"Are you nervous?" I ask the finalist.
"No, not at all!" He says, obviously nervous.
"I bet you're nervous." I continue.
"I said I'm not nervous!" He says again.
"You're defensive. That means you're nervous." I tease.
"I said I'm not nervous and that means I'm not nervous!" He shouts. I give a small giggle.
"Of course you're not." Now that we're friends again, I'm trying to have as much fun as possible.
We continue walking around for the next couple of minutes before the announcer says that it's an hour before the final round. Red jumps a little and I can see how nervous he really is.
"Red, don't sweat it. You're gonna do great!" I try to reassure him.
"Hopefully…" He's now showing how nervous he really is. How long has it been since he's last fought Green?
"How do you think Green's Pokémon are doing?" I ask.
"Compared to how much stronger they were than mine when ours were switched, they're probably much stronger." He sighs.
"Don't worry. His Pokémon might be stronger than yours, but you have a bond that he doesn't! Your Pokémon love and care for you, Red. Green's too busy training to have the same. I've told you this before." I remind him.
"Training and strength aren't the only things that determine matches." I finish.
"But they sure do help." He's got a point there.
"Are you two done flirting over there?" Delia says as she walks up to us from nowhere. Red immediately blushes as do I.
"M-Mom! We were not flirting!" Red shouts.
"Of course you weren't, darling." Now, where have I heard that before?
"So, do you have a plan for the finals?" Red shifts his gaze to the ground.
"Red, this isn't going to be like your other matches. You're actually going to need a plan for this one." I tell him.
"I'll leave you two to that. Red never listens to me." And just like that, she left as soon as she came. She does that a lot.
"So, let's think. What Pokémon does Green currently have?" I ask.
"Well, there's his Charizard." Red starts.
"And I know he has a Golduck, Machamp, and Pidgeot…" I continue
"Then there's his Scyther, Porygon, and Ninetales." Red finishes.
"So, which six do you think he'll use in the match? That is, if he hasn't caught anymore." I have no idea what's up with Green right now. He just loves doing things on his own.
"Charizard, most likely." Red comments.
"Poliwrath or Aerodactyl would be your best choice for him. For Golduck… Venusaur?" I suggest.
"Yeah. Only trouble would be if Golduck knew any Psychic attacks. Which, knowing Green, it probably does. For Machamp it's simple: Fight Fighting with Fighting. Unless Poli's down by then. Which I know he won't be! He's my first and my best." Red says proudly.
"But not your favorite, right? You love every Pokémon equally, isn't that right?" I say with a bit of an accusing tone.
"Yeah, I love them all equally. So, Pidgeot would be Aero again?" Red asks.
"Right. Rock against Flying. Scyther is best taken care of by… Aerodactyl again. Hopefully it won't be knocked out easily." I laugh at how reliant Red's going to be on Aerodactyl during this match.
"For Porygon it'd be… Primeape, most likely. Unless Porygon changes types. That's just annoying." And annoying it will probably be.
"And last but not least, Ninetales, which, for again, will be Aerodactyl. I seriously need to get a more diverse team." Red laughs.
"Or Green needs to stop catching Pokémon that are weak to Rock." I laugh back.
"At least now you know which Pokémon to use against which. Although, you probably could've figured it out using common sense." I say.
"Attention participants! The final match will begin in five minutes! Please make your way to the arena immediately!" The voice over the intercom speaks.
"Well, I guess it's time." Red says.
"I guess it is." I wish him luck and he runs off to the arena. I wander around the reception area for a minute or two until I find Yellow and Delia, then head off to find out seats.
We take our seats and get settled, waiting for the match to begin.
"I… couldn't say this around Red, but… I'm scared for him." I confess.
"I know what you mean. I haven't really heard of these types of competitions much, but because of how everyone's been acting I can tell that they're really important." She says.
"Of course they are! They only happen once in a long while!" Delia chirps in.
"And Red's in the finals. However, so is Green." We're silent until the battle's announced. Red and Green both take their places on the field and get ready to send out their Pokémon.
"It is now that I shall announce the beginning of the 9th annual Pokémon Kanto Regional Tournament's final match! Trainers, send out your Pokémon." Both Red and Green send theirs out at the same time, Green using Charizard to start out the match and Red using Venusaur. I'm now even more worried…
"Trainers, on the count of three, you may commence battling." The man says.
"One…" Red tenses up.
"Two…" Green smirks.
"Three!" Green commands Charizard to immediately fly into the air. Red orders Venusaur to use Vine Whip in an attempt to keep him grounded, but Charizard's too fast a flier.
"Saur, Ingrain!" Venusaur shoots its roots into the ground and begin absorbing the nutrients, strengthening the Pokémon.
"Charizard, dive!" Charizard swoops down with its claws stretched out, ready to strike. As soon as Charizard gets close enough it slashes at Venusaur, creating tears in the Pokémon's flower and roots.
"Saur, Grass Knot!" Venusaur has some of the remaining vines come to life and wrap themselves around Charizard, causing him to fall over. Charizard quickly burns the roots and rights itself, but not soon enough to dodge Venusaur's Double-Edge.
"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Charizard opens its mouth and lets loose a gigantic jet of flames, completely engulfing the plant.
"Saur, return!" Red switches out for Aerodactyl for an aerial assault.
"Aero, Rock Throw!" Aerodactyl picks up the largest rock it can find and hurls it at Charizard, tearing its wing. Charizard flies up and levels itself with Aerodactyl, however the damage caused by the tear is evident.
"Charizard, Dragon Rage!" Charizard opens its mouth again and this time, instead of an orange flame, a blue flame bursts forth and engulfs Aerodactyl in flames. Aerodactyl seems to take some damage, but it's nothing it can't handle.
"Aero, Ancientpower!" Aerodactyl raises the very ground itself, causing whatever happens to be strewn about to be lifted with it. Everything is then hurled at Charizard, causing him to lose his balance and start nose-diving towards the earth.
"Charizard, return!" Green takes back Charizard and sends out his second Pokémon, Golduck.
"Golduck, Hydro Pump!" Green commands Golduck to attack right off the bat, and out comes a torrent of water. Just before the water hits Aerodactyl, Red switches out for Venusaur. Somehow, Venusaur is still covered in flames from Charizard, but as soon as the Hydro Pump hits the flames are extinquished. Red's actually thinking strategy for once…
"Thanks!" Red shouts across the field. Green just scowls.
"Golduck, Confusion!" Golduck puts its fingers to its head and sends out an invisible wave that causes Venusaur to wobble a bit.
"Saur, snap out of it and use Petal Dance!" Aaannnddd there goes his strategy. Venusaur does snap out of the confusion, but then proceeds to spin around, scattering petals everywhere -how does Venusaur even spin?- and causes itself to become confused once again.
Golduck sustains major damage and jumps into the pool, just like Vaporeon did during Red's first match. The water causes a few of Golduck's injuries to be healed.
"Golduck, Zen Headbutt!" It races out of the water and aims directly for Venusaur.
"Saur, counter!" Venusaur begins charging towards Golduck as well, the collision causing both Venusaur and Golduck to be knocked out, Venusaur having taken injuries from Charizard not too long ago and Golduck having taken injuries from the Petal Dance.
Green switches out for Pidgeot while Red switches out for Aerodactyl.
"Pidgeot, Twister!" Pidgeot circles around Aerodactyl, its speeds becoming faster and faster until there's an actual twister surrounding Aerodactyl. The Twister's high speeds cause Aerodactyl to flinch and not be able to move, as well as causing damage here and there.
"Aero! Break free of the wind!" Aerodactyl tries to fight off the high winds but is unable to do so. In the meantime, Pidgeot has readied an Air Slash and slices through both the wind and Aerodactyl, causing him to faint and be pulled around by the wind. Red takes him back and sends out Snorlax for now.
"Snor, Yawn!" Not this again… Snorlax yawns, causing Pidgeot and the audience, including myself, to become extremely tired. All I can make out for the rest of this matchup is Snorlax rolling on-top of Pidgeot's sleeping body, crushing it beneath his enormous weight. The yawn's worn off on Yellow, Delia, and I by this point and we're alert enough to hear Green send out Machamp.
"Machamp, Low Kick!" You know how the saying goes, right? The bigger they are, the harder they fall? Well, that's exactly how this situation turns out. Machamp stuck its foot under Snorlax's stomach and kicked him way into the sky. Snorlax flips over at the peak in its flight and comes crashing down into the ground, causing an OHKO.
"Snor, return!" Red returns Snorlax and sends out Primeape, making this matchup Fighting VS Fighting.
"Primeape, Karate Chop!" Primeape rushes towards Machamp and Green orders it to do the same. Both of the Pokémon begin hitting each other with their fists, having this turn into more of a Karate Competition rather than a Pokémon Competition. I grow bored of watching them hit each other and turn to Yellow.
"So, how do you think they're doing?" I ask her.
"Well, Red's lost only two Pokémon so far while Green's lost three. I know that it's nothing to go by yet, but… I have a feeling that Red might actually stand a chance against Green." She says.
"So do I. I just hope that Red doesn't make a blunder and costs himself the match…" I confess my worries.
The two Pokémon are still punching each other so now I take the time to turn to Delia.
"Red's come a long way, hasn't he?" She starts the conversation.
"Yeah, he has. I remember when I first met him in Pallet Town, how eager he was to start his journey. I really think the thing that got him started on that was getting me my first Pokémon. That's how we met Professor Oak. I'm really sorry about that." For stealing her son away from her. It sounds funny now that I think of it that way.
"Oh, don't worry about it! I'm glad you did. Red's being around you has really changed him for the better. He's learned how to trust people, he's learned how to not always charge head-first into things. Although, that's something about him that'll never change. Anyways, he's grown as a person in the several months you two have known each other. And you two are still only eleven years old!" She exclaims.
"Well, I'm actually ten." It's becoming natural for me now to say that I'm ten years old. I wonder if it'll ever feel natural…
"And one year at your age is the same as ten at mine! Oh, how different it must be to be so young." She says.
"I've had to go through things most kids my age would never have to. Same goes for Green and Red, and even more-so Blue." I explain.
"That is true… You know, I've also had my share of tragedies when I was younger. I've never told Red about any of them. He worries too much about me! I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself!" I highly doubt that.
"Oh, looks like the match is heating up." And heating up it is. Green's Machamp throws one last punch at Primeape and he's down. Red returns Primeape to his pokéball and sends out Poliwrath, his second fighting type.
"Poli, Psychic!" Poliwrath stands absolutely still and just stares at Machamp, its gaze intensifying with every second. Machamp appears to become more and more nervous as time goes on until eventually he collapses. I really need to research on how Psychic attacks work…
Green then loudly growls to himself as he returns Machamp. Angry Green is good. Angry Green means he's more likely to make mistakes. He sends out Scyther.
"Scyther, Fury Cutter!" Scyther dashes up to Poliwrath, its wings buzzing, and strikes once, twice, three times. Poliwrath is knocked backwards a bit after each strike, and after the third is knocked down.
"Hydro Pump!" Poliwrath turns his head towards Scyther while he's on the ground and blasts him away before he can get in a fourth strike. Poliwrath then has enough time to get up before Scyther's back and ready to strike again.
"Ice Beam!" Poliwrath shoots out a beam of pure ice that hits Scyther directly. Scyther becomes completely frozen by the beam and is unable to move. Poliwrath then goes in for the kill and uses Submission. He picks the frozen bug up, then slams it back into the ground, shattering both the ice and the bones of the poor Pokémon. Green growls even more.
"Return!" He takes back Scyther and sends out his final Pokémon, Porygon. My heart begins to race.
"Philippe, this is Green's last Pokémon! Red still has two left! He actually might win!" Yellow says extremely quickly. She must be as excited as I am.
"Porygon, Zap Cannon!" Porygon begins charging a huge ball of electricity in front of itself while Poliwrath is desperately trying to disrupt the attack before it can launch. Because of horrible luck, as soon as Poliwrath gets to Porygon the attack's finished and is launched, doing more damage than normal due to the proximity of the two Pokémon.
Poliwrath is now out and Red's down to one last Pokémon, just like Green. The moment he throws the pokéball and it opens, my heart sinks. The Pokémon that comes out lands in the water, revealing itself to be… Gyarados. It had to be Gyarados, huh? Poliwrath was knocked out in one hit due to electric being double, so what does that mean for Gyarados with Electric being quadrupled?
I sink back in my seat, Yellow taking notice.
"What's wrong?" She asks.
"Do you know what type Gyarados is?" I ask her, sighing.
"Yes, flying and water, why?" I give her a couple seconds until the realization hits her.
"Oh my…" She says to herself.
"Yes, oh you, oh me, oh us, oh him." I only hope that luck's on his side.
"Don't worry you two! Red's always got one or two tricks up his sleeve! And if not, he always manages to pull out just fine!" Delia tries to reassure us. It helps a little.
"Gyara, Water Pulse!" Gyarados shoots out a short blast of water that hits Porygon. After the blast hits, Porygon's eyes begin to swirl in their sockets. I never knew that was possible… maybe because it's artificially made?
"Like I said, he always manages to pull out just fine, luck being on his side and what-not." Delia comments.
"Porygon, snap out of it and finish this with Zap Cannon!" Porygon looks around, spots Gyarados, and charges up a Zap Cannon. When he fires, it completely misses its target and dissipates into the wall.
"Porygon, focus!" Green shouts at his Pokémon.
"Gyara, Ice Fang!" The water-snake swims up next to Porygon, stretches its neck and bites it. Hard. Even from where I am I can hear the cracking of Porygon's body, the fangs sinking deeper and deeper in. Eventually Gyarados pulls out, and inside the cracks that were made is ice. Red looks a little shocked at himself.
"I never knew Red could take it that far…" Delia mumbles to herself. I don't think Red knew he could take it that far himself. Wasn't his fault, really.
"G-Gyara, Hydro Pump!" Gyarados cranes its neck back, then releases a torrent of water on Porygon, knocking him into the air and crashing into the ground, worsening the cracks in its body. Porygon makes some weird noises, then falls silent.
"I never knew this world could be so violent…" I say to myself. Thankfully no one else heard it.
"And there you have it folks! The winner of the 9th Pokémon League… Red from Pallet Town!" The announcer says over the intercom. The crowd begins roaring and I'm suddenly overwhelmed, not for myself, but for Red. He's been training ever since I met him for this day, maybe even before that, and he's finally made it. He's finally won the Pokémon League…
I make my way through the stands and out into the empty reception area, wanting to get away from the crowd and all the noise. Yellow and Delia follow behind me.
"That was something, wasn't it?" Delia says.
"Yeah… I still can't believe Red actually won. With the odds stacked against him and what-not." I agree.
"So, do we just wait here until everyone else comes out?" I ask.
"Oh, no, no. We aren't going to do that. Since I'm Red's mother and all, I get special privileges! Even if I don't, that's not going to stop me!" Delia starts walking towards the door that Red walked through not an hour ago, leading to the ground floor of the arena. Yellow and I quickly chase after her.
"Delia! Wait!" I shout after her. She just continues to ignore me and follows the tunnel leading to the arena. As we approach the light I can see the outline of a person, Red, walking towards us. At least we won't have to go out in front of all of those people.
"Red, you did amazing!" Delia shouts as she runs up to hug him.
"Yeah, I really did…" He mumbles.
"Aw, honey, what's wrong?" Delia asks.
"It's nothing." He tries to brush it to the side, but we all know better.
"Alright. Well, how about you go and celebrate with Philippe and Yellow?" Now's the time for me to freak out. Since when did Delia know Yellow's name?! And, now that I think about it… Didn't she say Yellow's earlier as well? My mind is in shambles as I try to think of a logical explanation to this.
"Philippe, you're spacing out." Delia says, snapping me back to reality.
"Ah, I guess I was." I say, blushing like always.
"Don't worry about it. Just try to catch up with Red and Yellow!" There she goes again, knowing her name. I turn around and see Red and Yellow walking away and run to catch up.
"So, looks like someone's decided to join us." Red says.
"Sorry, didn't know what came over me back there. By the way… Red, why'd you seem so upset back there?" I ask.
"It's just… Green's Porygon. How could that happen to it?" So our suspicions were correct.
"Red, don't worry about it. Things like that are supposed to happen in battles; that's what Pokémon Centers are for, right? To make Pokémon feel better?" I say, trying to make him feel better.
"I guess you're right. Still, I feel kinda guilty." And that's only natural, Red.
"Don't worry about it. Green may be a jerk, but he's sure not to let his Pokémon suffer." Red gives a little laugh.
"You're right on that." We continue walking until we get to the reception area where we're greeted by a huge crowd, asking Red for autographs, and some even with cameras asking for an interview.
"Get away from the Champion!" Delia comes barging in.
"If I had known that you'd be swarmed, I never would've let you out of my sights!" But, isn't it obvious that he'd be swarmed…?
"Mom, you don't have to do this!" Red shouts. At the word "Mom" everyone focuses on Delia.
"You're the Champion's mother?!" One of the members of the crowd shouts. They all begin ask her about her son, leaving the three of us ignored. Delia winks at us, letting us know that it's time to escape.
Once we're out of the building we give a sigh.
"Red… is your mom always like this? Overdramatic and such? The way she acts… it's as if she's from a drama!" I exclaim.
"I think she really wanted to be an actress when she was younger." Red jokes. He then sighs once more.
"I never knew that being Champion would be such hard work." Red says.
"If you think that was bad, just wait until we hit the cities. Everyone will be flocking you. It'll take some time for everything to die down; I mean, you are the youngest Champion ever." I compliment.
"So, what do we do now?" Yellow asks.
"I… haven't really given it much thought." Red says to himself.
"Neither have I… I mean, we've always been running around to one place or another, trying to catch Team Rocket or earn another badge. Even filling the PokéDex had us going all over the place." Red's face holds a look of shock at the mention of the PokéDex.
"The PokéDex! I forgot it back in Virdian! Oh… Professor Oak is gonna kill me!" He starts panicking. I laugh and pull out the device mentioned and gives me a look of awe.
"You… have the PokéDex?" He asks me.
"You never forgot it, Red. I've had it all this time. I knew you'd probably leave it if I left it with you, which by the looks of things you probably would have, so I kept it." I laugh and now it's time for him to blush.
"Uh… your faces keep getting red a lot. Are you two sick?" Yellow comments from out of nowhere. Red's face turns even redder while mine's doing the same.
"I-it's nothing!" Red says, trying to convince her.
"Oh, alright." Ah, poor, innocent Yellow. I… am I really falling for her tricks myself? She's my rival for Red! I'm supposed to be hating her!
"But, Yellow's right." I say, trying to change the topic.
"What are we going to do now that the League's over?" I ask.
"Well, probably just go back to Pallet Town, I guess. Maybe continue training." Red suggests.
"Maybe? Of course you're going to continue training! Red, if you want to retain your status as Champion, you're going to have to continue training to be even stronger than you are now! People are going to come from far and wide to challenge you, trying to take your title from you! Wouldn't it be embarrassing if you lost your first match as Champion?" I shout.
"I get it, I get it. I have to train." He says.
"Phew! I finally got rid of the last of them!" Delia says as she walks out the door.
"Oh, Red? You forgot this." She hands him the Championship League trophy. I wonder how in the world he could've forgotten that?
"You're always forgetting such important things, Red!" She exclaims.
"I am not!"
As I lay on the bed inside of the League building, I wonder to myself. I've been here for how many months? Six? Seven? Yet… it's felt like just yesterday that I was falling through Viridian forest, just on the outskirts of Pallet Town. It feels like just yesterday that I met Red for the first time. Before all this, I kept telling myself that my life was boring because it hadn't really begun yet. Well, I guess I can't say that anymore. My life has begun. My life with Red. My life with Pokémon. I don't know why I'm here, or for what reason. Mew hasn't really been specific on that. The only thing that I do know is… I have a pretty good feeling that I'm going to be sticking around for a long time. And I like that.