Hey, guys! I know this type of story happens a lot on FF, but I honestly feel like I've been called to make this. I've loved Pokémon and its characters for so long, that I wanted to write my version of how the games and their canon played out. I'm not going to be adding random OCs and stuff, but I will be slightly altering some events to add new content, but it'll be cool, I promise! I also need constructive criticism, please! I never feel as though I can get my description across well, so I want input! Also, please give me your honest opinions about the dialogue! It never feels natural enough to me. Thanks!

March 1st, 1990

"Unbelievable! Lance's second Dragonair is down for the count! It's been a long time since the champion has been pushed this far!"

In a small house in a small town called Pallet, in a small country called Kanto, a young boy sat in front of a TV, watching with analytical intent. The announcer was having an absolute fit, because the current reigning title holder, Lance, was being pressured heavily in the battle he was fighting. What kind of battle was it, though? Sports were popular in Kanto, such as baseball, soccer, and tennis, but one thing trumped all of those:

Pokémon battling.

You're probably asking, "what on earth are Pokémon?", and "how does one battle with them?".

To begin, Pokémon are mysterious creatures of all shapes and sizes. They live in forests, lakes, and mountains, and many people own Pokémon as pets. However, Pokémon possess powerful abilities beyond human understanding, and because of the symbiotic relationship between them and humans, they are often trained and used in friendly competition. A person, called a trainer, competes against other trainers to win titles and gain fame. While many people weren't trainers, Pokémon help humans in many other ways: construction and physical labor, environmental preservation, security and police work, and many other things.

While Red understood that Pokémon were important, he just didn't get Pokémon battling. He thought it was a waste of time. Why would two trainers order their Pokémon to attack each other? Surely there was something more practical for them to do instead of hurting one another?

"Honey?"

A knock came from the door to Red's room.

"You're still awake? It's nine 'o'clock, honey! It's way past your bedtime." Red's mother, a humble woman of twenty-seven, crosses her arms. She wasn't pleased.

"Mom, can I ask you a question?"

Red's mom didn't expect a response like that, she expected him to protest and whine, but she told herself to count her blessings. She entered the room, closed the door, and sat on Red's bed near him. "Sure, Red. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Mom." He looked up, shrugging. "I just wondered if you have ever battled with Pokémon before."

"Me?" She asked, thinking for a moment. "I remember having a few Pokémon around the house as a child, but your father is the one who's trained Pokémon. Why, do you want to as well?"

He shook his head, his black hair flipping slightly. "No."

"Oh." She answered, surprised. "You certainly don't have to."

"Good," he walked up to the TV and pressed the switch on the front, turning it off and silencing the announcer. "Cause I think it's dumb. Why can't these trainers do something with their Pokémon that isn't just fighting?"

She couldn't help but laugh at her young son's way of his expressing his opinions, his blunt words and simple mannerisms. The TV was still blaring on and on about the match, which had apparently shifted in the champion's favor. "Honey, those trainers' livelihoods are Pokémon battling, you know. You can have an opinion like that, but be careful, okay?"

Red's cheeks tinted like his name, knowing that had acted out of line. "Sorry, Mom. I don't have anything against them at all. I just don't get why they battle."

She pulled the covers out for him to get in, and after Red got into bed. "And that's just fine, dear. You don't have to be a Pokémon trainer if you don't want to," she pulled the blanket up to his neck, leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, sweetie."

"Night, mom." Red smiled back, sliding under the covers. She closed the door slowly, watching her son's face descend into sweet sleep. After walking back to the kitchen to resume washing the dishes, she could feel a pang of sadness in her heart. Her son didn't think Pokémon battling was worth it? While she had never been a trainer, she had fallen in love with one. He was an amazing man, at least for a few years. Now, she lived alone with her son, Red. While she hoped that Red would never become like his father, she hoped that he would at least give Pokémon battling a chance, since it was such an important part of growing up, especially for young boys.

Speaking of the young man, he was doing the opposite of sleep. He lied awake, thoughts running through his head like rush-hour traffic. Why? Why on earth did Pokémon matter so much? Well, he could answer that question for himself: because humans and Pokémon rely on each other for daily needs. Without Pokémon, humans would lose their partners in many things, like construction, medicine, and law enforcement. They would also lose food sources since some Pokémon were farmed for human consumption. Without humans, Pokémon wouldn't be able to realize their full potential, and they wouldn't be able to live in advanced societies as humans do. He just didn't understand why Pokémon battling was so important. It was just entertainment, right?

Red, being only seven, eventually drifted off to sleep. In his sleep, however, he mumbled the true reason why he doesn't like Pokémon battling:

"I'll never be like him… never ever…"

July 23rd, 1993

It was a beautiful summer day in Pallet Town, but boy, was it hot, Red thought to himself. Kanto's summers were always humid, but not always hot. Nonetheless, it was a perfect day to run around the meadow near the town and play.

At ten years old, Red loved playing outside and finding some kind of adventure in his backyard. Pallet Town wasn't very big, so he knew most of the people that lived there. The town's small population was attributed to how it had only been founded ten years prior, and the fact that it was so rural. Why would you want to live in a small ranch house in a hick town like Pallet when you could live in style in a high-rise apartment in Saffron City, to the north-east? That seemed to be the opinion of a lot of people in Kanto.

"Hey, wait up, Red!"

Red turned towards the voice, the grass blades in the field brushing against his bare legs. It was Blue, a…friend of his. Well, Blue used to be a decent kid that Red liked to play with, but he had started to become a bit of a jerk. He teased Red, gave him grief for really unimportant things, and was a know-it-all. Nonetheless, Red put up with him because there weren't many kids in Pallet Town, at least ones their age.

"You run way too fast!" Blue caught up to him, panting, his hands on his knees. "You're normally so slow, what gives?"

Red shrugged. "Don't know, guess you're the slow one today."

"Shut up!" Blue whined, stamping his feet. "We all know that I've beaten you in more running contests than I can count on my fingers!"

Red rolled his eyes. How on earth was the son of two famous Pokémon researchers, and the grandson of the most famous researcher in Kanto, such a huge whiner?

"Never mind that!" Blue crossed his arms, a smirk on his face. "What're we gonna do today anyway? There's nothing to do."

"We could hunt for bugs," Red suggested, sitting on the almost-like-velvet grass.

"Ugh, you always suggest that." Blue scoffed, sitting down as well. The breeze was a little strong today, and Red had to watch to make sure his cap didn't blow off. "We could go pester my grandpa. I'm sure he could give us something to do." Blue said, lying down on his back.

"No way, the last time we did that he made us carry boxes for an hour. That wasn't any fun at all."

Blue was about to retort when two vehicles sped by the road about fifty meters away. While Blue and Red were in the field away from the more densely populated part of town, there was a road that everyone had to pass through to get to Pallet Town. It was an old rickety country road, made of gravel. Since it was gravel you could hear any car coming a mile away, almost. Blue sat up in surprise, and Red turned to look as well. The first vehicle was a large truck, with the words MACHOKE AND FAMILY MOVING CO. in big bold letters on the side, alongside a decal of the Pokémon named machoke, a large, grey humanoid with insane muscles. The second car was a typical grocery-go-getter, painted white with wood decal. The windows were too dark to see anyone inside.

"Red did you see that?!" Blue pointed as the vehicles drove further down the road. "That looks like someone who's moving in!"

"I saw, I saw. It's probably just another old couple, Blue. Don't get your hopes up."

"Ugh, Red!" Blue raked his little hands through his sandy, spiky hair in frustration. "This is why you and I don't get along sometimes! You don't wanna try anything new, or take any risks! Who knows? Maybe there's another kid moving in!"

To his chagrin, that thought hadn't really occurred to Red. He knew that Pallet was a relatively new town, and pretty out of the way as well. He figured that families with kids wouldn't want to come here. They'd want to go to Celadon or Saffron, where there's good schools and department stores or whatever. "…are you saying you wanna go see?"

"Yeah!" Blue cried, his eyes full of an indescribable emotion. "Come on, Red! Don't be so antisocial, let's go see!"

"Ugh, fine." Blue didn't even hear his reply after he dashed off. Red quickly followed suit, thinking that if he had to move more boxes, he'd have to get his revenge on Blue somehow.

Pallet was a fascinating little town in how you could be on one side of it, walk for a little more than an hour, and be on the other side. Pallet's population was about three-hundred, maybe three-hundred and two if the people moving in were a married couple. Maybe three-hundred three or four if they had kids.

Unfortunately for them, Blue and Red had lost sight of the moving truck, and they were completely exhausted from running. The boys were no strangers to running and playing outside for long periods of time, but between the heat and the fact they had been running for about twenty minutes straight, they were exhausted, sweaty, and frustrated.

"We…lost it," Blue grumbled through pants. "This town isn't that big! Where could it have gone?!"

Red took off his cap to wipe the sweat from his brow. It was that very hat that was keeping him a bit cooler than his hot-headed friend. "Just give it up, Blue. Let's go back home and ask around. Maybe my mom knows."

Blue wanted to protest but knew that between the two of them, Red was the more level-headed boy. They could cool off at Red's house, as well as get a different plan to find the truck.

"All right, let's go."

Luckily, the two boys were not even a five-minute walk from Red's house. It was a simple one-story ranch, with a small front and backyard. The backyard was surrounded by a white picket fence. The house was brown in paint color, with white shutters on the sliding windows. Red's mom loved to garden, which was evident as there were flowers in the mulch around the house, as well as in baskets below the window sills. There was also a garage, which was open.

Red and Blue walked in the garage door, immediately feeling the temperature difference. There was a smaller area near the back of the garage with carpet and two lawn chairs, as well as a TV. The boys sat in the chairs, finally able to cool down.

"Your mom home?" Blue asked.

Red shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Probably. She's usually in the garden during this time of the day."

After cooling off, they went through the door in the smaller area into the backyard, where sure enough, Red's mom was pulling weeds in a vegetable garden.

"Mom!" Red yelled, racing towards her. Blue stayed close behind.

"Hi, sweetie!" Red's mom sat up, dirt on her apron-covered knees and a sunhat plopped carelessly on her head. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Red replied.

Blue spoke before Red could explain the situation. "We saw a moving truck at the outskirts of town. Do you know where it went, ma'am?"

"Now that you mention it, there were two houses for sale in Pallet Town. There's one just down the street, you can't miss it. There's also one downtown a ways, maybe a twenty-minute walk. Are you trying to see if there are any kids coming?"

"Yeah," Blue replied. "we just lost the van after tailing it for a few minutes."

"I honestly think it's the one down the street, boys. I remember seeing that they changed the sign to sold a couple weeks ago." Red's mom stood up fully, her apron and knees covered in dirt. "Before you go, grab a couple popsicles from the freezer, and take a couple extra if there's a new neighbor your age."

"Thanks, mom!" Red blurted out before running back to the garage with Blue in tow.

With a new direction in mind, the boys set out to find out just who these new people were, and if they could make a new friend or two.

When the two boys reached the house with the truck, they kicked themselves. They had passed the house twice and never noticed the for-sale sign! With a slap to the forehead, Blue and Red walked up to the house, popsicles in mouth and two in hand.

They noticed that the moving van had been opened, and two men, along with two Machoke, were hauling boxes and furniture inside. There was a man standing outside, directing the men.

"Careful! Careful! Some of my wife's china is worth more than a year's salary for you guys!" He was a large man, tall and intimidating, with thick facial hair and a bit of a beer belly. He had thick arms that bulged out of his t-shirt, and his brown hair was thin on his head.

"Honey, stop harassing the movers." A woman walked up to him. She was dressed for the weather as well, with a long white dress and a short-sleeved shirt. She had long, blonde hair that reached her thighs, and she was quite beautiful. "Just let them do their job."

The man sighed. "I know, I know. Sorry, Ashley."

So, her name was Ashley, Red thought. Before he could do anything, Blue walked up the driveway towards them.

"Hi, there!" He introduced himself. "Are you our new neighbors?"

They turned in surprise, but the woman responded. "Oh, hello young man! Yes, we just moved in! What's your name?"

"I'm Blue! I live a ways down the street. And right next to me is…" Blue looked back to see Red still hanging back. He motioned him forward with his hand. Swallowing his fear, Red walked forward.

"This is my friend, Red. We saw the moving truck earlier and wondered just who was moving into Pallet Town."

"That's so sweet!" The woman's hands met her cheeks. The man, no longer frowning, walked towards the boys.

"Well met, young man. Name's Carl Greene, and I just got a job at an office down in Viridian. We actually lived in Johto, Goldenrod City, but we had to move for my work. Luckily, my wife and daughter are flexible people."

He stuck out his hand and Red took it, followed by Blue. It was huge and engulfed Red's own in warm, hairy…hand flesh.

"Wait, did you say daughter?" Red asked.

"Yep! You boys look around ten, right?"

They both nodded. The excitement was welling up in their chests.

"She's around your age as well. Her name's Cassie, and I'm sure she'd love to meet you two." Carl turned towards the house.

"Cassie!" He bellowed. Goodness, Red thought. They could replace the emergency storm system alarm with his voice.

Sure enough, someone opened the second-story window. "What, dad?! I'm trying to fix my room!"

"Take a break, kiddo! There are some kids in the neighborhood that wanna be your new friends!"

There was an audible gasp as the window shut, and Red could barely hear the stomping of feet running down a flight of stairs. The girl known as Cassie nearly crashed into one of the movers but managed to gracefully make it out of the house without injuring herself.

"There's other kids?" She said as she ran up to her father. She was about ten, according to Carl, and it was apparent. She was maybe just a bit taller than them, had long, brown hair, just as long as her mother's. She was wearing a black dress that reached below her knees, short white socks, and green and white sneakers. Her face was round and girlish, and she had straight teeth and a great smile. She was definitely…cute, Red thought. She seemed a little clumsy, though.

"So, you two live around here?" She asked, pointing to them.

"Yep! Just down the street." Blue replied, pointing in the general direction of their own houses.

"We were curious about whether or not someone our age was moving in, and sure enough, we were right," Red said crossing his arms. "Oh, and here. We brought a popsicle in case you wanted one."

Red handed her the plastic tube of frozen artificially flavored liquid, and she took it. "Wow, thanks! My favorite flavor, too!"

"Sorry if it's a little melted…" Red chuckled in embarrassment.

"It's fine!" She mumbled while slurping it through the tube.

"You wanna go play for a bit, kiddo? Just don't go too far, okay? We'll get everything wrapped up at the house." Her dad said, smiling warmly at her.

"Yeah, thanks, daddy!" She ran up and hugged him tightly, her short arms barely getting half-way around his body. "I'll be back later!"

"Come back before it gets dark, honey!" Her mom yelled as the three ran off towards Red's house.

The three spent the day playing and laughing, switching between playing outside to going in when it got too hot. They booted up Red's Super Nintendo and played Super Mario and F-Zero for a while. They found out that Cassie was just as rough-and-tough as they were, despite being a girl, and they thought she was hilarious. She had a mischievous streak, and while Blue had fired stinging remarks at her like he did with Red, she easily deflected them back with one-liners. Man, I wish I could do that, Red found himself thinking.

The sun was beginning to set, and it was around eight. Cassie looked up at the sky from the chalk they were writing on the driveway with.

"Oh, I should probably go soon. Mom and Daddy are expecting me back before it gets dark."

Red nodded. "Yeah, it is getting late. It was really fun getting to play with you, Cass."

"Yeah, you too…" She put her hands behind her back, her face tinging pink at his intentional shortening of her name. "C-can you guys walk me home?"

Blue nodded. "No problem!"

The three exchanged few words as they walked back to Cassie's house, but before she went in, she turned to the two boys.

"Can I ask you guys something really quick?"

"Sure." Red and Blue said in unison, something they rarely did.

"Um…" She looked away, a bit nervous. "Do you guys…like Pokémon?"

Red's head cocked in confusion, but Blue's eyes lit up. "Absolutely! Red does too, I promise!"

"I, uh…guess I do?" Red said nervously.

"That's so cool!" Her ocean-blue eye s lit up like fireworks. "I really like Pokémon too! I don't know if I could become a trainer, but I like talking about Pokémon at least!"

Before the boys could reply, they heard a man's voice. "Cassie, it's time to come in! You're on time, though!"

"Just a sec!" She yelled back. "Anyway, thanks for…" She looked down, her face flush with embarrassment. "Thanks for being my friends today, guys."

"It's no trouble," Red replied. "You should go, though. Your dad sounded a bit concerned."

"Yeah, he did, didn't he…?" She chuckled, turning towards the driveway. "See you guys!"

Red and Blue waved as Cassie ran inside, her screen front door slamming shut with a plastic crash.

"Well, that was fun." Red chuckled, putting his hands behind his head. "Looks like you were right, Blue. Sorry I didn't believe in you, I guess."

"It's no problem, dude," Blue replied as they began to walk back home. The sun was starting to set, and the street lights had turned on. Since the sun had mostly disappeared, it started to cool down, and the breeze stopped blowing. "After all, it's nice to know that we can find someone to help us get out of disagreements, too."

Red nodded. "Definitely. I'm actually kinda glad she's a girl, though."

"Why?" Blue's eyebrow cocked to one side. "What, you think she's cute, Red?"

"Guh!" Red couldn't form words, he was so embarrassed. "No! Well, y-yes…just not like that, Butt-head!"

"Ooh, he's all mad now!" Blue cackled like an imp, running ahead of him. "Hey, everyone! Red's got a huge crush on the new neighbor girl! A HUGE one!"

"Blue, I'm gonna punch you! You liar, get back hereeee!"

Red chased Blue all the way back home, where Red actually did punch him. In the arm. Very hard.

This was the beginning of the tale of three kids, whose lives were to be changed dramatically. Being only ten, they were innocent children and loved to play and talk with one another, free of worry or care. Time's change, though. People grow up, and they change, sometimes for the worse.

They changed. All three of them did.

September 10th, 1995

After two years of living in Pallet Town, Cassie had grown accustomed to the small-town feeling. She came from Goldenrod City in Johto, a large, metropolitan place that rivaled Saffron City in size and commercial value. While she at first lamented having to say goodbye to her friends in the big city, she didn't expect to make new friends so quickly.

There weren't many girls her age living in Pallet Town, but the few that she did know she came to befriend. Still, they didn't really compare to her two best friends: Red and Blue.

Red and Blue were both the same age as her, twelve. Red was quiet and antisocial, but he cared a lot about his family and friends and defended her when the need arose. Blue, on the other hand, was a social Butterfree and charismatic but was cruel and rude at times. He also reacted negatively to losing in any kind of competition.

Nonetheless, she enjoyed her new life in Pallet Town. It was quiet and scenic, and she absolutely loved how much nature there was. In fact, her very identity was changed by them. Or rather, by someone because of them.

It was a beautiful day, and after classes had let out, Cassie decided she wanted to work on her project for her biology class. They were discussing photosynthesis, and how plants use the said process to create food for themselves. The teacher had told them to write a report on photosynthesis and submit it by the end of the week, so she figured that it would be wise to get it done early.

This should be easy, she thought to herself. Pallet Town was near a beautiful field and a small forest, so she should be able to pick up some plants and leaves to study them. It was a perfect setup!

She made her way out of school and down the residential areas, where she and her friends lived. The sun was shining, there were bird Pokémon like Pidgey and Spearow flitting about, and she had someone on her mind, as well.

She couldn't stop thinking about Red.

He was just so…so nice. He was also really serious and dedicated to furthering himself as a person, but he was also the only one who was really kind to her. Blue, while he wasn't a bad person, just had tendencies to bully people.

After about ten minutes of walking, she was around the edge of the town, where the meadow was, and where there were many trees of all kinds. Oaks, maples, elms, and others Cassie didn't even know. They towered over her like sleeping giants, their leaves blowing in the early autumn wind. Their leaves had begun to change and fall as well, coating the ground in nice, crunchy, fall-colored carpet.

She made her way towards some of the trees and began to look around for ones that were still green. She wanted to get an A on her paper and decided that if she provided a labeled leaf along with her report, that she'd score a higher grade. Seeing none on the ground, she decided to climb the base of the tree.

"Ugh, this sucks!" She thought as she tried to shimmy up the tree. Finally, she managed to get up a decent height and find a branch to grab onto. She was about to reach for a higher branch before disaster struck.

"Nice undies, Cass."

The voice from below scared her so bad she flew off the trunk of the tree, landing on her butt in the leaves below. It was about a four-foot drop onto a relatively soft landing, but it still hurt.

"Ow, Blue!" She turned to the source of the voice, and sure enough, it was Blue, purple sweater, teardrop necklace, gray cargo pants and all.

"What're you doing out here?" He scoffed. "Didn't know you liked hugging trees, Cass."

"I was trying to climb up to get a leaf, jerk! Maybe you wanna help me out instead of," She lost her train of thought, flushing at the realization of his comment. "commenting on my underwear choice, stupid pervert!"

"Why do you need leaves, stupid?" Blue roared with laughter, and it filled Cassie's ears like flood waters in a storm drain. Why did he become like this? "What, you wanna eat them or something?"

"No, I need a couple for a biology project." Cassie crossed her arms, still self-conscious of the fact that he had seen under her skirt. She loved wearing skirts but was seriously considering not wearing them anymore because of him. "It's none of your business anyway. If you wanna help me, that's fine, but if you're here to laugh at me, buzz off!"

Blue rolled his eyes and 'tsk'ed his tongue. "I never took you for a tree-hugger, Cass. I guess I should give you a nickname fitting for your new position." He pondered dramatically, his finger on his slightly pointy chin. "I got it! I'll call you 'Leafy' from now on. It's perfect!"

"What?! No, my name's Cassie, jerk!"

"What's that, Leafy-girl? You want a snack?" He bent down on the floor of the meadow and picked up a bunch of debris and leaves. "Here!" He threw it at her with great force. Luckily, she had time to close her eyes before the debris struck her in the face, but it still hurt. She wiped her eyes, hot tears forming in them as she opting for the best option: running away.

She could hear Blue cackling as she ran away, but the dirt on her face made it hard to open her eyes. She managed to open them half-way before running into something solid. Great, I hit a tree, she immediately thought, but this tree was softer, and she felt herself falling on it. It wasn't a tree, it was a person, and they crashed to the ground together.

"Ow, what the…" She recognized the voice. It was the boy she had come to admire greatly. It was Red. "Cassie? What's the matter, why's your face covered in crap?"

"Red, I…" Before she could sit up herself, you-know-who came running back towards them.

"Wow, Leafy! Didn't really take you for that kind of girl," He snickered. "I mean, if you want him so bad, you should at least have the decency to take him to your room or something."

"Blue!" Cassie sat up, her temper flaring. "You're being a much bigger jerk than normal today! What gives?!"

"I dunno, just feeling extra cruel today," He chuckled, picking his ear with his pinkie. "What're you doing out here, Red? Come to save your girlfriend?"

Red sat up, rubbing his sore back and rear. "Not necessarily, but you're being a huge ass right now, and I'd love it if you'd beat it, Blue."

Blue recoiled a bit at Red's language, but it didn't deter him much. "Wow, watch your tongue, Red. Getting a bit steamy for twelve years old, right?"

"Shut up, you're the same age as us." Red stood up completely. Despite being the youngest of the three, he was actually the tallest, nearly hitting one hundred fifty centimeters. While Cassie had been the tallest of the bunch for a year or so, Red had hit a growth spurt last summer. "Just go Blue. We don't like you anymore."

Blue shrugged. "Whatever, man. Not like I need either of you slowing me down, anyway. After all," He pointed towards the cloudy, autumn sky. "I'm gonna be the strongest trainer in the world. I don't know, nor do I care what either of you wants to do. So yeah, I will excuse myself. Smell ya later, guys."

With a showy strut, Blue walked away.

Red escorted Cassie back to her house, comforting her along the way. Man, I can't believe he's resorted to violence, Red thought to himself as they walked in the front door. Upon entering the house, they were immediately greeted by Cassie's mom.

"Welcome home, honey-" She was immediately cut off by seeing her daughter's face covered in dirt. "Cassie, what happened? Your face is all dirty!"

"I tripped and fell, Mom. It's fine, I promise." Cassie sat down at the kitchen table with Red, and her mom brought them a plate of cheese and crackers.

"Thanks for seeing my daughter home, Red." Cassie's mom said, beaming. "I'm so glad my daughter has such good friends."

"Thanks, Mrs. Greene. Wanted to make sure she got home okay," Red chuckled, taking one of the crackers off the plate. "she tripped and fell at school, after all." He quickly winked at her.

Cassie winked back just as quick so her mom wouldn't see. "Yeah, clumsy me." She laughed.

"I'm telling you, we need to get you some new shoes, silly," Mrs. Greene started to prattle on about Cassie's shoes before she interrupted her.

"Mom, I'm going upstairs with Red. We need to work on homework." She sat up, taking the plate with her as they headed towards the stairs.

Normally, she wouldn't have allowed a boy to be alone with her only daughter in her room, but she had known Red for a few years now and grew to trust him. "Okay, honey. Don't get distracted!"

Red and Cassie ran upstairs and darted in her room like scared animals during a storm. Cassie's room wasn't anything atypical for a thirteen-year-old girl, except that she had hung up some posters of famous female trainers she had come to admire.

"You really like Ace Trainer Fiona, don't you?" Red gazed at the poster, showing an older teenage girl in a red tracksuit and pants striking a pose while holding an ultra ball, which was like a poké ball but with a blue and black design instead of red. Next to her stood an Arcanine, a large, orange canine Pokémon, and a golem, a brown Rock-type Pokémon that looked like a cracked boulder with arms, legs and a head.

"Yeah, she's really cool. Shame she lost in the finals recently," She sat down on the bed, wiping her face with a towel. "but I'm still rooting for her. Yuck, look at all this that was on my face!"

Sure enough, the formerly-white towel was now darkened by black dirt and some red from the cuts on her face. Cassie's upper lip and the area below the eye had small scratches, which turned the skin around them red and swollen.

"You have cuts on your face, Cass," Red pulled a tissue out of the box near the bed and started dabbing her face. "God, I wanna punch Blue. He's such a jerk, especially to you. I don't even know why, either."

Cassie sighed and shrugged, a little embarrassed that Red was doting over her like a parent. "I don't care, I just avoid him now." She turned to the brown-haired boy. "Thanks for grabbing some tree leaves on the way home, though. We can do our reports now."

Red nodded. "Yeah, no trouble."

The two set to work on their reports, furiously scribbling away with their pencils. They finished them about an hour in and decided to do math problems as well. Why does our teacher assign so many practice problems, Red mumbled in his thoughts. While Cassie excelled at math and science, Red was a decent reader and liked grammar and spelling tests. Naturally, this meant that somebody had to babysit Red while he did his math homework and that responsibility often fell to Cassie.

"No, you carry this number over," Cassie giggled. "How many times do I have to explain it, dum-dum?"

"Probably a lot more, because it's still like a foreign language. Let's take a break."

Cassie laid down on her bed while Red reclined in his chair, his arms behind his head. Even though the school year just started, they already missed summer and its bountiful time it had offered. Riding bikes, swimming, exploring, buying ice cream from the local truck, and much more were just a blade of grass in the meadow of summer activities that the trio did together.

"Wait, why was Blue calling you 'Leaf'?" Red asked. "That's weird."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "It's a dumb nickname he came up with on the spot to make fun of me. Stupid jerk; he said he saw my underwear, too."

"O-oh," Red replied, a little embarrassed at Cassie's forwardness. "Don't worry about him. I know it's apparently uncool to stick up for girls, but you're my friend, Cass. I'm not gonna let Blue bully you, okay?"

Her heart swelled at his words. "Thanks. That means a lot."

The two sat in silence for a minute or two before Cassie broke it like a dropped plate.

"You know, it's not a bad nickname."

Red sat up, squinting in surprise. "What, 'Leaf'?"

She nodded, flipping over on her stomach so that she could face Red. He could see the freckles on her elbows had faded since the summer; they always were more prominent because of the sunlight. "Yeah, like a nickname. It's not bad, actually. I really like Grass-type Pokémon after all! Bulbasaur is so cute!"

"Wha-" Red was at a loss for words. "You're serious? So, you want me to call you that now or something?"

Cassie shrugged again. Her cheeks always puffed out a little when she did that, Red had noticed. "If you want. I figured that if I own the nickname, it'll take all of Blue's power away. He can't make fun of me if I'm not bothered by it!"

Red hadn't thought of it like that, and he was honestly impressed that she was willing to try it. "Okay…Leaf."

Said girl laughed in her hands, trying to muffle it. "Oh, it's so embarrassing!"

Red couldn't help but chuckle at her fits of giggles. She was just so…so cute. Long brown hair, beautiful sea-blue eyes, and a great sense of humor and personality. It wouldn't be a lie to say that Red really liked her. He loved being with her.

"You know, Red…"

"What's up?"

"I, uh…" She sat up on her knees, trying to find a lady-like position with her skirt. "I'm really glad you're my friend, you know that?"

Red laughed, slouching in his seat a bit. "Same here. I'm just glad you like it in Pallet Town, it's such a sleepy place."

"Couldn't have said any better." She tittered, playing with her thumbs. "Are you…are you gonna go on a Pokémon journey?"

Red's mood deflated a little at her question. "No, probably not. Especially if I have to travel with the esteemed Mr. Oak." He raised his hands, saying the last words in a mocking tone.

"No one said you had to. We could travel together, or just alone, too." Leaf stated, swinging her legs around so they hung off the side of her bed. "Besides, all kids have to go on one eventually, Red. It's the law."

She was right, and it burned him up inside. The Kanto government had recently passed a law requiring all children to obtain two Pokémon gym badges by the time they were sixteen, and the earlier the better, apparently, since school could become a huge burden. Despite the law, Red had no intention of following it. "I don't care, Cass. The law's stupid anyway, and it'll just get repealed or whatever in a few months, so I'm not worried."

"But what if it doesn't get repealed, Red?" She walked up to him, they were face-to-face. Her oceans drilled into his wildfires; Red was astonished how serious she looked. "I'd hate for you and your mom to get fined or punished just because you didn't follow instructions, Red. A Pokémon journey is fun, come on! Even though Blue is a jerk, we could all do it together! Wouldn't it be satisfying to see the look on his face after beating him at his own game?"

The prospect of rubbing a victory or two in Blue's stupid face forced a few chuckles out of Red, but he was still adamant about his decision. Red sat up out of the chair as if he was about to give a speech. "No, I don't care! I don't even like Pokémon that much, anyway! They're the reason my dad left my mom, too…"

"Wait, what?" She turned to him again, suddenly concerned. "I thought your dad was working out of the country or something like that?"

Red shook his head, his hair flapping wildly. "No, he divorced my mom when I was seven to try and be a Pokémon trainer. He ended up finding some other woman halfway into his journey and just…just abandoned my mom, like a pet he didn't want. He's a no-good bastard, and I hate him. I hate him…"

Red's words turned into soft sobs as he wrapped his arms around his lean body, shaking. Oh, my god, Cassie murmured to herself. She pulled the boy into her embrace in an attempt to comfort him, and after a few seconds, it seemed to work.

Red sniffed. "I-I'm sorry, Cass. It's just…I don't wanna be a trainer. I don't wanna leave my mom."

Cassie felt tears prick her own eyes, but had to resist. "I totally get it, Red. I love my parents, too, so I understand why you don't wanna leave your mom, especially since she'll be all alone. Still," She let him go to look up at his face, tear lines like rivers down his cheeks. "you're not leaving her forever. You're gonna come back, it's not a permanent thing! Besides, you can visit her. I'll be visiting my parents, too."

"That doesn't make a difference, Cass." He closed his eyes, sighed, and opened them in an attempt to make them less glassy. "I just want to live in Pallet Town for the rest of my life, okay? I know it's boring, but it's what I know and love."

"Red, everyone has to get out of their comfort zone sometimes." Man, Red thought. How's she this wise, at thirteen? "I had to when I moved here. I left all my friends back in Johto, and it killed me inside, but look what happened! I made new friends, for better," She lightly tapped his forehead, eliciting a laugh. "or worse, in the esteemed Mr. Oak's case." She said Blue's name in a mocking tone like Red had.

That's why she's so wise. She's experienced it before, Red realized as her words flowed around him. He chuckled and found himself laughing. "You really know how to make me feel better. Thanks."

"No trouble, Red. I want you to be yourself, but you gotta try new things."

"I know, I know. I'm still not completely on board, but I'll think about it more. I'll talk to mom, too."

"Good," Cassie chirped. "I think it's getting late, though. You should probably head out."

Red looked at the clock above her bed, which read a quarter 'till five. "Oh, jeez, you're right! Mom'll have dinner ready in a half hour, probably."

"Yeah, definitely," Cassie mumbled, her hands behind her back. "Just one more thing."

"What?"

Without warning, she placed her lips on his. It wasn't sensual or overpowering, just a light, chaste kiss. Red was so blown back, but at the same time he didn't want to move, so he settled for standing there, half-assedly returning her kiss.

"Cassie, honey. It's time for Red to go home, we're gonna eat soon."

Luckily, the two teens were quick enough to separate when Cassie's mom came upstairs.

"Damn, that was close!" Red thought to himself in panic.

"Waaay too close." Cassie found herself thinking, too.

Red was halfway home before he felt it was safe to celebrate.

"She KISSED me! Oh, my god, she kissed me!" Red's thoughts blasted through his head and he ran home in glee, almost skipping. He wanted to tell everyone, but he didn't want any rumors to float about because of anything he said.

Red opened the front door to the house, trying to not slam it. "I'm home, mom."

"Hi, honey! Dinner's on the table."

The two of them started dinner, which was a vegetarian meal with rice and tofu. Meat dishes were a bit of a rarity in Kanto since the meat source was Pokémon. Nonetheless, some Pokémon were only bred for food, but many people were traditionally vegetarian because of the cultural inclination against killing Pokémon for food.

"So, honey," Red's mom said between bites. "how was your day?"

Red so badly wanted to say, "Cassie kissed me I'm so happy holy crap!" but he had to restrain himself. "It was pretty normal. I walked Cassie home and we did homework, that's all."

"Aw, how sweet of you, Red! I'm so glad my son is kind to his friends, especially his female friends." She reached across the table tap the top of his hand. "So…you like her?"

Red nearly hacked the water he just drank out of his mouth, his cheeks lighting up like a firework show gone wrong. "N-no, mom! She's my friend, okay?"

"My son is getting so big!" She gushed. "She's such a sweet girl, I'm so glad you like her!"

"Mom, did you just ignore what I said?!"

"Oh, honey," She stood up and took her plate to the sink as she continued to dote on her embarrassed son. "I know how you look at her, sweetie. You care about her a lot."

Red wanted to protest, but she was right. He did care about her, and he really did have feelings for her. "O-okay, I guess I kinda like her…"

"I knew it!" She was silent for a moment. "...did you kiss her?"

"MOM!" Red nearly shouted. "You're so embarrassing!"

Red continued to defend himself against his mother's onslaught of romantic talk, but once the dust settled, he sat down on the living room couch with her and told her about what had happened with Blue earlier that day.

"Oh, Red," She pulled him in, hugging his right side while sitting. She was warm and smelled like lilac soap. "you shouldn't have to deal with that. I honestly think Blue's a little…jealous of you and Cassie."

"Jealous? What's he got to be jealous of? He's constantly got girls on his tail, he's the grandson of the most famous researcher in the region, and he's in the top five best students in the class! What do Cass and I have that he doesn't?"

"You're looking at her, Red." She stood up, her hands on her hips. "I honestly think it's because he hasn't seen his parents in so long, he's jealous that you and Cassie have families to go home to."

Red wasn't buying it. "He's got Daisy and the professor, though."

"True, but they aren't parents. It's not the same, honey."

Red dwelled on his mother's words the rest of the night as he got ready for bed. He stared into the mirror, truly questioning the reason that Blue had turned against them was that of something like jealousy.

Red took a good, long look at himself in the mirror. While he wasn't exactly like a model for a fashion magazine, Red was a relatively handsome young man. He had sandy-brown hair, brushed up and away from his face. He wasn't able to wear a hat to hide it at school, so he had to keep it under control. He had chiseled, but still boyish face. He attributed that to him being only thirteen.

Am I really good enough for her, though?

The thought raced through Red's mind like a Dodrio hyped on performance-enhancing drugs. He no longer had any doubt in his mind that Cassie had feelings for him after what happened earlier. Despite that, he still felt that he wasn't worthy of her. The look on her face when he said that he didn't want to be a Pokémon trainer almost hurt him physically. He never wanted her to look like that again.

"Maybe…I should," He looked down at his open hand, boyish and young, but nicked and scarred in certain places from his misadventures the past few summers. He had fallen out of a tree, fallen on driveways several times, played with rocks and sticks, just to name a few things.

"I guess I should sleep on it." Red finally snapped out of his trance, deciding to go to bed. It was around ten, and he was exhausted from the day's events, both physically and emotionally.

Red stared at the blank white ceiling of his room as he tried to fall asleep. Kanto was such a big country, and it took the average teenager at least a year to complete a Pokémon journey. It was typically longer because of distractions and problems that come up, such as family and school-related things.

Maybe this was the best way to get back at Blue? To beat him at his own game. Red didn't wish bad on Blue, but the thought of him groveling at Cassie's feet and asking for forgiveness was a pleasant thought.

"I guess I'll do it. For her."

April 4th, 1996

Red wiped the sweat from his brow as he tried his best to calm himself. He wasn't the only one who was nervous, though. The kids around him, who were anywhere from ten to as old as seventeen or eighteen, were expressing their own nervousness as well. A girl wearing jeans and a button-up top was chewing the nail on her thumb. A young man a few seats ahead of Red wouldn't stop kicking his leg against a chair, filling the room with a constant thumping noise. It was annoying, but everyone was afraid to say anything for fear of angering the proctor.

Speaking of the proctor, he entered suddenly, snapping everyone to attention.

"Alright, everyone," his voice was smooth and kind, despite his position of power. "Here's how this is gonna work. I'll call your name, you come up and get your scoresheet and license, and you're free to go. If I don't call your name, that means you didn't pass. If you didn't pass, you go home and try again next year. Don't try and argue results. If you do, I'll make sure you never are able to take this test again."

Red felt a cold sweat run down his neck, and one of the girls in the room squealed. He turned to his left and saw Blue leaning in his chair, an arrogant smirk plastered to his face. Blue happened to see him, and shot him a wink.

"All right, here we go." The Proctor pushed up his glasses and picked up the small stack of paper in front of him. "Lawson, Cheyanne?"

A shorter girl in a blue skirt sped-walked up and took the sheet without a word. After she left the room, Red heard muffled screams of delight.

"Michaels, Andrew? Dayton, Gregory? Sakaki, Silver?"

The three kids mentioned picked up their sheets and ran out excitedly, except for the last one. He had stern, grey eyes and red hair, Red noticed. He calmly took his sheets and left.

"Oak, Blue?"

To no one's surprise, Blue sat up at his desk with a loud show of noise, strutted up to the podium, and took his sheet. As he walked out, he winked at Red again.

Red turned to his right and saw Cassie, now affectionately called Leaf. Despite Blue getting his license first, she didn't show an ounce of fear in her face. She stared the proctor in the eyes, determination flashing brightly.

"West, Michaela?"

An older-looking girl walked up and took her papers. Despite her mature façade, Red could see the tears forming in her eyes as she walked out of the room.

The proctor paused for a moment, and Red was sure that was the end of it. He and Leaf wouldn't get in, but Blue would. That wasn't the worst thing in the world, actually. They could finish high school together away from Blue, and they could be happy together. They could go steady, and maybe after a few years he would ask her to marry him-

"Greene, Cassandra?"

That was her name. Her full name.

Red whipped his head around to Leaf, who covered her hands with her mouth. With shaky steps, she walked up to the proctor's podium and took the sheets from his hand. Without warning, she bolted out of the room.

Red stopped listening after that. He read off a few more names before placing his hand down on the podium with a dull thud.

"All right, that's it. Thank you to all who participated, and I hope you try again next year."

That was it. Blue and Leaf made it, but he didn't. It fell on Red like a rock slide, and it hurt. Not because he wasn't going on a Pokémon journey, but because he would be friendless, and have to finish up high school in Pallet Town alone.

"It's not fair…it's not fair!"

"It's not…!"

"Sir!"

Before Red could finish his sentence, a man in a lab coat rushed in the room. "We had a screw-up! There's a couple more!"

"Really? You guys need to recalibrate the machines." The proctor took the sheets from the man, who quickly dashed out of the room. "Damn eggheads, I hate working with them…"

He cleared his throat. "All right, quit bawling. We have a few more here."

The room was quiet again. You could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet.

Red felt a seed of hope being planted in his gut, but he wasn't confident in its ability to grow. After all, it would be crazy if-

"Anderson, Red?"

The whole world stopped as Red heard his name. He didn't care about anything else, as long as he and Leaf could be together, even if that time together was a Pokémon journey. He had passed.

Red shakily sat up out of his seat and walked up to the proctor.

"Well, take it. You earned it, kid."

Red couldn't stop shaking. With his uncertain hand, he took the papers.

"No need to get all emotional, kid. Good luck on being a trainer!"

The proctor's smile finally broke Red. He ran out, fighting back tears.

0.4

Red kept running until he smashed through the doors of the school building and almost fell on his face in the parking lot.

"Yeah!" He yelled at nothing in particular. "I got my license!"

"Geez, you don't have to shout, Red!"

He recognized the voice well. It was Leaf, who was carrying her own set of papers as she ran up to him. "We all passed. I told you we would."

While embarrassed that he had been wrong, Red was nonetheless too happy to care. "This is great, though. You and I can go on an adventure together."

She suddenly hugged him; her smell filled his nostrils, sending him to vanilla and coconut heaven. "We certainly can, but I don't think we're allowed to stay together."

Red couldn't believe his ears. "Wait, why not?! It's cause we're a guy and a girl? What gives?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. It was in the fine print of the contract we signed for our licenses. Since we're minors, we can't travel together unless we have an equal number of boys and girls."

"That's so stupid!" Red kicked the dirt, sending rocks and debris flying away from them. "I-I wanted to travel with you! Heck, if I had to travel with Blue's arrogant self to travel with you, I would."

Leaf shook her head and pulled him in again. "I know you're upset, but it's gonna be okay, Red. After all, we're leaving from Pallet Town at the same time, right? That means we'll see each other often."

Red wanted to cry and scream at the thought of being separated from her, but he knew it would be no use. It tore him up inside knowing that she would be going on a dangerous journey by herself; he knew she was strong, smart, and capable, but he cared about her too much.

"Will you be okay?"

She scoffed in mirth, punching him lightly. "Of course! I'll have my new Pokémon with me. You don't have to worry about me, Red, and you don't have to worry about our friendship. You'll always be special to me, okay?"

He nodded. "You, too. You mean a lot to me."

Leaf's face flushed crimson. "You're making me all embarrassed, stop!" She giggled.

"No way, Cass! I know where you're ticklish, too!" He ran at her.

"Nononono! Please, no, Red! No, please!" She pleaded between giggles. "Red, if you tickle me I'll hit you!"

"Aw, we both know that's an empty threat, Leaf!"

The two young teens chased each other around the parking lot, laughing and screaming in their joy. After all, they had just passed their trainer's exam! There was plenty of reason to celebrate! Red, despite not wanting to be a trainer originally, was now excited at the prospect of journeying indirectly with Leaf.

While he himself didn't know it, his heart did: he loved her.

Blue watched from a sitting position on a nearby hill as Red and Leaf chased each other all the way back home. He felt…indifferent. While he was extremely passionate and excited about Pokémon training, he felt that it was unfair that those two would be slowing him down. "What a waste of time, the both of them." He grumbled to himself. "What does Gramps see in those two?

"Or more importantly, what does he see in Red?"