Author's Note: I am super, super sorry for not updating sooner. I meant to update some time in October and then it was November and then... you get the point. I was really busy. Now that I'm on Christmas vacation, I finally had some time to finish the chapter. I tried to make it a little longer to make up for how long it took. Hopefully it was worth the wait. :)
To TheFinalElements: Don't worry, someone will find out about it soon enough. It just won't be Ruby or Sapphire. They can't really keep a secret.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.
Chapter 7: The Pokédex
Crystal sat reading the newspaper at the dining room table. It was very early in the morning, by all the other warriors in training's standards, but Crystal was always up before the sun. It was currently 6:30 am, and none of the others were up yet. Crystal wasn't surprised- after all, it only took about five minutes to walk to class. Being on time wasn't a concern for any of the warriors in training, as long as they woke up before class started. The only reason that she got up so early herself was because she knew that no one else would be awake to distract her from her reading. Specifically the annoying menace that called himself Gold.
She didn't really mind Gold as a person. In fact, he was rather endearing in an annoying sort of way, like a little kid who was always making trouble but was really a good kid at heart. (That wasn't far off, come to think of it.) Crystal just didn't like that Gold was constantly pestering her. He didn't seem to find nearly as much fun bothering any of the others. For some reason, it was always her whose attention he wanted, and always when she was busy with something else.
As she read her newspaper, she recalled the first day Gold had been here. It was only several days ago, so she remembered their conversation perfectly.
Looking for something?
Give me back my book, Gold.
Say 'please'.
Please?
Okay… Wait! One more thing.
What?Crystal remembered her wariness as she asked the question. Then her shock a moment later as Gold made an unexpected request.
Come with me for lunch tomorrow.
…I'm busy.I don't have time to fool around.
Please?Was he being serious, or just messing with her?
No.It wasn't worth taking that chance.
Pretty please?
No.She couldn't shake the feeling that he was insincere. And yet…
Why not?She could hear confusion in his voice.
I have better things to do.
Better than going out with me? Impossible!
A flash of surprised amusement. Are you always this persistent?
When I'm determined, I'll never give up until I succeed! … So, will you go out with me?
No.Was that a hint of regret she felt, even as she resolutely turned him down?
…Fine.Crystal remembered the look in his eyes. That even though he was leaving her alone for now, he wouldn't give up that easily. It confused her. Why had Gold been determined to go out with her? Even now, she wondered if he was even being sincere, or if he was just messing with her. He certainly hadn't mentioned it ever since and she wondered if he'd forgotten about it…
Shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut, she pushed away the thought. It didn't matter right now if Gold cared about her or not. It wasn't as if she knew him well at all.
"What's up?" asked a familiar voice, as if Crystal's thoughts had summoned its owner. She opened her eyes and saw Gold approaching her.
"Nothing much." She immediately pretended to be reading the newspaper. It wasn't any of Gold's business if she had been thinking about him or not.
She sensed his gaze on her. "What are you reading?"
It was word for word what he had asked her several days earlier, just before he had stolen her book and tricked her into chasing him around until he asked her out.
"What does it look like?" she asked, satisfied that her voice came out sounding irritable rather than confused. "And don't steal it. I'm not in the mood."
"I wasn't going to!" Gold's voice sounded hurt. Crystal glanced at him in surprise, only to notice the playful grin on his face that clearly showed he was only pretending to be wounded. Of course! she thought, trying to ignore the twin stabs of disappointment and fury in her chest. He's not serious about anything, is he?Why would I be any different?
Gold tilted his head to the side, looking curious. "You can just tell me," he said. "Then maybe I'll leave you alone and go away." He paused, regarding her with an oddly unreadable gaze. "That is what you want, right?" he asked. "For me to go away?"
Crystal opened her mouth to reply and then stopped. She didn't know what she wanted. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know what she was reading! Hurriedly, she scanned the pages for something to tell Gold about, only to blink in surprise at the words that greeted her eyes.
"Someone tried to capture a Pokémon," she read aloud, startled.
"Really?" Gold asked. Was that relief or disappointment Crystal saw in his eyes?
"Yes," she said, pushing away her feelings on the matter. She didn't know Gold- she shouldn't have feelings about what Gold thought of her. "Apparently they didn't succeed. A warrior in training got there in time to stop them, but still, that's big news. People shouldn't be trying to capture Pokémon. That's the reason we need warriors. That's the reason there was a war in the first place. Goodness knows we don't need another one."
Crystal was more surprised than her voice gave away. It was such a close call. What would have happened if they succeeded? She shuddered at the thought. There could be all sorts of trouble, even another war. Thank goodness it hadn't happened, but the idea frightened Crystal. And that was saying a lot, as Crystal wasn't frightened by much.
"It was probably some kid fooling around," said Gold with a shrug. With a start, Crystal remembered that he was there. And also what an idiot he was.
"How would you know?" Crystal couldn't help but snap. "Is that what you would do?"
"Maybe," he replied, seeming oblivious to her anger. She sighed silently, dismissing her quite obviously useless irritation at the thick-headed boy. "It would be fun."
"Of course it would," Crystal muttered. "For idiots like you."
Gold blinked in surprise and Crystal barely suppressed her laughter. His expression was rather priceless, as if he never expected anyone would call him an idiot in a million years. This was rather foolish to Crystal, as Gold was clearly the most idiotic person she had ever met in her life and probably would ever meet for quite some time.
"An idiot?" he asked, sounding affronted.
"Yes," she said kindly. "I thought someone ought to tell you."
His expression at that made her laugh out loud.
…
Yellow was surprised when the group of warriors in training reached the training clearing and Professor Oak wasn't there. Instead there was a young woman with red hair wearing a lab coat. She grinned at the students as they entered the area.
"Who's this?" she asked Blue, as none of the others seemed surprised.
"This is Professor Rose," explained Lyra, overhearing. "She is our teacher for physical training, like Professor Oak is in charge of Pokémon battle training. We have a third teacher as well, named Professor Willow, who trains us in technology."
"What do you do in that class?" Yellow wondered aloud.
"We learn to make new items," chimed in Blue cheerfully. "Also, Professor Willow teaches us how to use the different functions of the Pokédex and updates our Pokédexs when he and Professor Oak make a new invention for it."
Yellow tilted her head, confused. "A Pokédex?"
"Good gracious, no one tells you anything do they?" asked Blue. "I suppose I'll have to." She grinned, making Yellow believe she was more than happy to take on this role. "The Pokédex is a magical item that works well on any type of Pokémon. It also can hurt the user as well, so it's really dangerous. You have to be super careful when you use it!"
"Really?" asked Yellow, fascinated.
"Of course not," said Green irritably, walking up to the three girls. "You should know by now not to believe anything that Blue says. The Pokédex is actually a device that obtains and shows data for any Pokémon you encounter. It will tell you the best information you need to know in order to effectively fight that Pokémon. We all get one to help with our training. I expect you and Gold will receive one soon enough, as soon as Professor Oak is finished making two new ones."
"Spoil sport," said Blue. She grinned deviously at Green.
"Pesky girl," he muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Welcome," said Professor Rose. She smiled at Yellow and Gold. "Here, I have something for you. Professor Oak just finished them this morning." She handed each of them a red object that resembled a small computer. "These are your Pokédexs. I'm sure your friends will help you learn how to use them. In the meantime, you can have a look at them."
"See, I told you that you would get one," said Blue in her ear.
"No you didn't, I did," said Green. Blue stuck out her tongue at him.
"Today we will be practicing physical combat," said Professor Rose. "I'll assign pairs."
She began to group them together. Yellow realized in dismay that Professor Rose was pairing girls against boys. She tried to hide behind Silver, but he stepped traitorously aside. Professor Rose spotted her almost instantly.
"Ah, Yellow is it?" she said. "You can fight Red."
Yellow froze in horror. She couldn't fight Red! That would be humiliating at best and even more humiliating at worst. She couldn't see any possible outcome that wouldn't be horribly embarrassing. Clearly mistaking her dismay for nervousness, Professor Rose smiled at her reassuringly. "Oh, don't worry," she said. "Red won't actually hit you."
Yellow nodded and turned to face Red, her face burning. He smiled at her.
Why Red? Yellow could deal with sparring with anyone else, but for some reason, the idea of making a mistake in front of Red seemed ten times more embarrassing than in front of the others.
"Um, Professor?" said Gold. "We can't, you know, fight girls."
Yellow noticed that all the other boys were fidgeting uncomfortably. It was obvious that they had the same problem and Gold was their spokesperson for this.
"Afraid they'll beat you?" teased Professor Rose. Blue and Lyra laughed.
"Yes," yelped Ruby, who was paired up with Sapphire.
"No," said Gold. "But a guy isn't supposed to hit a girl."
"Well you'll have to get over that," said Professor Rose. "Just like the girls will have to get over the idea that boys are stronger than girls. So I'd say it's fairly even."
She finished pairing people up and stepped back. "Okay, who wants to go first?"
Nobody volunteered. (Well, Sapphire was trying to, but Ruby was busy trying to hide.)
Yellow could imagine the crickets chirping in the background.
Professor Rose sighed, as if she had been expecting volunteers and was hugely disappointed by the lack thereof. "Alright, if no one is going to willingly step up as the first pair of opponents," she said "then I'll randomly choose. Let's see… how about Crystal and Gold."
The chosen pair stepped forward rather reluctantly.
"Match, begin!" shouted Professor Rose.
The two combatants edged towards each other, both seeming hesitant to make the first move. Yellow watched, curious to see how things would play out. In the end, it was Crystal who decided to try to hit first, aiming a fearsome kick at Gold. The boy yelped as her foot collided with his knee.
"Youch!" he cried. "Your kicks are seriously scary!"
He dodged her next kick, but despite his painful experience, he seemed unwilling to strike back. Crystal delivered a few more kicks, along with some punches and Gold fell to his knees.
"The winner of this round is Crystal!" announced Professor Rose. She grinned at Crystal. "Nice moves," she added and Crystal beamed back.
"We'll go next!" volunteered Sapphire, having grabbed Ruby's wrist and dragged him forward. She alone seemed enthusiastic about this lesson. "I can beat this pipsqueak easily!"
"Glad to hear it," said Professor Rose. "Second round, Ruby versus Sapphire! Begin!"
Ruby fled as soon as Sapphire raised her fist. Yellow had to admit that it was very intimidating, as was the gleeful expression on Sapphire's face as she prepared to thrash her opponent. Sapphire chased after him, shouting something about how she would give him twice as many bruises for being a cowardly fool. Yellow winced in sympathy.
Professor Rose looked as if she were trying not to laugh, but failing. "That round obviously goes to Sapphire," she declared.
The boys had begun to look cowed by their comrades quick defeat. They seemed even more hesitant than before to volunteer. Yellow couldn't blame them.
Next, Lyra and Silver were called up to fight. There was no clear winner, as they both fell to the ground at the same time when Lyra tripped and crashed into Silver.
Green and Blue's fight went mostly the same way, with neither fighter hitting the other at all, but Green losing when Blue jumped out from behind a tree and tackled him to the floor. Soon after that fight was finished, Sapphire reappeared, dragging Ruby by the shirt collar. She marched into the center of the clearing and dropped him, looking ragged yet triumphant.
"You boys really aren't helping Red's morale," commented Professor Rose. "So far, all of you lost. It looks like our girls are excellent fighters this year." She grinned at the three winners, who all looked pleased with themselves.
Red looked incredibly nervous. He smiled hesitantly at Yellow as they were called up to fight as the final pair. "You're not secretly a ninja, are you?" he asked.
Yellow smiled back, just as nervous, and shook her head.
"Alright, final round!" shouted Professor Rose. Yellow's heart began to pound and she wondered distractedly if there was any way out of this fight. Sadly, she doubted it. "Come on, Yellow, win this one so we can say that all the boys lost!"
"Not helping!" said Red, alarmed.
Not helping me, either, thought Yellow.
"Begin!" It's now or never.And unfortunately, 'never' is not an option.
"Um, what exactly counts as a win?" asked Red, seeming to be trying to find out a way to beat Yellow without hurting her. Despite her anxiousness, Yellow was happy to know he cared about that. "Do we actually have to, you know, knock them down?"
"If you lose your footing, you lose the round," replied Professor Rose. "That's all there is to it. Now quit stalling and get fighting!"
Yellow swallowed. She wished she could call ChuChu to help her out, but sadly, that wouldn't be allowed. Nobody could know that she was friends with a Pokémon. So it left it up to her own abilities to somehow get out of this mess.
You wanted a chance to prove yourself, Yellow reminded herself. Here it is.
Somehow, that wasn't as inspiring as she imagined it would be.
Yellow and Red awkwardly inched towards each other. She glanced desperately at Professor Rose, hoping for a reprieve, but their teacher looked more amused than sympathetic. Yellow had to admit there wasn't much hope to getting out of this. So it remained that she would have to fight and defeat Red, or fight Red and lose. Win or lose, those were her options.
So I'll win…Somehow!
Yellow took a deep breath and walked forward. She and Red stopped about a foot away from each other. They were probably close enough to talk without the others hearing. In a sudden flash of inspiration, Yellow got an idea.
"Hey, Red," she whispered. "I have an idea!"
"What is it?" he whispered back.
"We can just pretend to hit each other!" she said. "That way we don't have to fight."
"Good idea," said Red, seeming relieved.
"Okay, pretend I hit you first," said Yellow. She aimed a punch at him, pretending to strike him in the face. Red staggered back in a good imitation of being hit. At first Yellow was afraid she had actually hurt him, but saw a laughing smile on his face. She realized she was trying to hide a grin, too. Play acting a fight was kind of fun.
Red pretended to try to hit her, but she jumped out of the way. She mock-shoved him and he faked shoving her back. Laughing, Yellow aimed another punch, which he avoided. He then proceeded to try to trip her with a deft sweep of his foot. Caught off guard, Yellow fell with a yelp, but before she could hit the ground, Red instinctively caught her.
"You alright?" he asked. His face was very close to hers, so close that she could see the different shades of red in his eyes as he looked at her with concern.
She blushed. "I'm fine," she said, hoping her face wasn't too red.
Red gently set her on the ground. "I win," he said teasingly.
She smiled back at him. "I guess you do."
"Red is the winner!" announced Professor Rose, apparently not realizing that their fight was only acting. Yellow let out a sigh of relief. Red offered a hand and helped her to her feet. Yellow hoped again that he couldn't see her blushing.
"That was pretty smart," he said. "I would have never thought of just pretending."
Yellow felt warm. "Thanks," she said.
Red held her hand for a moment longer. "You're welcome."
