Chapter 20 .:. The Hunt for the Better Challenge
Pallet town was a quiet town, with strong winds ploughing through it. It seemed to make sense that people would want to escape this quiet place in order to adventure, but at the same time, I could imagine relaxing there and staying there forever in the peaceful calmness.
I had been here a few times in my adventures, but I hadn't realized that this was Red's hometown. After asking around, I had discovered which house was his. I knocked gently on the door and was greeted by a young woman with her hair pulled up in a long black ponytail of curly hair.
"Hi," I greeted with the politest fake smile I could muster. "I was wondering if Red was home, I have a few things I need to discuss with him."
The woman stared at me before letting out an irritated sigh, "Everyone wants to see Red since he's become Champion. He's been here for less than a week and I can't have him to myself for more than ten seconds before someone new comes knocking at our door. And he wants to leave today…"
I blinked, surprised by the woman's outburst. Judging by her reaction I quickly assumed she was Red's mother. I had no idea what to say, so I just stared at her, confused until she coughed and straightened her apron.
"Sorry about that. I suppose I'm a little frustrated. Can you blame me? I just want my boy to myself, he's barely been home since he left on his journey. And he's going to leave soon for a long time, he says." She shook her head, "Come in, I'll go grab him for you." She led me to a table in the middle of the room and ran upstairs, calling for her son. I sat quietly with my hands in my lap.
Red's home didn't seem extraordinary, so I supposed it didn't have anything to do with resulting in his incredible skills. Shame, it seemed to not be something I could replicate. The house was small and quiet. In fact it reminded me of my own home back in my village. I let my thoughts drift to my parents, wondering if they had even cared that I'd been gone for over two years. I wondered if they had discovered my affiliation with Team Rocket. If they even cared.
The sounds of footsteps creaking down the stairs forced me to turn and see the woman and a boy following after her. Lastly after him was a Pikachu. The boy stopped in his tracks once his eyes locked with mine. I wondered if he recognized me from Lavender Town. If he remembered I had been in a Team Rocket uniform then.
His Pikachu sprang down the last few steps and leapt onto the table, its little black eyes staring into mine. It smiled at me cutely and let off a small charge of electricity, its cheeks sparkling with the action.
Red stared from his Pokémon to me before he leapt down the last stairs and sat across from me at the table. "If Pikachu trusts you…" he murmured, "Although I remember who you are…"
I noticed that Red spoke quite softly, which surprised me. He seemed like he wasn't used to talking much.
"You remember me in Lavender Tower, then?" I guessed and watched him nod slowly.
"So why do you want to speak to me? I thought you all hated me." Red stared at me skeptically.
"Well, considering I'm the only Team Rocket grunt," I found myself whispering, since Red's mother was in the adjacent kitchen, "in the whole region that you haven't beaten, I don't really think I have a reason to hate you. In fact, I came here to thank and congratulate you."
"Uh…" Red didn't respond. He stared at me, dumbfounded, obviously unable to understand why I could possibly be here to thank him.
"I got conned into Team Rocket when I was a kid and hadn't been able to get out. Thanks to you disbanding Team Rocket, I'm free again." Red nodded, understanding. "And I wanted to congratulate you. Not just on becoming Champion, but for managing to defeat all of Team Rocket out of boredom." I shrugged, "With me being the only exception, but I have no doubt you would beat me."
"Boredom..?" another confused look from the younger boy.
"I talked to your friend Green, the new Viridian City Gym Leader, and he told me how you're going to Mount Silver to train until someone beats you. You're bored with all of these easy fights." I watched Red's eyes screw up in contemplation as he thought about what I was saying. "That's why you even bothered challenging those Team Rocket grunts in Mount Moon in the first place, right? 'Cause you thought they'd give you a challenge?"
"I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense." Red nodded to me. "I just want to fight someone. A good, challenging fight. Even my rematch with Green at the Indigo Plateau wasn't that great, and he's almost at my level now."
"So you never had any intention of destroying Team Rocket? It just happened?"
"I just want an exciting battle, I suppose. I mean, I never told the police about the Game Corner or that the eighth gym leader was really Team Rocket's leader. I didn't care about any of that.
I found myself bursting out laughing at the thought. I thought of the chain of events that had caused to Team Rocket's downfall. First us being forced to evacuate the Game Corner for fear of Red telling the police about what he'd found. He hadn't. Giovanni then speeded up the movement for the Silph takeover in order to make up for the fact we'd lost a large pile of our income. By speeding up the Silph takeover, he made it happen, coincidentally, when Red was nearby. He defeated everybody, causing Team Rocket to go underground and for Giovanni to hide in his gym. Red, intent on finding a new challenge went to the Viridian Gym only to discover that his opponent was, once again, Giovanni. He defeats him, causing Giovanni to go into solo training and completely destroying any chance of Team Rocket reviving in the next couple years. Brilliant. He destroyed the organization by accident.
"So now, I'm going to Mount Silver, to see if I can find a better challenge." Red stated. "Far away from the drama I've caused." He added wistfully.
"You think you'll only find your worthy opponent on top of a mountain?" I challenged.
"Yeah. Since only the strongest trainers are allowed there. I'm sure someone strong enough will find me one day." Red nodded and stroked his Pikachu, causing the Pokémon to run up his arm and perch on his shoulder.
"Y'know, I'm glad we got to have this talk. I've been wondering what you're all about for a long time." I explained as I pushed my chair back from the table. Hearing that Red was just a boy with a thirst for something better, I found I couldn't hate him anymore. He had just been trying to find a decent opponent. It was sad that an organization like Team Rocket, which claimed to be all powerful, couldn't give it to him. "If you ever get down from that mountain, I want you to find me. Because I wanna see if I'll be able to kick your butt." I stated. It was true. I wanted to see if in that much time, I could be better than him
Red simply nodded, whether he meant it or not, was not my main concern at the moment. I had my hand on the doorknob of the house entrance when I suddenly remembered Silver. "You wouldn't have happened to see a boy a bit younger than you with red hair and gray eyes, would ya? He ran away from home and his dad's worried sick."
Red simply shook his head and made his way back up the stairs, officially ending our conversation. I looked over at Red's mother and commented, "Sorry to have wasted your time. It was… just something that needed to be discussed." I explained. She nodded to me, informing me that I could leave.
As I left, I wondered if Red ever would find that one person that would out do him. I even began to feel a little sorry for him. Every battle he must have faced must have felt so boring, since his opponent never gave him much of a real challenge. He would search forever until he found the perfect challenger. He probably wouldn't find him, an even more depressing fact.
(A/N: Finally! After all of this time, Red and Violet finally meet! And nothing happens between them. Pretty anti-climactic, eh?)