X. Friend or Foe?
With no luck fixing the truck, I called Gramps to figure out a different solution to my problem. Naturally, I tried to avoid telling him about the friction between Red and I, but somehow Gramps had already anticipated it and was ready to lecture me about it.
"You know, you two have always managed to push each other towards achieving your goals. I never understood why you two were always rivals and never friends." I was so close to tossing my phone into the tall grass, but was curious about what he had to say. "You know, I remember back when I first went on a journey, I too had a rivalry with someone I knew as a child, but were more than that… we were also friends—"
"What are you trying to get at Gramps?"
"I just mean that I know what it's like to be in your position. I understand more than you know. Try making friends with Red, and try to listen to him for a change."
"Ugh," I grunted back at him. "Fine."
After the long chat with Gramps, I walked back to Red who was packed and ready to travel on foot.
"How will we get the bigger stuff to the ferry?" He asked, eager to get moving.
"No problem." I assured him, taking a step forward. "Leave it to me. Come on out, Blastoise!"
The only trouble we had was getting all the stuff onto Blastoise's back and strapping them down so that they wouldn't fall off as he walked. Using Blastoise's Strength, we moved the truck to the side of the road where it wouldn't disturb anyone.
"Are you sure it's okay to just leave a truck in the middle of nowhere?" Red asked, glancing back as we started moving forward.
"Eh, it wouldn't be the first. Besides, I already called Gramps and he's sending someone down to fix it and take it back."
Shortly after, things got quiet again, but I wouldn't have it stay quiet for long this time. Without the truck, our trip would take longer. We probably wouldn't reach the port on Route 21 until sundown at the slow pace we were going. Blastoise wasn't that fast of a Pokemon either, and less with all the heavy equipment on its back. There was no way I was about to bare all this awkward silence for that long. I just had to keep swallowing my pride.
"Red," I said out loud, a bit too loudly.
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry, about earlier." I hated this. "Let's not fight this whole trip, okay?"
"Uh, sure." Red smiled back, suddenly full of joy again.
It was irritating, the way he looked back at me, but I also couldn't help but feel a bit proud of getting him to cheer up, even if I wasn't entirely sure what he was so happy about.
"Wow, back on foot, traveling down to Route 21, sort of reminds me of my first journey through Kanto…" Red began reminiscing, nudging me on the shoulder. "It took me forever to get anywhere, and you always seemed to beat me. How'd you do it?"
"Easy, I mostly road on the backs of my Pokemon. Blastoise got me across water, Pidgeot through the skies, and Arcanine on land. They were all in tip-top shape, so I was able to quickly get anywhere I wanted."
"Hmm, in hindsight, I probably could have road more of my Pokemon too, would have been a lot faster. I wish I had brought some with me now. You're really smart Blue."
It was strange to hear Red complement me, and I nearly tripped when he did. Although it wasn't because of what he said, it was just a very rocky terrain we were in is all.
"You know," Red continued, "I have to admit, I always looked up to you. I mean, don't get me wrong, you were kind of a jerk on our first journey, but you were never easy to face. You have no idea how surprised I was to see you at the end of the Elite Four. I'll never forget it."
"I was surprised to see you there too, since I didn't expect you'd even get past Lorelei, let alone through Victory Road… but I should have never looked down on you to begin with. I have to admit, you are a great trainer, better than I ever was."
It took so much out of me to say that out loud, that I even got a bit weak in the knees. It wasn't just because Red decided to come up to me and rest his hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks Blue."