Welcome to my first standalone short story! All Dex Holders may appear, and the temporal gaps between the arcs after Emerald have been compressed to keep the age gap minimal.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1:
Violet City, Johto, 11 am…
Gold and Emerald peeked out of the thick bush, carefully spying on the meeting happening near the ponds in the northern half of the city.
"You got everything, right?" Emerald asked in a whisper.
"Of course," Gold replied in a whisper as well. "I learned to be prepared from Super Serious Gal, after all."
The two boys quietly crept from cover to cover, hiding in bushes or behind thick trees, getting closer and closer to "the meeting".
"Alright, there it is," Gold said with a grin, seeing a handful of people moving around in the target zone.
Someone suddenly dropped behind the two boys and tapped their shoulders, making them jump in surprise.
"Hey, guys," came a feminine voice. "What're you two doing here? The last I checked, this was a girls' meeting."
Gold and Emerald quickly spun around and saw Sapphire with her hands on her hips. The two boys glanced at the female Dex Holders' meeting and sighed in relief as no one noticed their presence. Emerald grabbed the girl by her wrist and yanked her down so that she'd crouch behind the thick bush as well.
"Damn, Sapphire," he said with a sigh, relieved that no one else noticed yet. "You surprised the crap out of me."
"Uh-huh. But seriously, what're you doing here?" Sapphire asked, crossing her arms.
"Shhh," Gold said in a whisper. "We're trying to… have some fun here."
"That's the target, right there," Emerald said, pointing at Y, who was sitting on a bench next to the pond while happily eating an apple. "With that bright pink shirt, she's impossible to miss."
"… Guys, leave her alone," Sapphire said, despite sounding and looking intrigued at what was going to happen. "I mean, she's just eating an apple. Look how innocent she is. Why are you even targeting her anyways?"
"Payback," Emerald answered. "She ratted us out last week."
"But that's because you two dumped a bucket of ice water on her in the middle of the night!" Sapphire argued.
"That was because she ratted us out the week before!" Gold replied, keeping his voice down.
"… But… that was because you guys dug a pitfall trap right in front of her summer home!" Sapphire argued again.
"And that was because she ratted us out a couple weeks prior," Emerald said in a whisper.
Sapphire frowned as she thought. "So… this is a never ending cycle. You guys keep pulling pranks on her, and she tells on you and because of that, so you guys pull more pranks on her as revenge."
"I suppose," Emerald admitted. "But… Payback is payback."
Gold nodded. "And so the cycle begins again. Now hush." He took out a slingshot and slowly crept to a better position. "The silent and clever hunter Gold stalks his prey," he said, mimicking the accent that's common to narrators of these kinds of documentaries. He remained hidden behind a large bush while Sapphire and Emerald took cover next to a large tree. "Hiding in the refuge of a thick bush, the hunter slowly takes aim." Gold took a small ball and used it as the slingshot ammo, taking aim at Y.
"What's that?" Sapphire asked quietly, pointing at the small ball.
"Just a small water balloon," Emerald answered. "We don't want to do any real damage, after all."
Gold stretched the slingshot elastic to its maximum and aimed at Y's head. The girl remained blissfully unaware and continued to happily eat the apple, taking large bites, enough to fill her cheeks and happily munched away.
"Will he hit the target? Will he miss it? Only time will tell," Gold whispered, still mimicking the accent. "But one thing is certain. There is an audience cheering him on."
On cue, Sapphire and Emerald made a silent "woo" to mimic a cheer.
Gold fired. The small water balloon flew straight towards Y's head, but… flew just over, almost making contact with her hat. The balloon hit the water with a splash, and Y quickly looked over to see what the splash was about.
"… F*ck," Gold whispered in the accent. "… He thinks to himself… "F*ck… I missed. … Sh*t," he muses…"
Sapphire clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle a laugh while Emerald just snickered silently. Gold glared at both of them before focusing on his victim once more.
"There is a strange noise coming from the nearby beasts," he said in the accent. "Even the wild beasts are laughing at the clever hunter. But he will show them. Oh, yes he will. He still has the prey in his sights, and with the second shot, he will surely get the critical headshot needed to restore his pride."
Gold fired the second shot. But Y had moved slightly to the left, causing the water balloon to miss yet again. Y finally realized that the shots were coming from behind her and swiveled around, staring at the bushes to see if she can detect anything.
"Damn it all," Gold growled angrily. He quickly calmed himself and resumed the narration. "… He mutters. "Damn. Crap. Sh*t," he curses. The hunter now only has one shot remaining. Can he nail the critical shot when the prey is aware of him?"
"No," Sapphire whispered after another snicker. "Looks like the hunter messed this up," she taunted, mimicking the accent.
"Shut it," Gold warned with another growl. Sapphire stuck out her tongue at him and resumed watching the disaster unfold.
"Someone's coming," Emerald said as he lowered himself more towards the ground to stay hidden.
Gold quickly fired the third shot. The shot flew straight towards Y once again, heading for her forehead. But Y saw the shot coming and ducked, dodging the water balloon. … But she didn't realize that Blue was behind her, having come to investigate why exactly Y was… "dancing" right in front of the pond. The water balloon that missed the Kalos Dex Holder nailed Blue right on the nose and exploded. Blue staggered backwards from the sudden burst of water, and accidentally stepped off the land and fell right into the pond.
"Oops," Gold whispered in the accent. "… "Uh oh," he mutters, as he quickly realizes that he had royally f*cked it up…"
"Abort!" Emerald hastily whispered. "Run for your lives!"
Sapphire took a nervous gulp as she realized that she may now be considered as an accomplice to Gold instead of a mere bystander. Gold quickly searched through his pockets for something that may help in this situation as Blue rose out of the pond like a ghost and stepped onto land, glaring in the direction of the 3 Dex Holders.
"The hunter quickly searches his inventory," Gold whispered, taking out all sorts of random stuff from his pockets. "The third shot had accidentally nailed the nearby demon. He now must find a way to calm her, or he will face a fate far, far worse than death."
Blue's eyes twitched as she began to approach the suspicious bush.
"The demon rapidly approaches. The hunter must now flee for his life," Gold whispered as he began to scramble away.
Sapphire and Emerald cast a worried glance at each other before they followed their senior, crawling on all four limbs to get away from Blue as fast as possible.
Gold suddenly stopped scrambling when someone stomped on the ground right in front of him. He looked at the foot on the ground and slowly followed up. The black-striped long white socks that reached mid-thigh, a little bit of the thigh exposed between the socks and the black/yellow shorts, the rather tight-fitting pink shirt…
"Well, well, well… Look what we have here," Crystal said as she crossed her arms.
"… The hunter has been flanked by a monster," Gold muttered, sensing impending doom. "The… hunter has become the hunted. … Clever girl… Ow!"
…
"… This is all your fault," Sapphire growled to Gold, while remaining on her knees with her hands held high above her head.
"No one told you to stick around," Gold said while in the same position.
"At least you dropped that stupid accent," Sapphire said.
"You didn't think it was stupid until after we got caught. So fickle." Gold looked over to the side where Crystal was being scolded by Blue. "Well, it looks like all sorts of people are getting in trouble. Such troublemakers. Tsk, tsk."
Sapphire growled and promptly whacked her senior on the back of the head.
"Hey, ow!" Gold yelped. "I'm telling. I'm your senior, remember?"
Sapphire was about to retort when Crystal walked over. The Hoenn girl quickly lowered her head to appear innocent.
"Can't you guys just… spend a week without getting into trouble?" Crystal asked with a sigh. She glared at Gold and put her hands on her hips. "Or rather, can't you spend a week without getting anyone else in trouble as well?"
"Oh, I do try, Crys," Gold said with a grin. "But maybe if I had a little more incentive…" He cast a quick glance over at Sapphire. "And by the way, that Wildchild Girl keeps hitting me. But I can't fight back, you know? I mean, I am her senior and all."
Sapphire cast him a deadly glare, but Gold just grinned at her. Crystal let out a sigh and rubbed her temples.
"Sapphire… I'll have to talk to you after this," she said tiredly. "But Gold… what incentive could possibly get you to behave and set a good example for the juniors?"
"Maybe you can help me," Gold said with a grin.
Crystal quickly caught on. "Oh, no. No. That's not going to happen." She tapped her foot for a moment to think about something before she shook her head. "I'll think of a suitable punishment for you. And Sapphire, come with me."
Sapphire gulped nervously and slowly rose to her feet. Once Crystal turned away, the Hoenn Dex Holder quickly glared at Gold and mouthed out a swear word.
"Oh, Crys!" Gold called out. "Wildchild Girl just said-"
"Hey! Shut it!" Sapphire yelled out hastily.
"Sapphire!" Crystal yelled, causing the Hoenn girl to jump in surprise. "That's not how you talk to seniors!"
"… Sorry," Sapphire said as she lowered her head.
Once her senior turned away again, she glared at Gold and growled. Gold simply winked at her and signaled her to get going.
A few minutes later, Emerald casually walked towards Gold.
"How's it going?" he asked as he stood next to his senior.
"I'm still alive," Gold answered. "But hey. How come you're not getting punished?"
Emerald snickered as he stood up straighter, obviously proud of himself. "I never got caught. Crystal never saw me. Being short has its advantages. Sometimes."
"Good. Then you can spy on the target without causing suspicion. So, how's Sky Girl doing?"
"She thinks she won this round," Emerald answered. "She's chatting with Platinum and White right now. So I think we should ambush her when she least expects it."
"And I have a plan for that," Gold said with a grin. "First, you go to Crys and suggest to her that I apologize to Y by treating her to dinner. I will reluctantly agree. Then go over to Y and tell her to take advantage of this situation by picking an expensive restaurant and eating to her heart's content. Then, during dinner, when time is right, I'll sneak out, which then would force Y to pay for everything."
"Monstrous. Devious. Genius," Emerald said with a grin. "Alright, I'm on it."
Gold watched Emerald leave and focused on looking as innocent as possible. Soon, Crystal walked towards him, with Emerald and Y following.
"Gold, we finally decided how you're going to make up for all you've done," she said.
Gold let out a long sigh. "Alright, let's hear it. What else do I have to do? I'm already on my knees in front of my juniors, you know. So much for dignity, right?"
Crystal frowned a bit and tilted her head, as that thought had never occurred to her before. "… Right. You can stand up now. But anyways. I think the best solution is for you to treat Y to a dinner. She doesn't know this region, and she certainly wouldn't know which restaurant is the best. But you do. So treat her to a nice dinner."
Gold rose to his feet and brushed the dirt off of his knees. "Fine. I guess it's acceptable." He smiled a bit. "You want me to go on a dinner date with a junior."
Y crossed her arms and huffed. "Hmph. In your dreams. But I'll take my victory dinner, thank you. And I plan to enjoy it!"
"Alright, fine. … Look, there's a good place in Goldenrod City," Gold began, sounding very reluctant, all as planned. "It's close to the bike shop, if you know where that is."
"I can meet you in the Pokémon Center and you can take me there," Y said. "I'll see you there in… 6 hours. Don't keep me waiting."
Y soon left to rejoin Platinum and White so that she could tell them about what had transpired. Emerald soon left as well, leaving Gold alone with Crystal.
"… Sorry about that," Crystal said abruptly after a minute of silence.
"Hm? About what?" Gold asked.
"Forcing you to be on your knees and getting punished in front of the juniors," Crystal said. "It must've been degrading as a senior."
"Damn straight."
"But maybe if you acted like a senior…" Crystal began with narrowed eyes. She shook her head though. "Never mind. I really hope that you begin to behave after this. If the dinner with Y goes off without any problems, that would be really great."
"Don't worry," Gold said, hiding his grin. "The dinner will be great. And hey, just to prove how great it was, I could take you there tomorrow!"
"A dinner date, huh?" Crystal asked as she crossed her arms. "With you? I don't think so. Nice try."
"Damn. Well, I had to try. But whenever you change your mind, come find me." Gold gave her a wink before he turned away. He stopped after taking a couple of steps. "It could provide the additional incentive to behave around the juniors, you know?"
Crystal was about to retort when a thought suddenly flashed across her mind. Was that a… threat? Did Gold just threaten to continue bullying some of the juniors until she finally agreed to go out with him?
'Gold… you jerk…'
…
7 hours later…
…
"And here we are, Sky Girl," Gold said as he stopped in front of a big restaurant.
"Wow, this place is pretty big," Y muttered as she looked around. "Look at all those people!"
"It's a big place because the food is so good," Gold said. "Otherwise, people wouldn't come. Now come on, let's go inside before all the tables are taken."
Gold opened the door and waited for Y to enter, trying to be on his best behavior. Y looked a little suspicious at first, but soon entered the restaurant. Gold grinned as his junior walked past him. Good… As expected, the girl was suspicious of him, but his best behavior would quickly end her suspicions, opening herself up for the planned prank at the very end of the dinner.
Gold opened the next set of doors for her once again, and even held the chair out for her at the table. He deliberately chose her spot to be facing away from the entrance. Again, Y was initially suspicious, but she accepted the kind offer in much less time than before. She even took Gold's suggestions for the meal itself.
"It's a bit expensive, isn't it?" Y asked once the waiter left with the food order.
"Eh… kind of," Gold answered. "But for food this good, I say it's worth it."
"It's that good, huh? I can't wait," Y said with a smile.
The food arrived in about half an hour. Gold watched Y's expression as she took the first bite.
"How do you like it?"
"Oh, it's so good!" Y exclaimed. "Wow, this is better than anything I've ever had!"
"I'm glad you like it," Gold said. He watched his junior beginning to wolf down the food before he began to eat as well.
Within a few minutes, the two Dex Holders had finished their food. Y let out a long happy sigh as she put her hands over her stomach.
"Ah, that was so good," she said, looking super relaxed.
"Yeah. It's definitely one of the best places to eat," Gold said.
"If everything's this good, then I should let you guys pull pranks on me a lot more, if it means you'll take me to these places as an apology," Y said with a laugh. "Apology accepted, Gold."
"Thanks," Gold said, reaching for his cup of water. He timed his move carefully. There was a waiter coming closer to serve the table right behind him, so this had to be timed very carefully.
The waiter stood behind Gold as he received the order from the table. Gold paid close attention to his hearing, and once he determined that the waiter was about to turn around, he proceeded to take a drink from his cup, leaning as far back into the chair as possible. When the waiter turned around, he accidentally bumped Gold's head, causing the Johto Dex Holder to buckle forward, thus spilling the water onto himself.
"Oh, I am so terribly sorry, sir!" the waiter said apologetically.
"Hey, be careful, would you?" Gold said in between coughs, as he tried to wipe away the water with his free hand.
"Are you okay?" Y asked as she handed her senior all the spare napkins.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Gold said between coughs still. He took the napkins and tried to clean up the mess made.
"If you would like, sir, there is a restroom over there where you can clean up," the waiter said, pointing near the entrance.
Gold looked down at his soaked shirt, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll have to." He looked over at Y as he stood up. "I'll be right back."
"Yeah, sure," Y said without much thought.
Gold headed towards the restroom, but paused before he reached there. He looked back at the table, and saw Y doing what she could to clean up some of the mess. Good. She would not be able to see him.
With a quiet snicker, Gold headed towards the front doors of the restaurant and successfully snuck out, effectively ditching Y with the food bills.
"Revenge served," Gold said as he slowly walked away from the restaurant. He snickered as he imagined Y after she realizes what had happened.
"I knew it!" came a female voice from the side.
Gold jumped in surprise and looked over. He spotted Crystal storming towards him from the bike shop, almost as if she had been waiting here this whole time.
"Hey, Crys. What are you doing here?"
"I thought something was odd," Crystal said, almost yelling in anger. "I thought you had agreed to this plan a little too easily. So I followed. And just as I thought… Where's Y?"
"Uh… she's…"
"Still in the restaurant, right?" Crystal asked as she put her hands on her hips. "You ditched her. With the bills, presumably. You jerk. What is the matter with you?"
"I'm honestly surprised that you didn't see this coming, Crys," Gold said with a grin. "I mean, I just don't have the right incentive."
Crystal glared at him for almost a minute before she finally responded. "You know what, Gold? FINE," she said through clenched teeth. "If you behave and stop being a jerk to the juniors for one week, I will go out with you."
"You got yourself a deal," Gold said with a laugh. He winked at her as he gave her enough money to pay for the food bill at the restaurant. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Crystal glared at Gold as he left, but once he went far enough, lightened her expression and smiled. "… But you'll need to behave as much as Platinum for me to go out with you."
And so ends the first chapter. I hope you liked it. Be sure to leave a review after reading!
This short story is estimated to last about 3 to 4 chapters.
