a/n: To clarify, everything is narrated by Red and obviously, I don't own Pokemon. Enjoy!
vestige
Blue, I remember the day we first met.
I had just moved to Pallet Town and my father was gone. He was a Pokémon Trainer, one of the greats. He had traveled around the whole world, you know, and me and my mom went with him. We were a happy family before Father disappeared one day, and never came back. We waited, we waited for years, but finally we were forced to give up hope and fly back to Pallet Town, to start a new life.
My mom had told me that there was a boy my age in the house next door, but I didn't care.
I cried for days on end. My mom would force me to go out and play, but all I did was sit down in the shade of the trees and grieve for my dad, the teardrops falling to the ground. He truly loved me, and I missed him so much. No one bothered to comfort me until one day. My face was, as usual, buried in my hands, but I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see another little boy standing over me, his clear blue eyes shining with concern.
"Are you okay?" you asked, and I shook my head. I expected you to leave after that, but instead you sat down next to me and comforted me, said that everything would be all right. Despite my continuing to sniffle and sob, I glanced over at you and when grinned at me, I managed a teary smile back. Then you stood up and took my hand, helped me back onto my feet, and invited me to go play.
That was the day we first became friends.
.
Blue, I remember when we used to play together in the long days of our childhood in Pallet Town. We were best friends, inseparable. Everyone always referred to us as a pair, because we were always seen together back then. Oh look, there's Red and Blue, people would say. We would play hide-and-seek, build sandcastles, dream about being Pokémon masters. The days passed in front of our eyes, and before we knew it the day was over and our mothers would force us apart to go eat dinner at our respective houses.
But after that, we played together in the evening with the sun behind our backs and our shadows lengthening until they got swallowed up by the darkness. Sometimes at night I would end up sprawled in your room on the couch, fast asleep. That was because you always called the bed. Nevertheless, we usually ended up sleeping over anyway.
The years have passed since then.
I miss those times.
.
Blue, I remember the night before we got our first Pokémon.
We were so excited, we could hardly sleep at all. We lay awake in bed, just talking and talking about what Pokémon we would choose. I wanted a Bulbasaur because I liked the calm grass types, while you longed for a Charmander because your fiery personality.
That night, we had so many dreams and ambitions. We wanted to be the strongest Trainers in the world, become undefeatable. We were so much alike, I wonder why our fates turned out so differently now. But as I lay in my bed and you were collapsed on the couch, moonlight pouring into my room, we poured out our deepest wishes to each other and promised to help each other reach those goals. I mistakenly thought that even though we would be rivals, everything would be all right and we would still be the best of friends.
I was wrong.
.
Blue, I remember the day we did get our first Pokémon.
Your grandfather made me get the first pick, but when I saw the look on your face, I didn't want to, anymore. But he pushed me, so I was forced to choose a Bulbasaur.
And then you snatched up the Charmander. I saw your smirk; you thought I'd chosen the weaker.
You didn't know, yet.
We battled. Professor Oak and his lab assistants watched, and by their expressions, anyone would think they were watching some sort of championship battle or something. That's how intense it really was. You screamed orders at your Charmander and I commanded my Bulbasaur quietly, and before I knew it, I had won. I was only ten back then, but I could tell it from the way Charmander was lying on the floor, motionless, and I felt terrible for hurting another Pokémon like that.
You were yelling and yelling at your starter Pokémon, but then the professor told you to stop. His face betrayed disapproval and disappointment in you, even. You looked at him and a strange expression came over your face. I forgot what it looked like, but—
to me, it looked like pure fury.
But before I could say anything to comfort you, make it all better, you recalled Charmander and charged out of the place.
"Smell ya later!"
And I had to admit, I felt horrible when I saw your twisted, furious expression.
You thought you were going to win, win, but only I knew better.
I wish I had said sorry.
.
Blue, I remember our countless battles throughtout our journey.
We were so desperate, wanting so badly to prove our strength over each other. I'll admit, even though I didn't show it, I desired to beat you as much as you wanted to see me lose my first battle.
It didn't happen.
For some reason, I was undefeatable. Your grandfather said I was a "prodigy," or whatever that means, but I don't know. All I know is that I don't want you to hate me, but you did, and I guess I can't blame you. Like you, I was battle-hungry back then, but the difference between us was that I loved my Pokémon more than you ever did, and maybe that's why I won all those battles.
But I didn't even talk to you outside our fights, and the warm friendship we had as kids was devolved into a fierce rivalry. Sure, we still had some friendly moments, but they were getting fewer and fewer.
I wish I had tried to restore our friendship.
.
Blue, I remember the day we defeated Team Rocket.
It was one of the last times I ever felt anything close to friendship with you.
We were only eleven years old; we snuck into their headquarters but were caught by a man by the name of Giovanni. He was Team Rocket's boss, he said, but I didn't care. Let's challenge him together, I yelled to you, and you nodded your head in silent agreement.
The experience was horrible. Giovanni was sadistic, a violent Trainer who laughed cruelly when the Pokémon got hurt. He laughed throughout the whole battle, and not once did he actually take us seriously until the very end, when he was on the brink of defeat. Then he called out orders even more fiercely, commanding his Pokémon to attack us, and later that day our wounds and broken bones landed us in the hospital.
Then after tears and blood and dirt, it was all over, and the police sirens were ringing and Giovanni was swearing at us, cursing as the police dragged him away and locked him in handcuffs, imprisoning him forever.
It was scary. We were only kids then, and I remember clinging tightly to you when the police destroyed the Rocket Headquarters with a bomb. It made a loud noise, a terrifying boom that echoed in my mind for days to come, and everything blew up. Utterly decimated. I recall we were so frightened, we wouldn't let go of each other even when the police came out and said everything was okay and safe.
I wish we were together like that again.
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Blue, I remember the last time we met before the championship battle.
Of course, you didn't know what was going to happen then, so you were somewhat friendly to me. That night, we talked. Under the stars, we discussed our dreams for the first time in years, and how they were so close to reality. You gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me to do my best tomorrow against the Elite Four, and I encouraged you to do the same. We didn't know we would be the ones meeting in battle in the end; all we wished for was that we could both be champions.
We had no idea, then, that there was no such thing.
But I want to feel that same closeness with you.
.
Blue, there's one memory I remember more clearly than any other. The battle for the championship.
I tore through Kanto like a storm, and finally I entered the grand chambers of the champion's room, only to see you standing there with the biggest smirk on your face. But I already knew what you didn't.
The stands were packed, the audience all eager to see us fight it out. The people were all hungry for battle, for the most intense of fights, and I knew I hated them.
I wished I had said something to you before the battle, but you didn't give me a chance.
So when you took out your first Poké ball, I was forced to do the same. The battle started and flashed by like a blur, and I remember using all the skills and talents I had ever learned during my journey. To make you feel better, it was one of the hardest battles I'd ever fought, and I even felt bad when your last Pokémon slumped to the ground, eyes blank and defeated like all the others before it.
The crowd roared, the cameras flashed, and I thought if this was fame, then I didn't want to be any part of it. But the audience was on its feet, cheering me, and the news reporters took endless interviews.
I was made famous that day, but I didn't care.
What I did care about was you, my childhood friend who I had grown up and played with, battled with, and in the end, destroyed. I was about to go over to you, say something and try to comfort you, but you were already on your knees, empty-eyed, staring at your hands. When you finally looked up again, your eyes were full of despair, a world of pain.
This wasn't supposed to happen. We were both destined to be champions, from the day we first met on that shady hill, when I was crying and you helped me back up onto my feet. I needed you, as much as you needed me. We were red and blue, fire and water. So different and yet the same. We had the same ambitions, goals of being Pokémon Masters, and I ruined your dream. I couldn't live with that. And now I realized that now was the time for me to pick up the pieces of our friendship, to comfort you this time.
I truly couldn't stand to see you like that. But what I did next shocked both of us, not to mention the whole audience.
I resigned from the championship.
After that, no one could look upon me without contempt. I saw sneers in their faces, I endured years' worth of disbelieving questions and taunting jeers, from total strangers to my closest friends. And it was hard, too. I had given up the thing that mattered to me the most. It was in my hands, my longtime childhood dream of being a Pokémon master, but I threw it away willingly.
It was all worth it when I saw your expression.
To tell you the truth, I was thinking that maybe we could go back to how we used to be. Friends again. And when you took my hand and gave me that smile I remembered and loved, I knew it would happen, and we could achieve great things—but this time, together.