Forgotten Pasts

Homecoming

Despite his fitful rest the night before, Red was up early. By the time the sun's rays first speared the sky, Red had finished packing his camping gear and was ready to set off. Pika sat up, ears alert and tail twitching while waiting for his master to finally be off.

Red hefted his backpack onto his shoulders. Adjusting the pack to settle more comfortably around his shoulders, he took a moment to stare around at the forest. His eyes scanned the place with a puzzled look on his face, not unlike the one he'd been wearing the day before when he had first entered the forest from the Cerulean side.

"There's something familiar about this place that I can't recall. I can't seem to place it, but something... big happened here, didn't it Pika? Something… titanic. I don't know… I feel like I oughtta be attached to the place…" Red mused as he took in the surroundings. He lost himself in his thoughts as he gazed around at the trees towering high above him, lost in a reverie so deep that he didn't notice his Pokémon's worried gaze.

Shaking his head, Red cleared his mind. "I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. Hey boy, what's with the look? We're setting off now, don't worry about that." Red laughed, misinterpreting Pika's expression. With a resolute shrug, Red began to walk down the forest path towards Viridian City. The yellow mouse sighed and trotted after his owner on all four paws.

The trip through the woods was uneventful. The local Pokémon were less than restless, to say the least. None of them seemed to be inclined to challenge the teenager to a fight, which was just as well; Red wasn't nearly in the mood for entertaining belligerent Pokémon. But he noted with interest the peaceful atmosphere within the forest, as if the Pokémon all lived together in peace and harmony with each other. And whoever heard of a forest full of the wild things, co-existing together without any fighting at all? It just didn't make sense.

Shrugging again, Red dismissed it as unimportant. He had more important things to worry about besides Pokémon with no battle instincts at all. In fact, such a situation served him, for he was able to traverse the woods quickly and briskly. If all went well, he'd be in Pallet by noon.

Walking on in a reverie, Red didn't notice the way Pika was gamboling through the forest.

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Viridian City was a misnomer. For its size and peaceful silence, Viridian was more town than city. It was a collection of small, peaceful buildings with small, peaceful people. The morning air was brisk and crisp, and with most people indoors a small, peaceful silence had descended upon the whole city.

Well. Almost the whole city.

From the eastern wing of the city, a sharp, high-pitched voice rose in laughter, cutting through the light serenity of that end of town. A short girl in her mid-tens ran across the border of the Viridian forest, chasing what looked like a yellow blur of fur with a pink flower stuck on it.

"Chuchu, wait! You know I can't run that fast!" Laughing and gasping for breath at the same time, the girl brushed strands of long yellow hair from her face which had fallen out of place. She wore a brownish smock, one which covered her entire body from neckline to feet, and in her hand she clutched a hat made of straw.

Failing to see a stone in her path, Yellow tripped and tumbled lightly onto the soft green grass, successfully but not intentionally drenching herself in morning dew. She lay on her back a moment and gasped for air, while her Pokémon danced and ran around her, trying to get the girl to go back to the game of tag.

"Just a moment, Chuchu. Just let me… get my breath back." Yellow managed to say, albeit breathlessly. With another laugh, she caught the Pikachu in her arms and enfolded it in a tight hug. The Pokémon endured this with tolerance, affection even, for such hugs came often and without warning. She enjoyed it and so did her master, so Chuchu saw no harm in the activity. Releasing the rodent (a tail twitched with disappointment), Yellow stood up and looked around.

"Wow Chuchu, we sure ran far today!" Yellow exclaimed. They were in the western side of town, near the entrance of the Viridian Forest. There was that old man who always stood by the entrance to town, unmovable unless given his cup of specially brewed coffee made by his granddaughter. He seemed to be in a good humor that day, which was a good thing; Yellow never did like the arguments he raised with total strangers who were passing by minding their own business. Such quarrels usually turned out to be loud and annoying.

Wet from the dew on the grass, Yellow decided that it was time to return home and have a shower. Recalling her Chuchu, she promised she would play more with it later, after spending some time in the shower room. Walking past the old man, she called out a greeting, expecting nothing more than a friendly greeting in turn. The news she received, however, was not what Yellow had been expecting.

"Hey Yellow! Seems a lot of familiar faces are passing by this morning, eh?" The old man chuckled to himself, as if recalling something amusing from earlier. Yellow stopped, her curiosity piqued.

"A lot? Who?"

"Why, it's that young kid from Pallet, of course. Can't exactly place his name… Wears a hat. Has this Pikachu with him, feisty little thing it was too. Scarlet? Red? Yea, Red, that's the ticket. He passed by about sunrise, when I was here up and early with my morning coffee. Said hi to me too, the good kid. You don't see many kids with manners these days, that's for sure. Told me he was heading for Pallet… Hey, where are you going?" The old man stopped in mid-ramble when he saw Yellow speeding away across town. Not hearing the old man, Yellow's mind was racing just as fast as she was running as she sped towards home, to quickly prepare for a trip to Pallet. One thought kept flashing in big neon lights through her thoughts.

Red is back!

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"That's funny; I could have sworn I heard my name…" Red stopped in mid-step and turned, peering down the way he'd come. He stared down the path for a while longer, then shrugged – he seemed to be doing that a lot lately – and started off the way he'd been heading in once more.

"I don't know why I'm coming here really, just a thought that I'd find something back here that would tell me about… Ah, there it is." Red, murmuring to himself, crested a small hill and looked out over the small serene town of Pallet. He was struck by a sense of… cleanliness about the place. The whole town practically shown with clean whiteness, no sign of pollution was seen anywhere. The sea on the other end of town sparkled in the afternoon sun, a sight rarely seen anywhere else.

Red stood there for a moment, then came back to himself with a start. Looking down, he saw Pika tugging on his trousers, impatient to be off. He gave a short chuckle, called the mouse back into its Pokéball and walked down to the town which looked like it had come out of an artist's masterpiece. As his footsteps carried him towards the tiny cluster of buildings, an unexplainable thought pushed its way into his mind, and try though he might he did not know where it came from nor why he felt that way.

He was home.

A/N: Wow this is a long chapter. I didn't expect it to turn out this way, but I just kept on writing and writing and the words just flowed on, so here it is at a whopping 1,301 words. Just thought I'd get back to the story before I left for the week, I'm not allowed to use the computer except on weekends so I guess it's goodbye for another five days or so. And even then the updates will be slow going because my exams are coming up and I need to prepare for them… So don't expect once a day updates or maybe even once a week posts. I'll update as often as I can though. I have the next chapter floating around in my head already…

Till next week then people.