his foe. Keith blinked at him blankly, like a confused doduo. "…Uh, sorry, who are you?" he asked.
Lance bristled. "I'm Lance! You know! Your rival?! Lance and Keith, neck and neck–"
"Oh, you know my name," Keith commented, turning to fully face Lance at last, but still sporting that confused, infuriating look on his face. "Have we met?"
Lance nearly tore his hair out. "Yes!" he shouted. "Remember? I beat your record in Cerulean City? I—we got stuck in the same elevator together in Saffron?"
Keith studied his face for a long moment, confused. Then, recognition dawning, he said, "Oh wait, weren't you that lunatic who ran out of Lavender Town screaming about Unknowns?"
"THAT TOWN WAS HAUNTED OK."
"…" Keith squinted his eyes at Lance, and at last turned away, brushing him off. "Listen, I'm a bit busy now," he said. "Could we pick this up later? I've got a match to win."
Fuming, Lance took a deep breath and stepped onto the path. "No," he said, pointing an accusing finger at his rival. "This match—This match is mine. You might've beaten me to every single gym, but I'm not losing this title to you!"
Keith stared, startled, for a long moment. Then, his shock and irritation faded, a flash of competition seeping into his grin. "All right," he said. "You're on."
They leapt apart, hands falling instantly to their belts. Lance figured he had the advantage — Keith claimed to not even recognize him, so he probably didn't remember Lance's team or tactics either. Plus, Keith's Charizard, Clefairy, and rare Espeon, (an Eeveeloution discovered across the Great Bay), were formidable no doubt, but Lance's team was mainly water-type, giving him an edge.
As Keith tossed out his Charizard, letting it roar in the silence, Lance palmed his own pokeball and whispered to the Vaporeon inside.
"C'mon Blue," he whispered. "Let's show em what we got."