471. valor: marked courage or bravery

Green finished about a fifth of the room in the time it took Koga to freaking prance across the hall and sweep up the rest. By the time he was done, his arms were sore and his back was aching from hunching over to put more weight into the mop. Pushing piles of snow and ash was a lot harder than Koga made it look. Blastoise had retired to a clean corner of the room to watch and grunt at Green whenever he missed a spot. The ice pellets were melting, which made it easier to scoop up the ash, but also a lot heavier to maneuver.

The heap in the center of the hall was quite amazing; when the debris was spread out, it didn't seem like that much, but collectively the heap was taller than Green, even as it melted. While Green sat beside the heap, rubbing his back, Koga methodically treated each of his pokemon with potions and berries. Green was afraid of Charizard angrily blowing the stuff in the heap everywhere, so he just let out Espeon to join Blastoise and rewarded them each for their valor with a couple Oran berries.

472. polyglot: one who speaks many languages

Green was no polyglot, but he was able to understand Espeon's pawing at his shins without the telepathic communication. He let out Umbreon, who happily joined Espeon and swiped some of his berries. Koga recalled each of his pokemon except for Muk, who true to his word, engulfed the entire heap (holy shi- Muk could probably eat Green whole). Koga picked up the two mops and shoved them back in the secret closet.

473. incredulous: disbelieving; skeptical

Green was a little incredulous at the things he'd just learned from staying to watch the "behind the scenes" action. Elites, or at least Koga, cleaned up after themselves after each battle. There were secret closets in the walls of the building. Muk could shrink into almost nothing yet also eat man-sized heaps of junk in one gulp.

474. artifact: an object produced by human work, especially one of historical or archaeological interest

Koga led Green to the waiting room outside Lance's office, and then essentially ditched him there. The sun was making its way up the sky, and Green was snoozing, catching up on some much needed rest, when Lance barged in (cape and all, making quite a hullabaloo) and stared at him.

"Koga told me that you'd be waiting. So you've finished discussing matters with the others? They approve?"

Green blearily opened his eyes and avoided intense eye contact by staring at the strange artifacts in the waiting room. Strange bones and carving stood on the shelves; a carved piece, suspiciously like a stantler's skull with antlers still attached, was displayed on the coffee table. Lance's words barely reached him in his half-awake state, but when they did, he casually pulled out the slightly wrinkled, surprisingly still intact petition. It'd been in one of the inner compartments of his wallet and had avoided most of the soaking Green had gone through, whether it be from that one Gyarados splashing him or Blastoise, well, blasting him.

475. seminal: original and inspiring further similar efforts

Lance eyed the paper and then folded it and tucked it in his pocket (probably never to see the light of day again). Green began nodding off, and Lance sighed.

"If you don't leave, I'll have to talk you out of here."

"Try me."

"Professor Elm recently published a truly seminal work on the breeding habits of dragons - some undertake remarkably human-like rituals involving sacrificial bloodshed and impaling of competitor's reproductive organs. Similar to ancient societies, severed organs are then burned and offered as gifts..."

476. ambiguous: having more than one possible interpretation

Green decided that Lance's level of sanity was quite ambiguous, and quite willingly left the room after Lance unashamedly elaborated on his recent readings. He speed walked down the hallways, tossed open the grand double-doors (his arms protested), and stepped into the fresh, and pretty cold air. He pulled out his phone to thumb through emails and check for one last time before entering the Wi-Fi-less domain of Mt. Silver.

477. discern: to perceive and understand so as to make distinctions

The cold air did wonders in waking Green up, and from a couple hundred feet away he was able to discern Leaf and Yellow, waiting for him right outside the Pokemon League Reception Gate. They waved at him to hurry up, and he jogged over. His backpack bounced and whacked his sore back every time he jogged another step, and he ended up running hunched over, his sore arms gripping his backpack to stop it from further abusing his spine. Leaf chortled at his ungraceful approach, but Yellow offered a hand.

478. provocative: tending to stimulate by making one interested or angry

Yellow was carrying just a small backpack and the carefully wrapped bouquet but Green could already hear Daisy yelling at him for making a girl carry things. Green declined Yellow's help.

Leaf laughed a little more. "Yellow can bench press me, I think she'll be fine carrying some of your stuff."

Though Leaf probably didn't mean to be provocative, Green still took that at as a challenge. Leaf was slim; no more than a hundred twenty pounds. But last time Green snuck into a gym to try the weights, he'd been able to do about one fifty pounds before giving up, being embarrassed (the hulk next to him was bench pressing four hundred something) and walking out. He could use a little work out.

479. influx: a mass arrival or incoming

Mt. Silver seemed a whole lot shorter when walking with other people. Espeon and Umbreon were leading the way, running back and forth and in circles around the three humans. The golbats were on decent terms with Red's pokemon and didn't bother the small party; Green thought he saw a couple familiar ones - the ones that had lifted him and blindfolded him before tossing him down to sled down a mountain.

Would Red be prepared for the influx of people? Well, four people wasn't much of a crowd, but with Red, it might be the most people he'd ever seen at once in the past years.

480. terrestrial: relating to the Earth

After reaching the snow covered peaks, where everything familiar and terrestrial became swathed in white, Green felt his heartstrings tug. He hadn't been separated for this long from his pokemon since he lost all those years back - he'd let Daisy watch over his pokemon as he sulked - and he wondered if Red felt the same way about his own pokemon. Espeon was ecstatic, and impatiently skipping faster and faster.

Near the peak, Espeon sped up and all but sprinted up the snowy slope. Green looked up, panting slightly, and spotted a figure standing next to Gyarados, who was lounging in the snow. He broke out into a run, forgetting his aching back.

"Red!"