"Charmander, leer!"
The yellow mouse got blind-sighted by a bright flash, lowering its defense. Still, the Pikachu moved in closer.
"Sparky, Thunderwave!"
It pressed down on its red cheeks, sending a wave of electricity straight towards Charmander.
The lizard reeled back from the paralyzing waves, holding it in place.
"C'mon, Charmander. Work through the waves!"
As the lizard struggled, Pikachu ran back to its trainer for orders.
"You didn't nickname your Charmander?"
"No. Couldn't think of a good name. Charmander, send a flamethrower to Pikachu's location!"
The lizard did a quick guess, then fired a massive line of flames to where Pikachu raced around Ray. The shocked look on his face said it all.
"Quick attack! Let's go!"
The rodent flipped onto its feet and raced towards the lizard, smacking into it and sending it flying back towards Delia.
It's too fast, Delia thought. I'm getting defensive, but there isn't much energy left in Charmander.
"Charmander quickly! Use-"
The lizard writhed on the floor as the waves held it in place. The paralysis set in.
"One more Thundershock, Pikachu! Let's end this!" Pikachu obliged, sending bolts of lightning at Charmander. The little orange lizard couldn't take much more, and it collapsed.
"Charmander is unable to battle! Pikachu wins, which means Ray won the battle!"
Ray happily swung Pikachu around as Delia retrieved her monster.
"You may have won the battle, Ray. But I'll win the war, sooner or later!"
Ray just stuck out his tongue as Red realized something.
"Is it a three-way tie?"
The two other trainers looked at each other.
"Well, I just won, Delia won against you, and you won against me..."
They all looked at each other incredulously.
"This was never planned, was it?"
Red scratched the back of his head as the other two trainers got up to meet him.
"No, it wasn't, Red. I guess we messed up."
"Yep."
Delia looked at the two boys.
"I guess those lemonades would be pretty good right about now."
Red turned to Delia and burst out laughing. Soon the other two joined in, almost all the way to the Cafeteria.
...
Within two weeks, the three of them could never train alone. There was always someone hounding them to become their friend or battle them. Tauros rushes bored them at that point.
Ray's Wartortle and Pikachu, Delia's Charmander and Weepinbell, and Red's Ivysaur and Snorlax were almost unbeatable. Every so often they'd lose, but it would be overtaken by their increasing win counts.
One fateful morning, however, as the three of them sat by the apple tree on the training grounds, they came to the same conclusion.
"I think we should leave," Ray said as he watched the night colors join with the pinks and oranges of the morning.
"I agree," Delia grunted. "If this is the only time we could all be alone and have peace and quiet, then maybe this place isn't good for us anymore."
"Yeah," Red replied. "We didn't even get the third pokemon like Blue got. And even he left a few days ago."
"So, what do we have to do to leave?"
Red stared at the sunrise wrapping his skinny arms around his knees.
"We have to challenge and beat a teacher from this school. Any professor, as long as we beat them."
"Even Professor Oak?"
Delia turned to Ray with an arched eyebrow. "Why would you challenge him? Red barely won, even with a high-level Snorlax."
Ray shrugged. "I dunno, just curious."
"Anyways," Red continued. "We only have one shot a week to challenge them, and their schedules are usually free in the afternoons. Any easy ones, Delia?"
"Not really," she replied as she rearranged the scrunchies in her hair. "It just depends on the Pokemon you get."
"Okay," Red nodded. "But we all have mixed typings. Which one do we choose?"
Ray interjected. "I got Daisy Hanada. My Pikachu can take care of her."
Delia nodded. "That could work. I'll take Erika. Her grass type would be no match for my Weepinbell and Charmander."
"You sure are confident about using one pokemon instead of the other, Ray."
"True," Ray replied. "But I believe in my pokemon."
"Just one of them? Okay." Red shrugged as he turned back to the sunrise.
"I'll take Giovanni. My Ivysaur would have the type advantage and my Snorlax can clean up shop."
The other two nodded as the sun peaked over the horizon.
Dodrio began their call. The other trainers would be going to train until the optional classes began. Red moved closer to his two friends as they enjoyed a quiet moment together.
It had been over a year since they all started. They celebrated each other's birthdays, laughed at each other's jokes, and shared each other's company. Then they planned to leave the place where they began.
The ceremony happened on an individual level. Each person received their Pokedex, certification to carry over six pokemon at a time, a battling license, and an official Yellow-colored badge- the highest level for a student but the lowest for a trainer- and was sent off with little fanfare. They wouldn't be leaving together, and they needed all possible time to train, including sealing themselves away from distractions like friends and family.
The emotions of that realization got to Red. Delia and Ray heard the boy's sniffles.
"Red? Are you okay?"
He turned towards the two of them with tearing eyes.
"So is this it? We'll never see each other again?"
Ray squinted at him while Delia embraced him.
"Of course not! We'll stay together. We can train together!"
"That won't help, Delia. We'll only be able to beat each other."
Delia glared back at Ray while trying to clam Red down.
"Maybe we can just leave together. You can wait for us! Yeah! We'll make a pact to leave together."
"That's not how it works," Ray retorted. "Red's right. The Academy doesn't allow stragglers. As soon as the student wins, they're ordered off of the premises. They must leave or incur a fine- maybe even revoke their training license in some extreme case."
Delia rolled her eyes as Red held her tight.
"I don't want this to end."
The three of them sat there until the sun cleared the horizon.
Slowly they departed. Ray, then Red. Delia sat in place, contemplating what would happen next. After finding such perfect friends away from home, she had no idea of what would come next for any of them.
It was moments like these that scare people to death- the idea that the world is too unpredictable and doesn't compromise. She'd have to step up her game if she was going to be a champion in whichever way it took her.