A/N: A neutral perspective now :)
Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to The Pokémon Company, Game Freak, and Nintendo. All characters mentioned belong solely to the aforementioned.
Kotone couldn't wait until she was able to show Red off to the girls in Violet City.
They'd tried (in vain) to scare her, but once they found out that their little tale was real, they'd run away screaming. Always one for mischief, she was pretty excited for what the future had in store. She just couldn't wait to see their faces.
"Sooo, Red." She drawled, "How would you feel about going to Violet City with me?"
After they'd gotten acquainted, he'd reluctantly told her his name. Only because she insisted. And by insisted, she really, really, insisted.
Red's nose scrunched up like a Pokémon who had just tasted a Sitrus Berry for the first time.
She almost squealed at the sight of it. Red was no freaky ghost boy. He was actually adorable, from his reactions to the way he didn't speak much. But that response was enough for her to understand that he didn't quite want to leave.
His Pikachu nuzzled the nape of his neck until his hat had fallen off onto Kotone's lap.
She studied the design quietly, running her finger over the emblem. It was an old hat, from age and from region. She'd seen something like this when perusing a vintage store in Goldenrod. He must have been up here a while. "Don't you want to see your family? Friends?" She wondered.
Red scratched his head, not quite sure what he wanted to answer her with. Sure, he wanted to see them again, but he truly didn't know if he was ready for that. And if he did go back, it'd be too late to turn back if he had a change of heart.
Kotone knew that the mysterious boy wasn't going to give her an honest response just yet. She'd just have to pester him over and over like how she'd done with Silver to get him to open up. "Alright, alright. I'll be back later!"
Red had no time to protest as she shot up and called out a majestic Pidgeot that flew her down the mountain.
He rubbed his Pikachu's head and they both sighed. Yeah, they'd be seeing a lot of this girl. That much, he was certain of.
She had flown straight down to Pallet Town to see Professor Oak who she considered an expert at gossip. Seriously, he was the one who'd given her the run-down about the budding romance between Green and Leaf! It didn't even hit the tabloids until the following weekend. Professor Oak was probably a wizard.
"Wait, what? The boy on the mountain is that Red?!" cried Kotone in shock.
She hadn't thought for a second that the champion of Kanto was on Mt. Silver. She'd heard about him growing up. He was always mysterious, capable of fighting even the strongest trainer and winning with just one of his Pokémon and for a while, she'd idolized him. And then he disappeared and his name stopped appearing on television and in the news and she never heard of his whereabouts again.
"Haha, yes, I'd been waiting for the right time to tell you that you should challenge him." Professor Oak said sheepishly.
Allegedly, Red had sustained an injury but instead of going home to recuperate, he'd ventured to the very top of Mt. Silver and isolated himself on purpose. She thought that was a bit dramatic, but she didn't know him very well to judge him.
"You've already defeated the elite four twice, yes?" asked the professor.
Kotone nodded.
"Then once you defeat Red, you'll become the champion of both Johto and Kanto." He said, then paused, "Ah, why did you come to ask me that, exactly?"
"Oh." She smiled and rocked on the balls of her feet, "Well, the truth is, I was wondering if you knew why he's still up there. I mean, his injury's gotta be healed by now, right?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't been in contact with Red since he left." He said grimly, "The boy just sort of upped and went away and that was the end of it. I'd recommend you ask him that yourself."
"I don't know, he doesn't seem to like me that much..." She said, chewing on her lip despondently.
Professor Oak chuckled. "Red has a very distinct way of showing affection. You'll understand eventually."
"I sure hope so!"
Thus, for weeks and weeks, Kotone visited Red, but not to fight as Professor Oak had advised. Just to talk.
She wanted to know everything there was to know about him. At first, she'd been bent on taking him to Violet City to play a harmless prank, but now she was more interested in figuring the boy out.
One day, she popped in on Mt. Silver but saw no signs of Red nor his Pokémon anywhere.
Had he finally come down the mountain without her knowing?
She groaned to herself and sat down in the cold snow, paying no mind to her dampened skirt (She'd gotten used to the cold). Kotone realized she'd never actually been up here alone. It was... kind of lovely, minus the bitter wind. Kotone peered over the steep edge of the peak where there were clear signs of a snowstorm brewing down below. Up here, it was much quieter. You'd barely know that there was a blizzard.
Kotone closed her eyes and inhaled the crisp mountain air. "I could get used to this..."
She wondered if this was how Red felt.
She knew the feeling of having too much work piled up on her. At one point after disbanding Neo-Team Rocket, she'd been asked to a whole bunch of public speaking with Lance, usually she just said a few words and let him take care of the political stuff. But it had lasted forever and the world seemed to want more and more from her each time.
A few days ago, she'd been hounded in Goldenrod by a bunch of reporters. They had tried to pressure her into defeating the Elite Four for a third round. She had no intention of doing so, but the pressure was real.
Red had disbanded the actual Team Rocket. No doubt, things were even worse for him back then and he didn't have a Lance with him through unfamiliar territory.
Kotone felt her pity for him grow. Maybe the chance to be in total silence had enticed him. Maybe that was why he came here... And maybe that was why he didn't want to leave.
She turned, just as Charizard sailed towards her with a familiar roar, toting a hoard of Pokémon Centre supplies and Red on his back.
She managed a smile, but she didn't quite think it reached her eyes.
A few days later, Kotone woke up bright and early, made sure she looked presentable and called out her six main Pokémon to talk with them.
All assembled in her bedroom, she paced back and forth as they perched (as well as they were able to) on her bed. "As you guys know, today is the most important day ever. We're going to get through to Red."
Her Pidgeot cawed excitedly, voice rising up beyond the others as they gave their own cry of agreement.
"So everyone, make sure you're in tip top shape! We won't back down today!"
If someone were to hear her from the outside, they'd think that she was planning to confess to Red, but that was not the case. That stuff came later. First, he had to come down from the mountain.
"As long as we're all okay, let's go!" She declared as they made their way to Mt. Silver.
It had become a routine for them to go up the mountain. After her first few times scaling to its peak, she and Pidgeot had found a method to getting to the top without being buffeted by the nasty winds. If she wanted to, she could probably get through the inside of the mountain in about an hour. Flying was quicker though.
"Red!" exclaimed Kotone, alerting the boy's attention. "I wanna talk to you!"
He tilted his head to the side and bit into his berry. It wasn't like she wasn't going to. Kotone never came up here to fight him, though Red knew for a fact that she was aware of who he really was. Not that... Ghost-boy stuff from their first meeting. He still wasn't clear on the reason for that.
Still, the last time they'd met, she was acting stranger. She'd gotten there when he was picking up supplies from Nurse Joy and after returning, Red had found that she couldn't look him in the eye. Something had changed during the time they were away from one another. He had no idea what.
Kotone rubbed her Pidgeot's head after landing, grinning over her shoulder at him, "I propose a challenge."
Red frowned, "...?"
"If I beat you, you have to come down from Mt. Silver!" She exclaimed, "I know, I shouldn't meddle but I think I understand now!"
Red had been waiting for her to finally come out with it. So her true motive had been to get the title of Kanto Champion all along. So be it. He sighed and sent out Venosaur as the battle begun.
Kotone collapsed to the ground with a flourish, "Fwah! I should have known I couldn't defeat you!"
It had been a close match with Red taking out Typhlosion at the last second with a barely hanging on Blastoise. Type disadvantages had been the victor but Red still believed she could have beat him if it hadn't been his Blastoise.
He watched in curiosity as she began to fiddle with her fingernails. It was a habit of hers that he'd gradually begun to pick up on. She only did that when she wanted to say something really badly.
She sighed. "Look, um, I wanted to tell you that I know how you feel."
Red frowned.
Kotone closed her eyes and huffed a breath, "...But you can't run away from your responsibilities forever."
Well, he hadn't been expecting that. Red peered at her more curiously, beckoning her to explain what she was on about.
She bit her lip. "I came here a few days ago and you were getting supplies from Nurse Joy and I started thinking and thinking and then I realized how calm it is up here and how time seems to stop and nothing seems stressful. And then I realized that... you must've had so much to do while you were Champion in Kanto plus the whole Team Rocket thing. I guess I understand now why you decided to stay."
Red didn't say anything or try to deny what she was saying. She had a very valid point. It actually surprised him that she'd understood his sentiment.
"But the thing is, though it seemed to stop for you, it still went on for everyone else and you can't actually avoid your responsibilities forever. You just keep delaying it." She shook her head, "Sorry, wait, I'm rambling... Okay, yeah, now I know what I really want to say! If you come down with me, we'll be sharing the work. You won't have to feel overwhelmed anymore. I promise."
Red contemplated what she was trying to say.
Kotone thought that he was running from himself. There was easily some truth to what she was saying. He was just afraid. He'd never gotten time to himself during that stressful period. She had responsibilities that fell upon her shoulders as well. She had disbanded Neo-Team Rocket. She had defeated the League. TWICE, apparently. She had even come up here to talk to him, despite everything.
Red decided, he could at least try to integrate himself back into society.
He turned to Kotone and nodded.
The first thing that she proposed they do was mischief in Violet City. An odd prospect for a supposed League Champion, but she'd been very adamant on their 'plan'.
Kotone approached the two girls she'd previously met, Janet and Violet, and grinned, "Hey girls!"
"Champion Kotone!" They squealed in unison, "Hi!"
"Do I have a story for you. I went up to Mt. Silver and..." She hastily began weaving a made-up tale about the shadowy figure on Mt. Silver who chased her down the mountain until she almost died, shouting words of: Leave my spirit in peace... or seek out my body! The girls were visibly unnerved by the story alone, because they really hadn't expected that the ghost-boy would be a real thing. "Man, I thought I was going to die!"
"W-What else did he say?" Janet asked in a hushed tone. It was as if the air had gotten colder around them.
"The whole place got foggier than ever..." Kotone trailed off, and at that moment, a thick fog descended over the area, cloaking them all, "And I was beginning to hear footsteps!" And a set of heavy footsteps following a distinct rhythm began to walk towards the girls, "Then, I saw him there... Red eyes, dark hair, skin as white as snow..." Violet gasped and pointed at a person behind Kotone who was slowly coming into view. "And he looked at me and said..."
"Boo."
That was enough to make the Violet City teenagers scream at the top of their lungs and scramble away as though their lives depended on it. The fog died down and Kotone was left laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
"You did so well, Red!" She said between bouts of laughter, high-fiving the boy who really didn't know why she was so keen on scaring those girls that badly. He smiled gently at her radiant smile and patted her head. Yeah, maybe being back wouldn't be so bad.
Oh my god, Red is so cute...
Review :)