The clearing in the Viridian Forest is peaceful. The familiar calls of Pidgey and the occasional Spearow drift through the woods.
Sylveon chirps happily, draped around Green's neck like a scarf. He smiles, reaching up to pet her gently. Rhyperior roars triumphantly in the background.
Red is sitting under a tree, holding Pikachu. Green can't help but wonder what he's thinking about. Pokemon? People? Nothing at all?
"Hey," he says, "you okay?" Red turns to look towards Green, sharp eyes softening slightly.
Yes, he signs. Pikachu's fur sparks and Sylveon chirps brightly, slipping off of Green's shoulders. A soothing Fairy Wind blows through the clearing. Green crouches and pets Sylveon on the head.
"Good," he says. Sylveon's tendrils flare out, colourful ribbons rippling in the wind.
Sylveon is Fairy-type right? Red signs. Green nods, scritching Sylveon behind the ears lightly.
"Super effective against fighting, dark, and dragon," he says, tilting his head towards Red in an unsaid prompt.
Weak to poison, steel, Red signs. Green nods again, smiling. He's good at this, he thinks. It had taken Green a lot more time to memorize all the type combinations, but for Red it just seemed to click.
"Yep. And immune to dragon, which is a nice touch," he adds. Pikachu snorts quietly, climbing up Red's arm to perch lightly on his shoulder. Red reaches up and pets Pikachu, eyes drifting away for a moment. You have a good team, he signs.
Green blinks, feeling a little surprised. "That I do," he says. "They're wonderful." He pauses for a moment, unsure, and then says, "Your team is good as well."
They are, Red signs with a nod and a small twitch of the lips. Green turns his head away with a smile, petting Sylveon lazily and watching as Crawdaunt chatters irritably at Lapras. Red's Machamp flexes its muscles at Rhyperior, who grunts in irritation. Red's Charizard lands in front of a sleeping Venusaur, poking its snout with one claw. Pidgeot lands next to Charizard and caws irritably, feathers rippling. Ferrothorn pokes Pidgeot's head lightly and Arcanine huffs out a small lick of flame, startling Ferrothorn back up into the tree. Red's Snorlax glares at a roaring Rhyperior, and then lies back down.
Sylveon stands up suddenly, arching its back with a wide (adorable) yawn, and then pads away from Green. Green looks to see where Sylveon is going and - oh. Sylveon's standing in front of Pikachu, eyes curious.
"It's good that our Pokemon get along with each other," Green says, tilting his head slightly. "Well-" He glances at Crawdaunt - "most of them."
Red nods. Lapras doesn't like your Crawdaunt.
Rude.
"Crawdaunt is picky and a very special Pokemon," Green says primly. Red gives Green a skeptical look - which, fair, but still rude - and Green rolls his eyes. "It's true! Don't give me that look."
Red snorts, eyes skeptical, and signs, Lapras likes everyone. Except your Crawdaunt.
"Your Lapras is biased, then," Green says haughtily. Red doesn't reply, looking away from him, and Green takes that as his cue to shut up.
The silence between them is a lot more awkward this time. Green drums his fingers on the grass, wondering if he said something rude. He glances towards Red, and relaxes when he sees that there is no blankness in Red's eyes. Good.
"So," Green says, "when are you going to go back to the League?"
It's mainly just a question to break the silence, but part of Green is genuinely curious.
Red simply shrugs. Probably tomorrow, he signs.
"Anyone going with you?" Green asks. If no one's going with Red, then he will.
Agatha was going to come, Red signs, frowning slightly.
"I'll go with you, too," Green says determinedly. "Knowing you, you'll get lost on the way to the League and accidentally go to Johto or something."
Agatha's with me, Red points out, lips twitching up slightly. Green wonders if he should back off for a moment, but then abandons that thought. No point now.
"Agatha's probably got the same sense of direction as my granddad," he says. Oak was always getting lost in the forest. Somehow. "C'mon, Red. I bet Charizard wants to race Pidgeot again. Besides, having company would be nice, don't you agree?"
Red's Charizard growls, glaring up at Pidgeot who calmly ignores it, flying over the clearing. Red tilts his head, eyes turning thoughtful. You sure? he signs. Agatha's there for company…
"I guess not," Green says, sighing. If Red really didn't want his company, then he shouldn't intrude too much.
I'm joking, Red signs hurriedly. We'll go.
Green brightens, feeling himself smile again. "Sweet. I'll meet you and Agatha at my gym around 7, kay?"
Red smiles as well. Okay.
Sylveon and Pikachu run around in circles, chasing each other. Rhyperior and Red's Machamp flex at each other. Crawdaunt seems to have made up with Red's Lapras, albeit rather reluctantly. Ferrothorn swings about, avoiding Arcanine who is currently snoozing in between Red's Snorlax and Venusaur. Pidgeot has settled on top of Snorlax, something that makes Green smile, and Charizard flies around in the sky. Red's presence is soothing to him.
It's a beautiful afternoon.
At around 5:50, Green buries his face in the pillow and reluctantly rolls out of bed. His alarm beeps over and over and Green reaches out blindly to turn it off.
With a tired sigh, he stands up and stumbles into the bathroom. He goes through all the familiar motions of waking up without really thinking about them; brush his teeth, rinse his toothbrush, wash his mouth, wash his face, dry his face, tiredly walk downstairs, set out food for his Pokemon and let them eat. Green stares at the fridge for a moment, wondering whether or not he should eat breakfast, then decides not to. He has a lot more paperwork than normal to do and he doesn't really feel hungry anyways.
His gym is locked. Green unlocks the doors with a yawn and strides inside. The lights and floor tiles are off, so Green just walks in a straight line across the floor until he reaches his arena. He opens the door and heads towards his office.
The office lights are off, as expected, and Green blindly fumbles along the wall until he finds the switch and turns the lights on. The bulb flickers slightly and Green lets out a sigh when he sees the stack of papers in the inbox.
Well, no time like the present.
Green pulls out the chair and sits down in front of his desk, grabbing one of the papers. It's a gym trainer application.
Declined.
He falls into a sort of work daze. The only sounds in the office are scribbling and the occasional sigh. Sylveon's ball rocks and Green reaches down, pressing the button to let Sylveon out. She appears in a swirl of pink and immediately leaps up onto his chest, curling up. Green doesn't even bother to try and move Sylveon, leaning back and scratching Sylveon's ears lightly. Arcanine's ball rocks as well and Green laughs.
"You all just want to get out, don't you," he says. "Alright, fine. Come on out."
Arcanine appears in a flash of light and lies down next to Green's desk, happily accepting a few pets. Pidgeot lands neatly next to Arcanine, ruffles its feathers with a peaceful coo, and then promptly goes to sleep. Crawdaunt and Ferrothorn scuttle off together to some corner of the room, cackling about something. Green decides not to ask. And Rhyperior….
"Sorry, Rhyperior," Green says reluctantly. "It's a little too crowded here."
Rhyperior's ball shakes once, and then falls still. Green decides to take that as forgiveness and keeps working.
He's interrupted from his work by the door opening. Green looks up, one hand reaching for where his Pokeballs would normally be but then he remembers that his Pokemon are already out.
Oops.
"Leader," Alan says, entering the room. "Your friend wants to see you."
Green quickly checks the time. 6:56.
"He's early," he remarks, shifting slightly. Sylveon climbs up onto Green's shoulders and settles there. Green recalls all of his Pokemon, clipping their balls back to his belt, and then stands, stretching. "Let's go, then, I guess."
The two of them walk out the office, through the arena, and into the main room. Red is standing there, fingers laced together.
"Hey!" Green says, waving and yawning at the same time. "You're a bit early, you know that?"
Red nods, rolling his shoulders back. Agatha comes soon. We should get ready. He produces a cookie out of absolutely nowhere and splits it in half, handing one piece to Green.
"Wow, thanks!" Green says, surprised but delighted at the same time. He takes a bite of the cookie at the same time as Red. Honey-blueberry. Yum. "My Pokemon are with me. You wanna go outside now?"
Red nods. Green smiles and they're walking towards the gym doors when he remembers; Alan. He quickly stops and releases Arcanine from its ball. The fire-type lands next to Green with a curious look.
"You two help Alan take care of the gym, okay?" Green says. "No scaring people, Arcanine. And Sylveon, try not to get sparkles all over the arena again."
Sylveon chirps softly, nudging Green's hip. Arcanine rumbles apologetically and Green feels himself smile.
"I'm trusting you two," he says. "Take care of them, okay, Alan?"
"Of course," Alan says. "I've still got a lot of strength in me. I'm not going to fall over quite yet!"
"Sweet," Green says. "We'll be going now, okay?"
"Don't worry," Alan says. "We'll handle everything. You go on."
"See ya!" Green says, waving, and they exit the gym.
Agatha is standing there, a Crobat swooping around behind her. "Well, you two seem happy," she says with a cackle. Green immediately feels suspicious. "Shall we?"
Red nods, signing Yes at the same time. Charizard is out and growls happily when Red pets its neck.
"Let's go," Green says, summoning his own flier. Pidgeot appears in a flash of light, feathers rustling lightly with a soft coo. Charizard growls again, sounding more irritated now.
"Your Pokemon seem like rivals as well," Agatha says with a slight (mischievous) smirk.
"They are," Green comments lightly, petting Pidgeot. Pidgeot shifts its wings, nudging Green's hand gently and Green glances over at Red.
Should we go? Red signs.
"Yes, we should indeed," Agatha replies, suddenly serious. "Everyone at the League is very eager to see you, Red."
Red simply nods and Green wonders for a brief moment if Red didn't feel happy about being in Pallet.
Champion's job, you know. Busy. Much work.
"Let's go, then." he says, climbing on top of Pidgeot. "Wouldn't want to waste more time, right?"
As much as he tries to keep the slight resentment out of his voice, it probably still slips through. But oh well. It'll be fine.
"Well then," Agatha says, sitting on her Crobat. "Shall we?"
"We shall," Green says grandly. "Pidgeot?"
Pidgeot coos softly, crouching, and then pushing off into the air, wings flapping. Agatha hovers next to him and, in a few moments, Charizard makes it up to them as well.
"C'mon, Red," Green says determinedly. "Let's race again. We'll beat you!"
Charizard growls and a slight smile appears on Red's face. You won't. Tailwind.
A wind blows behind Charizard and they suddenly speed forwards, Red hunkering low over Charizard's back. Green shakes his head and strokes Pidgeot lightly. "Agility," he murmurs, and then yells into the distance, "We're gonna win!"
Another Agility and Pidgeot speeds up even more, flying towards Charizard's figure in the distance. They pull up close to Charizard but then it speeds up even more, flying away. Green laughs, shaking his head.
"C'mon, Pidgeot," he says. "That way." He points Pidgeot towards the roof and pillars of the League building, now visible in the distance. "And, try and catch Charizard's wind as well."
Red's Charizard falls into a slight dive and Green directs Pidgeot to directly follow them. Pidgeot manages to catch Charizard's Tailwind under its own wings, speeding up. They pull up right next to Charizard and Green buries his fingers into Pidgeot's feathers, grinning.
"Hey!" he calls out. Red looks up with a confused frown and Green grins triumphantly. "You're gonna lose! Agility, Pidgeot!"
Green has a brief moment to relish in Red's look of admiration before he speeds right past them, laughing maniacally. He directs Pidgeot to fly a bit higher, easily outspeeding Red's Charizard and swooping towards the League building. Adrenaline courses through his system as Pidgeot arrows through the sky, wings folded and feathers streaming back in the wind. They dive down in a blur of speed, landing in the grass in front of the League, and Green jumps down. Charizard lands after a bit, looking rather unhappy. Red slides off of its back gracefully.
"What did I say?" Green says proudly. "We won!"
Pidgeot shakes out its feathers, cooing proudly, and Green reaches down to pet Pidgeot. Charizard growls irritably.
"Well, aren't you two having fun," someone says. It's Agatha. Green turns around to look at her, blinking in surprise when she jumps off her Crobat midair and lands lightly on the ground.
"Wow," he says, feeling impressed. "Didn't know you could do that."
"I'm not that old yet, child," Agatha says tartly. "I've got a lot of strength in my bones still."
Oops. Offensive.
"Of course you do," he replies, hoping he doesn't sound sarcastic. "You're going, then, Red?"
Red nods. I'll see you, he signs.
Green smiles. "You better," he says. "Message me when you have time, okay?"
Red nods again. Green climbs onto Pidgeot's back and they push off into the air, tossing Red a lazy salute as they fly away.
Pidgeot is rather tired when they land in front of his gym, but shakes its head no when Green tries to recall it, so they walk into the gym together. Arcanine is sitting close to the door and immediately bounds up to Green when he walks in, nuzzling him and rumbling happily.
"Hey there, buddy," Green says with a laugh, reaching up to pet Arcanine's head. "Where's Sylveon? And Alan?"
"We're here," Alan says to Green's right. Green turns to look at them, only to be greeted with a flurry of ribbons to the face. Sylveon jumps at him, paws grasping at his shoulder.
"Woah there, Sylveon!" Green says, falling back in surprise. Arcanine moves forwards to catch him and Green pats Arcanine appreciatively. "Thanks, Arcanine."
Sylveon nuzzles him affectionately, ribbons wrapping around his shoulders and Green gently pulls Sylveon off of him. "Sorry, Sylveon," he says, pushing himself up. Sylveon chirps happily, wriggling out of Green's grasp and settling around his neck.
"Anyhow," Green says, turning towards Alan, "how were they?"
"They were wonderful," Alan says. "Your Sylveon was very sweet and your Arcanine was very helpful."
"Nice," Green says, reaching back to scratch Arcanine's ears gently. "Who's here right now?"
"No one so far," Alan says. "They should be arriving in a few minutes."
Right on cue, the door opens and both Elan and Ida stroll in, chatting happily. Ida's Azumarill bounces happily at their feet and Elan's Porygon2 floats around them, beeping when it spots Green.
"Oh!" Elan says, looking up in surprise. "Leader! Good to see you!"
"Is anyone else here?" Ida asks, tilting her head. Azumarill tilts its head as well, squeaking cheerfully. "Also, why are your Pokemon out?"
"I went on a trip, so I left them to help Alan," Green says vaguely. "No one else is here. Congratulations, you're the first!"
"Thank you" Elan and Ida say in unison. Azumarill cheers, waving its little paws happily. Sylveon looks up and waves its ribbons in reply.
The door opens again and Arabella walks in, hair looking rather windswept. "Hello, Leader," he says brightly, then notices Elan and Ida standing to the side. "Oh, I'm not the first?"
"Nope," Green says. "Did you ride your Tauros again?"
"You bet!" Arabella says. "Though, we might have to be a little faster now."
Elan laughs. "It won't matter. We'll still beat you."
"Hey guys," a new voice says. Salma appears in the doorway, accompanied by her Slowking. "Aw, dang. Third again?"
"Hey, don't worry!" Arabella says. "One day you'll be first. And hey, at least you're not last."
"That's rude," Salma admonishes gently. "Don't say that to Bonita."
"Sorry," Arabella says. "I won't."
As if on cue, Bonita walks into the gym, looking a little flustered. "Am I late? Sorry, sorry." His Spinda dances around, seemingly unaware of anything going on.
"You're not late, don't worry," Green says. "Though, you are last."
"Aw," Bonita says. "Yeah, sorry about that. I accidentally broke my alarm and then Sudowoodo got angry because Spinda sprayed him with water and… yeah. Sorry."
"It's okay," Salma says kindly. "You're not late and that's what matters."
"Ahem," Green says. "None of us are late, but we do have a gym to run."
"Oh! Right," Salma says. "We'd better get moving then, everyone."
"Let's go," Arabella says brightly, and they all troop off to their respective jobs.
Green watches with a smile as the gym starts up. Arabella goes off to turn on the spinning tiles and Salma updates the gym log. Elan and Ida recall their Pokemon and set off towards their platform. Bonita flips the sign on the gym door to 'OPEN' and then goes off to his platform as well.
"You'd better go check the schedule today," Alan reminds him, eyes twinkling. "There are a few very eager challengers."
"Great," Green says with a grin. "Let's go, then. C'mon, Arcanine, Pidgeot."
Arcanine huffs softly and nudges Green, then disappears in the light of its recall beam. Pidgeot shifts its wings and coos gently, then vanishes into its ball as well.
With Sylveon draped around his shoulders, Green takes the first step onto the spinning tiles and heads towards his arena. Once inside, he lets all his Pokemon out to play a bit. Rhyperior stretches, rumbling happily at finally being able to get out. Crawdaunt and Ferrothorn gravitate towards each other, chattering happily. Pidgeot settles in a corner of the room and goes to sleep on top of Arcanine. Green laughs at the sight, then heads into his office to check the schedule.
Swimmer Catherine at 9:00
Ace Trainer Jared at 10:00
Firebreather Flannery at 10:30
Bird Keeper Winona at 1:00
PokeFan Ben at 3:00
He checks the time; 8:06. Well, he still has some time, so he might as well do something.
Green grabs the food bag and pours some into each of the six bowls. Sylveon is sleeping on his shoulders and he gently shakes her awake. She yawns widely, then blinks at him with wide eyes.
"Help me carry these?" Green requests. Sylveon yawns again, then jumps off his shoulders. A wave of psychic energy pulses through the room and the bowls shake, then float up into the air.
"Psyshock, huh," Green says. "Nice."
Sylveon chirps happily and they walk out the office together. Arcanine looks up when they arrive in the arena and barks loudly. Rhyperior turns towards them, growling excitedly. Green laughs as every Pokemon in the room turns to look towards them, eyes eager.
"Hold up," he says. "Don't rush me, okay? I'll just set these here." He directs Sylveon to place the bowls down in a neat line in front of his office. "C'mon, eat."
His entire team immediately heads towards the bowls and Green heads back into his office to grab some paperwork. Might as well do it now, before the day has started.
The morning goes as usual until 11:17. Salma beats the Swimmer girl, Green has a fun Eeveelution vs. Eeveelution battle with Ace Trainer Jared, and Bonita beats the Firebreather. At 11:17, though, Alan arrives in the arena accompanied by a flustered-looking storekeeper.
Green, sitting on top of Arcanine with glitter in his hair as they chase Sylveon around, is distinctly aware that this is a very awkward situation to find your gym leader in.
"Hello," he says, not knowing what else to say. Alan shakes his head and sighs, but gestures towards the storekeeper.
"There's a problem," he says. "A mob of Spearow have invaded the Pokemart and we need your help."
Green nods. "Spearow, huh," he says. "Well, we better get moving."
He jumps off of Arcanine and recalls all of his Pokemon, feeling more than a little awkward. "Lead the way," he says, brushing the glitter out of his hair. "Sorry about the glitter."
"It's… okay," the storekeeper says, clasping his hands together. Alan leads them through the spinning tiles in the gym and Green walks out the door with the storekeeper.
"There?" he asks, pointing towards a building surrounded by angry Spearow and scared people.
The storekeeper nods, wringing his hands. "Please help me," he says, sounding a little scared.
"Don't worry," Green says. "I got this."
Sylveon and Crawdaunt appear in a flash of light and Green points towards the Pokemart. "Sylveon, try and calm down the crowd. Use Fairy Wind or something. Crawdaunt, handle the Spearow."
His Pokemon nod and then dart towards the Pokemart. Green follows them closely, directing Sylveon towards the crowd of people. A soothing wind blows through the streets and, like magic, the surrounding people relax.
"Hey!" Green calls out. "Move away from the mart, okay? Spearow are dangerous!"
The word 'dangerous' seems to cause more panic, but Sylveon quickly calms them down with another Fairy Wind and one by one, they start moving away from the mart.
"Crawdaunt," Green calls. The water-type looks up with a chatter. "Take out the Spearow with Razor Shell, one by one.
Crawdaunt's eyes narrow, then it pushes itself up with a fierce cry. Blades of water form around its pincers and it slashes at the wild Spearow, scattering them in a flurry of feathers before landing on the ground. Sylveon is done with dispersing the crowd, so Green calls for a Dazzling Gleam, which sends the Spearow flying off.
"Good job, you two," Green says proudly. Sylveon chirps happily, bounding towards him. Crawdaunt scuttles behind Sylveon, glaring at anyone who tries to approach it.
"Thank you, thank you," the storekeeper says, looking highly relieved. "I owe you a favour."
And that's a little weird to think about, so Green quickly shakes his head. "Nah, it's okay. Duty and all that," he says.
"Seriously, though," the storekeeper says. "Thank you for that. Your Pokemon are wonderful."
"They are," Green says proudly, reaching down to rub Crawdaunt's star. Sylveon nudges Green hopefully and he laughs, petting her as well.
There's a siren in the background and the storekeeper turns to look at the arriving police car. Green takes that as his cue to leave, heading back to his gym. Sylveon walks next to him and Crawdaunt brings up the rear, likely glaring at everyone. That thought puts a smile on Green's face.
He recalls Crawdaunt and Sylveon once they're inside, heading towards his office. Green quickly checks his Pokegear; 11:48. Only twelve minutes until break.
Out of impulse, he randomly texts something to Red.
'did u know that pinsir is the only non-fighting type who learns vital throw?'
He doesn't get an immediate reply and is instantly nervous that he might be bothering Red, but in a minute he gets a response; 'No'. Green doesn't really know what he expected.
'well now u do', he replies.
'How did u know this', Red asks after a bit. Green snorts.
'blaine and days of being roommates', he texts. Learning random bits of trivia had left him with many bits of random knowledge. He pauses for a moment, and then says, 'growlithe is exactly 19 kg. arcanine is exactly 155 kg. they're both very fluffy.'
'They are', Red replies. A pause, and then, 'Blaine told u this didn't he'
'yes. how did u know? :)' Green texts, smiling.
Someone knocks on his door, and then enters. It's Ida, her hair dripping with water and looking rather alarmed. Green quickly texts Red 'have 2 go, bye.', and then closes his Pokegear.
"Lead the way," he says to Ida, and they head out of the office.