Author's Note: Please read and review!

Chapter 2: "Meet My Friends!"

Red took Yellow and Gold to a building a few minutes' walk away from the forest. Yellow vaguely remembered from Red's tour that this was the dormitory for the warriors in training. The building had two floors. When they went inside, the first thing Yellow saw was a large living room that dominated the front of the house. Crossing through the living room, the group went through a door on the other side, which led to a dining room.

Yellow was slightly overwhelmed by the number of other people in the room. Four girls and three boys, not including Red, Yellow and Gold, were gathered around the long wooden table in the center of the room, most of them standing up, but a few already seated.

"Hey guys!" said Red cheerfully.

All the people who had already been in the room before the three of them walked in looked up curiously. Everything was quiet for a moment, and then nearly all of them started talking at once.

"Who're they?" asked a boy wearing a white hat.

"Ooh, new friends!" exclaimed a girl with blue eyes, brown hair, and a mischievous smile.

"What are your names?" asked a girl with brown eyes and brown hair.

There were several more voices, but Yellow couldn't make them out through all the excited chatter. She looked at Red, who gave her an apologetic glance.

"Okay everybody!" said Red loudly. The chattering died down as the warriors in training turned their attention to Red. "I'm sure Yellow and Gold want to meet you guys too, but they can't hear you if you all talk at once. Don't worry, I'll introduce you all, just… calm down."

Everyone still looked excited, but they were less noisy about it.

"Thanks," said Red, and then turned to the newcomers with a smile. "Sorry about that. My friends can be a little loud. Don't worry; they're not so bad when they aren't all grouped together. I'll introduce you guys to all of them individually, so you don't get assaulted with questions."

First Red led them over to the girl with blue eyes and brown hair. "This is Blue," he announced. "She's one of the warriors in training that have been here the longest. Her best skill is stealth. If she tried, she could probably go through the forest without attracting the attention of a single Pokémon. But she's tricky, so don't let her find out any of your secrets!"

Blue grinned at them. "Oh, don't listen to Red!" she said cheerfully. "I'm perfectly friendly and trustworthy!" She smiled winningly at Yellow. "You can talk to me about anything you want."

"Yeah right!" said Red, but he was obviously teasing her.

Blue laughed and Yellow relaxed a bit. She seemed friendly enough, although Yellow decided to believe Red, just in case he was right.

Next, Red introduced them to a boy with spiky brown hair and green eyes.

"Hey Green," he said. The boy looked over and nodded to them in greeting, before returning to whatever he was doing. Red turned to Yellow and Gold. "This is Green. He doesn't really talk much, but he's a really good warrior. We're rivals."

Red walked over to a friendly looking girl with brown eyes, brown hair and a white hat. "This is Lyra. She's the newest here besides you two, so if you have any questions about anything, she's the best one to ask. She's really friendly, too."

"Hi," said Lyra, smiling at them. "It's nice to meet you. You're Yellow and Gold, right?"

Yellow nodded and Gold said, "That's me!"

"Red's right, by the way," continued Lyra. "If you have any questions, you can talk to me!"

"Thanks," said Yellow, feeling glad that all the people she met so far were nice. Maybe it won't be so bad here after all, she thought.

"Hey Silver!" called Lyra to a boy with red hair who was standing across the room. "Come meet the newcomers! They want to get to know everyone."

The boy hesitated and then came over. Yellow wondered if he was shy or if he was like Green and just didn't talk much.

"This is Silver," Lyra explained. "He's pretty quiet most of the time, but he's nice once you get to know him. Right, Silver?"

"Yeah," he muttered, adding to Lyra, "I'll see you later."

Silver walked away and Lyra rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I think he's antisocial. Anyway, don't mind him if he doesn't talk to you much." Yellow thought she saw sympathy in Lyra's eyes, but she wasn't sure if it was directed towards her and Gold or towards Silver. She wondered if there was more to Silver than Lyra was telling, but decided it would be rude to pry. Besides, it wasn't any of her business whatsoever. She didn't really know any of them, except for maybe Red.

After that, Red took them over to meet a girl with dark blue hair and light blue eyes. Yellow noticed that Gold seemed particularly interested in this person.

"This is Crystal," introduced Red. "She's probably the smartest and most responsible one out of all of us. She's also really kind and spends most of her time doing volunteer work."

"Hey there!" said Gold with a grin.

"Hey," said Crystal with a friendly smile. "What do you think about the Warrior Training School so far? Do you like it here?"

"It's pretty nice," said Yellow.

"It's great!" said Gold. "I think I'm going to have lots of fun here." His wicked grin made Yellow wonder what Gold meant by that. It made her a little nervous. Of all the people she met so far, she knew the least about Gold, even though she had met him first. She wished he had already been going to the Warrior Training School before her. That way she would have someone to tell her about him.

The last two people were a girl wearing a bandana and the boy with the white hat. They were bickering with each other, but didn't really seem annoyed.

"Hey guys," said Red. "Yellow and Gold, this is Ruby and Sapphire. They argue with each other almost all the time, but they don't get along badly, even though they act like it. Ruby doesn't like to fight, but he knows a lot about battling. Sapphire is one of the best and most enthusiastic warriors here. She also loves being outdoors, so she's almost always outside."

"Hi," said Sapphire and Ruby in unison.

"See?" said Red. "They agree on some things."

"No, we don't," said Sapphire, at the same time as Ruby looked pleased and said, "That's what I said, but she insisted that we have nothing in common."

Sapphire glared. "That's because we don't!"

"Yikes!" said Red. "Geez, I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean to start an argument! C'mon guys, don't fight over it," he pleaded.

"You're lucky Red was here, or I would have beaten you up," said Sapphire to Ruby, but she had stopped looking so scary.

"Yeah, whatever," grumbled Ruby. Sapphire looked triumphant.

"Okay, guys, we'll see you later," said Red, and the group of three quickly made their getaway before another fight almost broke out. Luckily, Ruby and Sapphire's bickering didn't get too carried away this time. Once they were a safe distance, Gold asked, "Are they always like that?"

Red sighed. "Yup. That's Ruby and Sapphire."

He turned to Yellow, looking hopeful. "So what do you think of my friends?"

"They seem nice," said Yellow, as this was true of most of the other warriors in training. "I like them. Especially Lyra and Crystal." They seemed the friendliest.

"Especially Crystal," agreed Gold, looking quite pleased. Yellow wondered what that was about.

"Great!" said Red, looking relieved. "I knew you would!"

...

Gold thought that most of the warriors in training Red had introduced them to were nice enough, but the one who really caught his attention was Crystal. Ever since he found out that he was to become a warrior in training, he had been hoping that there were pretty girls there, and he was not disappointed. True, Crystal seemed like the serious and responsible type, but that wasn't something a little time and effort couldn't fix.

After dinner, the warriors in training were free to do whatever they pleased, as long as it wasn't law-breaking or life risking to any of the students or staff. So naturally, Gold decided to follow Crystal around and get her to talk to him.

Gold found Crystal reading a book in the living room. He sat down in the seat next to hers. She glanced up briefly to see who it was before returning to her book.

"Hey there," Gold said, when it became clear that she wasn't going to talk to him.

"Hey," Crystal replied, without looking up from her book.

"What are you reading?" he asked. "Can I see?" Before she had time to answer him, he snatched the book and closed it so he could see the back of it, deliberately losing her page. "Ooh, sounds interesting," he said, not bothering to actually read the summary. He tossed the book rather carelessly onto the glass table in front of the couch.

"Hey!" Crystal protested. "You lost my page!"

"That's okay," said Gold dismissively. "There are loads of better things to do than read."

"I like reading," said Crystal, going to retrieve her book.

"But that's so boring," Gold whined. "If you read, there's nothing for me to do."

Crystal looked surprised. "You don't have to stay in here. You can go hang out with one of the other warriors in training if you want something to do."

Or… I could do this! Gold thought slyly. He snatched Crystal's book again, but this time instead of putting it down, he ran away with it. That ought to get her attention!If she wants her book back, she'll have to come and get it!

Gold darted across the room and up the staircase, not caring where it led. He heard footsteps behind him, and glanced over his shoulder. He was pleased to see that it was Crystal, chasing him. He grinned at her over his shoulder before returning his attention to seeing where he was going. He made it to the top of the stairs and dashed down the hallway the staircase led to.

Gold had a head start, but Crystal had the advantage of knowing where she was going. Gold made it to the end of the hallway, but it was a dead end. He spun around to face Crystal, who had him cornered, and held up her book with a mischievous grin.

"Looking for something?" he asked innocently.

Crystal sighed. "Give me back my book, Gold."

"Say 'please'," said Gold, hugely enjoying himself.

"Please?" said Crystal, although reluctantly.

"Okay," said Gold, pretending to hand it back, but then snatching it away again as if he remembered something. "Wait, one more thing."

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Come with me for lunch tomorrow."

Crystal shook her head. "I'm busy. I don't have time to fool around."

"Please?" said Gold, hoping he could convince her to agree.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I have better things to do."

"Better than going out with me?" asked Gold in mock surprise. "Impossible!"

Gold could have sworn that he saw the corner of her mouth twitch into a smile. "Are you always this persistent?" she asked, sounding somewhat amused.

Gold grinned, pleased to have gotten at least a half-smile out of Crystal. "When I'm determined, I'll never give up until I succeed!"

Crystal was quiet for a moment.

"So, will you go out with me?" Gold asked.

Crystal hesitated and then shook her head. "No."

"Fine," said Gold, handing her back her book. I may not be able to convince you today, but I meant what I said, he thought. When I'm determined, I'll never give up until I succeed!