"You, my dear son, are so grounded!"
The words stung as much as they did when Red had initially thought of them on the way home. They had been the only things on his mind, but anticipation didn't make it any easier to take. He bit his lower lip, bracing for the second sting that very same minute.
"YEOWWW!" he cried out. "Come on! At least act like you're being gentle, Blue!"
"I'm not." Blue frowned at the boy in the chair next to hers, shaking a splinter off her tweezers into the pile. "You know damn well what you did, and you got off easy with just cuts and splinters…"
"That he did…" his mother added with arms folded. The woman hadn't stopped pacing; it was how she came down from the highest points of stress. "Blue, dear, twist the next one out for me."
"Hey!" Red protested, but his entire body twisted in pain when his friend obliged almost too happily.
His mother sighed, "Lord knows I can't bend you over and spank you anymore… because on him, I would!"
Red gulped, but decided to hold his silence as the treatment of his arm continued. There were at least fifty splinters, most of which made themselves at home in his fingers – and that was only his left arm. Moving his right dragged countless shrapnel through his skin, and he knew how painful resting his back on the chair would be. A mild amount of regret welled up within him, and pride was the only thing keeping his teeth from clattering in the dank cold.
After a whole five minutes of silent splinter removal and aggressive pacing, Red's mother stopped, turned and glared at him. "I need some air… I'm stepping out."
"What?!" Red protested, "It's still pouring outside!"
"And you're in a position to talk safety since… when exactly?" Red bit back a retort. There was no right answer when his mother got like this. "That's what I thought."
"Be careful, Mrs. Tajiri," Blue added on as she left. Silent affirmation was followed by the balcony door slamming shut.
"You know," Red began, "She goes on and on about how she'd rather be called mom by the two of you…"
"Yeah, probably because we're a lot less stressful to handle."
Red winced, "Wow. Seriously not the time, Blue…"
"Really? Then when will it be time? You almost got yourself killed! If it wasn't for Mr. Lance-"
"You'd be scraping pieces of me off the underside of a news copter. I get it. Only the fifteenth time I'm being reminded…"
"Because we care!" Blue exclaimed, on the verge of tears now. "When you made national news, both Green and I rushed over to catch your mom as she passed out. Why don't you wake up, grow up, and understand that the risk-taking's gone far enough?"
"Do I really need to take this from you? I'm sixteen!"
"Then start acting like it!" she cried, "Don't make national news and make us think your funeral's next week!"
Red was known for being thick-headed, but he knew where lines in the sand were drawn. He was the one who had returned drenched from a flood, but Blue was shivering noticeably. With a long drawn sigh, he relented. "Yeah, okay… I'm sorry."
"You'd better be." Blue huffed, before pulling another splinter out.
Her hands were shaking, and Red needed an ice-breaker. Fast. "Speaking of Green, where is that smartass?"
=====#=====
Sandbags formed gargantuan walls at the outskirts of Pallet town, and an abra grunted as the last one supported itself perfectly at the top of things, eight metres above ground. Synthetic water-repellent flood bags – a technological marvel from a decade ago – now warded off the flood from the north with an airtight defense. The weather phenomenon was spreading at a blinding rate, and the twisters in the distance grew more visible by the second. While Route 1 was vast, the hurricane Kingdra was no ordinary storm. Now, at least Pallet town wouldn't get swept away in the event of an expansion.
The news footage of the storm had gone viral, and it had perfectly captured the image of a trainer in red saving a drifloon. The abra approached its owner and tugged at his sleeve, averting his gaze from the footage replaying on his smartphone.
"Hmm? Oh, looks like we're done. Disaster Control should have it from here, then." he scoffed, "If Pallet had a Disaster Control unit… but we're Pallet Town. That would be too convenient, too expensive, and frankly, too good for this dump."
"You got that right." A patrolman from the local precinct chuckled as he walked up to the young man. "It's just us at HQ. If you can call it that. Double storey building; it ain't great, but it gets the job done."
"Double storey? Sounds rough."
"We suck it up." he said, "Thanks for all the help, Mr. Oak. We appreciate it."
"Just Green is fine, Officer Beck," Green promptly returned his abra to its pokeball. "And I'm glad to assist."
Beck sized Green up. The boy looked about sixteen, with spiky brown hair framing his sharp features. His hooded raincoat did little to hide them.
"You look pretty seasoned, Green. I hear the old man always talking about you when he drives by for chats; I gotta say, you're the real deal."
"Gramps likes to exaggerate." Green said with a shrug, "I just do my part as a citizen. It's Red that you've gotta watch."
"Tell me about it. Kid's all over the news."
"He has a bad habit of making himself… known. No doubt we'll be getting a lot of eyes on us soon."
Beck raised a brow, "Soon? So you're heading out?"
"Mhm. Gramps ordered the starter pokemon already. We were supposed to leave today morning, but…" He didn't need to say much, because a simple gesture towards the storm got the message across. "Technical difficulties."
The patrolman laughed out loud, scratching his hair under his gore-tex hood. "Well, you can be sure you'll be getting a medal for this work."
"I'll pass."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I said I'll pass." He waved it off, "I'm not very ceremonious. Plus, I'm not in town for much longer. I'd say save the celebration for after I conquer the Kanto League."
Beck laughed. "Hoho! That's some confidence. You really think you can pull something like that off? It hasn't been done in years."
"Positive." Green smiled. "I was basically born for championship, Officer. Keep your eyes on the news."
He then looked to the sky. The drizzles were simmering down, and from what he could hear, the twisters were distancing themselves. It looked like the Elite 4 had succeeded in their advance relief operation.
"Well, I've got places to be, so if you have everything here under control…" He looked around before beginning to move with hands in his pockets, "Smell ya later."
Officer Beck looked incredulously at the steady, striding figure of Green Oak. He waved slowly, "Heh… some kid."
=====#=====
Televisions all over western Kanto came alive with the news channels. Once satellite connections had been restored, channels sent out scores of reporters that clamoured up a myriad of porches to hunt down civilian statements. The public loved a good sob story, especially if it could be used to propagate 'charity' drives and relief missions by 'philanthropists.' Pallet Town had never been more active.
The camera rolled at the doorstep of the Oak Residence, and Gabby from the Kanto News Network immediately kicked off her single on air. "Good morning, Kanto! This is Gabby Wilson, coming at you live from the doorstep of esteemed Pokemon Professor Samuel Oak, whose grandson, Green Oak, was integral to the Disaster Prevention efforts undertaken by the Pallet Precinct. While Pallet's shave with hurricane Kingdra was narrow, the worst outcome has nevertheless been avoided. I'm moving in now to get a statement."
The cameraman advanced just as the door opened to reveal the young boy with spiky hair and a frown plastered on his face. He let out a sigh.
"Okay, what gives?"
Gabby jumped on the chance, "Sir, would you like to give us your statements regarding the recent disaster prevention efforts undertaken by Pallet Precinct, and your contributions to them?"
He gave the camera a good, long, hard look, before making the most disgusted expression ever put to television. "No comment."
He slammed the door shut, and no amount of further knocking got anybody out of the house. Gabby let out a defeated sigh off-camera, and her cameraman gave her the I told you solook. They decided that they would have better luck with Red's home.
They were wrong.
A grown woman answered the door, and promptly shut it in their faces with another no comment. She seemed particularly angry at the cameraman. There were no interesting headlines that day, and if Kanto News Network had failed so miserably, it stood to reason that the other, smaller networks would not fare too much better. Pallet Town exited the spotlight at the very same speed it had entered it after Red's antics.
=====#=====
"Hey, Poli," Red sighed, staring at his room ceiling. "Think the grounding'll end any time soon?"
The poliwhirl shrugged, and while Red didn't see it, he knew there was no other gesture for the occasion. That was the extent of their bond.
"Yeah, me neither… but I'm sure news will come soon. We're way overdue at the prof's lab anyway. Storm really set us back."
Since Red was a three-year-old boy, and Poli was an undersized poliwag fresh from atop its own eggshells, the two shared this very same room. They had polished the maple floor together, washed out the large windows that overlooked the porch, spent hours upon hours at the teak desk finishing assignments from the Pallet Academy for Trainers, and slept countless nights huddled together in the very same bed they were flopped on at that moment.
A sense of emptiness permeated through Red. The entire week he had eaten meals in silence across from his mother, who had calmed herself a little, but was steadfast on his punishment: It was to last until he would set off with his two friends to take on the Pokemon League challenge. No more, no less.
After five minutes passed in silence, the boy began flailing in his bed as he realised how pitiful this existence was.
"Argh! I can't take this anymore, man!" he told Poli. "There have been zero updates from Green, the television shows the same three cartoons on repeat, and I have 100%'ed every game on the Gamecube! What the hell am I supposed to do, stare at the goddamned ceiling till nightfall?"
At that very second, it was like unsung prayers had been answered. His phone vibrated with a distinctive buzz. Red gave the screen a scrutinous squint, and there were three messages from Blue. A fourth had come in that very moment. He touched the notification and entered his PIN.
[Blue 14:45] Heyyy! News finally came in!
[Blue 14:45] Grounding ends soon
[Blue 14:46] Green just txted. Said the prof got the starters in delivery, and hes making final preps as we speak.
Fwd (14:44): Gramps got starters in the mail today. He's calibrating our dexes now, so tell that idiot Red to prepare himself for an early bail. Much as I'd love to ditch him, I don't give out the pokemon. Gramps does.
[Blue 14:46] Idk when his sense of humour got so sour, but idrc.Sooo excited rn.
asjpodjqpojfwqpodnspk-
Nothing should have been able to top the complete mess of alphabets in Blue's last text, but a fire igniting in Red's eyes proved otherwise. With an ecstatic woohoo! the boy jumped off his bed. "Poli! We're free!" he cried. "Free from this tyranny! At last!"
The fact that Green had called him an idiot didn't faze the boy in the least. He was too busy dancing a jig with Poli. The poliwhirl happily went along, sharing its trainer's joy. After all, whenever their mother passed judgment, they usually shared it.
Red jumped onto his bed and began texting back at breakneck speeds.
[You 14:48] Cool! When do we leave?
[Blue 14:48] Well, the arrangements should be done by tomorrow morning. Meet you outside your place at six?
[You 14:48] It's a date.
Red couldn't believe what he was reading. In one leap, he grabbed Poli's hand and rushed the both of them out of his room and down the stairs.
"Mom! They're here! They're here!"
The boy was on the verge of tears; tomorrow, he would have his freedom and be able to register as an Indigo League challenger. While sliding down the staircase rail, he imagined the whole thing. A full team of powerful pokemon with him at the head of things, taking command and squaring off against the greatest trainers in the entire country. A grand vision of triumph, all at the crack of a radiant dawn. Nothing short of Arceus itself was going to stop him.
X===== FIN =====X
A/N: To start with, Christmas is approaching (or is here, time zones are weird), and since the next update probably won't be before the day itself, I want to take this chance to wish all my readers and supporters a Merry Christmas!
Now, on to content comments, this chapter saw the introduction to Green Oak and Blue - the rival trainer and the female protagonist in game canon.
I know there's quite a bit of confusion with the two names due to the release of Pokémon Blue version in the western world as opposed to its Japanese counterpart, Pokémon Green version, so I'm writing this note to clarify that Green is the rival trainer (anime watchers would know him as Gary), while Blue is the female protagonist. This is how I'm writing the story, so please try not to clutter the reviews with wars over the names. I believe in authenticity over localisation in this particular case.