"Red came back last night."
Green stopped chewing for a moment then spoke with a forced, "Did he now."
Professor Oak chuckled, oblivious his grandson's radiating frustration and continued with a cheerful note in his voice. "Sure did. And after all these years too. I was starting to think he'd never come down from that mountain. You should go talk to him; it's been quite a while and I'm sure he missed you."
Quite a while, huh? It's been five years. Five years since Redjust left and never came back. Just left and turned his back on everything, even his own mother. He just stayed up on that damn mountain thinking about all high and mighty he was. The only trace of him was bruises on beaten challengers. "I'm sure he did." Green stood up. His chair fell backwards with a loud crash as it hit the floor and he walked out of the kitchen without a second glance. Not at his grandfather or his half eaten breakfast.
Why after all these years? He's been squatting on that mountain for so longand finally decides to come down? Why the hell not?! Green swept his hand across his desk, scattering the papers and books and then flipped his swivel chair across the room in a fit of rage. Why did he come back? To rub his title in my face?! To laugh at me for settling as a gym leader?! He grabbed his duffel bag and threw the few things he had actually unpacked from it last night back inside. If Red thought he would be getting a warm welcome from him, he was sorely mistaken. Green stormed out of his old room and down the hall, only stopping in the kitchen to refill his water bottle.
"Green, where are you going?" Samuel Oak asked as Green flung open the back door and grabbed his bicycle. He scowled and shoved the bike lock into his bag.
"Viridian City." He mounted the bike.
"You said you were going to stay for the weekend. Don't you want to say hello to Red?" Green ignored him. "Answer your grandfather, Green Oak!"
Green flipped his unruly hair out of his eyes, having yet to gel it for the day, and turned to face his grandfather. "I don't want to have anything to do with Red. I'll stop by when he leaves." And with that he raced off down route one towards his gym and away from his childhood home.
As Green sped down the trail away from Pallet town his emotions crashed against his psyche like waves in a nasty storm. He hated Red. That feeling was easy enough to get a handle on. Hatred was easier to accept then loneliness or jealousy anyway. Although that didn't mean that the jealousy wasn't there. The loneliness was tucked away, untouched and unacknowledged, but the jealousy was definitely there, roiling beneath the hatred. Green supposed it was easy to be jealous too. It was shameful but it came easily to him. He embraced it for a moment. Why was Red always better? Every time Green thought he had the upper hand Red would always crush his hopes. Even when he knew Red's Pokémon were injured and purposely stopped him right outside the center for a challenge, Red would always win. Green had even been Pokémon champion! For all of about twelve minutes. Twelve glorious minutes of having his dream realized. Then Red came. Red came and destroyed everything he had worked for, took his title, Gramps' praise, then left to go live on some Arceus forsaken mountain.
Dwelling on the past only keyed up his emotions more, and the crashing waves became too much. He felt like a little kid again and he hated it. Hated it as much as Red. Without any object like a pillow to strangle in outlet for his anger, Green did the next best thing and jerked his handlebars, hoping for something satisfying like what he imagined snapping someone's neck would be. Instead he crashed his bike into a tree.
His right shoulder took the brunt of the impact, leaving the rest of his body to flip over itself and lie sprawled out on the ground. Grinding his teeth and fuelling his rage with the pain, he proceeded to stumble his way to standing and kick the wrecked bike, becoming thoroughly enraged when it did not cry out in pain, therefore giving him no satisfaction from the action at all. He threw his head back and roared in a show of his anger and frustration. "Fuck!"
A young boy, probably just starting out on his own Pokémon journey, cautiously approached the crazed man with the broken bike. "Hey, uh, do you want to battle?" Green turned around, blood dripping down the side of his face and right shoulder, arm hanging bloodied and awkward by his side. The boy yelped in horror," Sweet Jirachi, are you okay?!"
Green snarled for a bit before settling for a menacing glare. "Does it look like it, punk?"
The boy shook his head and started to unzip his backpack. "If you want I could patch you up, or uh, try to. I have some bandages here...if you want them." Green just grunted in response and tried to take off his shirt for better access to his injuries. He hissed in pain and the youngster winced. "Here, let me help you with that." He slowly unstuck the cloth from the bloody area and set to work wrapping bandages around it and using Green's button up as a makeshift sling.
"Thanks."
The boy looked up at him and smiled. "No problem. Say, would you be up for a Pokémon battle? I need to train my team."
Green snorted and stood up. " it wouldn't be training kid, it'd be me wiping the floor with your pokemon."
"It's not kid, its Joe. And I'll have you know, my Pokémon are top notch!"
Green laughed and slung his bag over his good shoulder. "I'm ex-champion and gym leader, kid. You wouldn't stand a chance." He turned and walked off, but not before catching a glimpse of Joe's slack jawed face.
"You - you're Green Oak!" He yelled. Green grinned and kept walking, at least someone knew of his legacy.
Green kept walking until he reached Viridian, and by that time his arm was howling in pain, he had a sunburn from his lack of shirt, and his legs and feet ached from his inappropriate footwear. His mind had also been given time to wander on the lengthened trip and had inadvertently turned back to Red, which only succeeded in further souring his mood. It also took an absurd amount of time to open the door to his flat, consequence of him being heavily right handed. He was tempted to just pass out right there on the couch but unfortunately his phone started to ring. Being a gym leader and practical mayor of the city, ignoring phone calls was not one of the liberties he had.
Muttering in frustration he shuffled over to the coffee table and picked up the receiver. "Green Oak, Viridian gym leader here, what do you want."
The voice is familiar, Dave the gym guide's anxious muttering filters through the line. "We've got a challenger down here, you'll want to check it out."
Green growled under his breath. "I closed the gym for the weekend, why are you bothering me with this."
The line went silent for a bit as if Dave was struggling to find the words. "Sorry about this sir, but you should really get down here. I wouldn't call if it wasn't important."
Green rubbed the bridge of his nose and snarled back, "it better be pretty damn important or you're fired." He slammed the receiver back into the cradle and spent the next five minutes shrugging a new shirt on, not bothering to undo his makeshift sling or try to put his injured arm through the sleeve, and trying to open and re-lock the door again. He stumbled out into the bright sunlight and saw the gym guide waiting for him at the street. Green shoved passed him and strode briskly towards the gym building.
"Dear Arceus man, what happened to you?"
"None of your concern Dave, now what's the big deal here?"
Dave jogged to catch up the averted his gaze to the dusty ground. "Well sir-" he bumped into Green's back as the renowned trainer stopped suddenly in his tracks. He was staring wide eyed at the person sitting on the gym steps with an unreadable expression on his face. Dave swallowed nervously.
"Red." Green whispered hoarsely.
Dave rubbed the back of his head and replied in a squeaky voice, "well y-yes. Showed up about thirty minutes ago and sat down on the steps there. We only assumed he was there for the challenge an-" Dave stopped talking as he saw Green's obvious disinterest towards his explanation.
Green could only stare in sick fascination at the man who had practically ruined his life's dreams. Red hadn't even seemed to have noticed Green's arrival and just sat there rolling his fingers lightly over a pokeball. Green's own hand mindlessly found the opening to his pocket and began running it's fingers along Arcanine's ball much in the same fashion. He ran the pad of his thumb along the groove that separated the two halves then ghosted along the smooth, circular indentation that was the button to release the creature. A very childlike sense of disgust at mimicking the motions of his hated rival filled his gut and he removed his hand swiftly. He began to take slow stiff steps towards Red until he was standing right in front of him. Red didn't even look up.