Chapter 20: Date with Destiny: Blue
(A/N: This chapter marks the first of a series of dates that Red will be going on to get to know his team better. The dates won't be played out in consecutive chapters and just because a date has already happened doesn't mean a second one won't happen again so don't worry about missing out on content of your favorite girl after she has her chapter. Replying to Jojo47: I won't list which girls will be in the team because I think that kind of ruins the surprise of character reveals + additions. As for pokemon, Red will likely switch up but he has Pika, Venusaur, Snorlax, Poliwrath, Togekiss, and Milotic. The final two are amongst my favorite ones so I would of course like to write about them, however I also am open to switching up his team at any given time since it could get stale to write the same six. I know I had Gyarados show up as well at some point, I personally don't think there's a need to describe his pokemon switches, but I may change my mind on that later. Please enjoy!)
Red
Huh? Was the lingering thought in my mind when I heard Blue unilaterally declare that she was going to be going on a date with me already.
It didn't seem likely that she would be the traitor if she was so gung-ho about the whole date concept, but I'll have to do my due diligence on this one…
And is it just me, or are Korrina and the other girls looking awfully annoyed about all this.
…How am I supposed to guess who the traitor is when no one is looking apprehensive about the date idea?
General
Blue had a triumphant look as she thought she had finally gotten a chance to get some much needed one on one time with Red…
"Now now, since this is Red's first time in the city, how about you let my little Korrina show you around for a bit so you can prepare for your date with Little Miss Blue here?
Until Gurkinn had stepped in and threw a wrench in her plans.
"That sounds like a great idea Grandpa! Let me show you some good old Shalour City hospitality and let's go do this dat –, tour immediately!" Korrina thought to herself "Nice assist Gramps!" and with that, she took Red by the arm and briskly dragged him out of the gym into the city.
The rest of Red's team was so dumbstruck by the series of events that even Pika was still in the gym wondering what had just happened to his master.
Blue looked especially miffed about the recent series of events as she was looking forward to the date.
"Red, you owe me the best date ever after I get you back." She solemnly vowed.
Meanwhile Yellow, who knew Blue best of the girls there, whispered a silent prayer for Red as there was no way he was getting out of this one scot-free.
Korrina on the other hand, had let go of Red when he began cooperating and started skating alongside him.
Although she had made the bold move of dragging him out of there in front of all of his lady friends, truth be told, she had no idea what to do at this point.
With her total lack of experience with men, she decided that she'd just stick to her word of showing him around Shalour City and see where that took them.
Red was bewildered by all of this but he figured that it wasn't a bad idea to scout out the area a bit as he had never taken a girl on a date before.
However, he also was subconsciously aware that this detour with Korrina couldn't go on too long or Blue would be upset with him.
He couldn't detail exactly why his instincts were leaning this way, but nonetheless he took them to heart. As a veteran battler, he would trust his instincts when it came to things that could put him in danger.
Red and Korrina stopped by the nearby market first and Korrina showed him some accessories that were popular in the city.
Unsurprisingly, some of the unique merchandise on display were accessories that took heavy inspiration from mega stones.
When Red asked about how there were so many different ways to attach a mega keystone, Korrina explained that they were largely a result of copying the styles of famous trainers who had used them.
From the champion, to members of the elite four, apparently it was all the rage in Shalour City to copy the mega accessories of popular trainers.
Red's eyes were drawn to the section full of mega gloves that looked suspiciously like Korrina's glove.
"Do you happen to have your own fan base here?" Red said as he motioned to the significant sized section of Korrina's accessory.
"Haha… about that… I might be what you call a celebrity around here…" Korrina sweatdropped a bit and looked sheepish.
"Ohh… that's great then!" Red was impressed and didn't think much more about the revelation.
Korrina was relieved to see that Red didn't treat her as something special as her role as the master of the Tower of Mastery and the city's gym leader definitely attracted a lot of attention to her on a daily basis.
The pair proceeded to visit the food side of the market and Red was treated to some local delicacies courtesy of Korrina's connections in the city.
The date/tour seemed to be going well until they reached the cafe that Korrina had wanted to show him.
A group of teenage girls looked up and noticed Korrina standing with Red.
And then a collective shrill shriek cut through the air "LADY KORRINA! WHO'S THAT BOY? IS HE YOUR BOYFRIEND?"
Apparently, Korrina had a sizeable fanclub of teenage girls and boys that would go crazy about any news of a potential first love interest for Korrina.
And… with the distance between the two, Red sure looked like the heir apparent to that role.
As the girls began swarming around Korrina, she managed to gasp out a "SORRY RED!" and skated off with her fanclub in tow.
Red sweatdropped and thought to himself "guess I'll call Blue then."
After one dial tone, Blue picked up and asked in a noticeably ticked voice "What is it Red?"
"Um, it would seem like my tour with Korrina just ended, so if you wanted to do that date I'm near Café Audino. I could meet you halfway from wherever you are and show you the way there" Red offered.
"Oh, I'm nearby I can come right away!" Blue exclaimed excitedly.
Red was a bit surprised that Blue was nearby considering Korrina had brought him a reasonable distance from the gym and Blue shouldn't have known about the area.
Little did Red know, but Blue had actually tagged along to scope out this "tour" and make sure Korrina didn't get a headstart on her.
Blue showed up soon after Red had hung up the call and Red could have sworn that her hair looked nicer than he remembered it at the gym.
"Your hair looks nice Blue" Red said absentmindedly as he remarked his thoughts aloud.
Blue immediately turned red in reaction and uncharacteristically couldn't respond with anything but a meek "umu" sound effect.
While Blue was having trouble responding, Red steeled himself internally for the fact that this date was a preface to figuring out if Blue had actually betrayed him.
His face briefly betrayed a solemn expression, which luckily was not caught by the still blushing Blue.
He course corrected immediately after and prepared himself to escort Blue for the date while investigating her for anything that seemed off.
"Let's head into Café Audino, I heard it's a really great place for afternoon tea!" Red motioned towards the café behind him.
Blue looked miffed for a second and asked "Did you already go in with Korrina?"
"No I haven't ever gone to a café with a girl alone" Red answered honestly without realizing why Blue was miffed.
She suddenly brightened up which aroused some suspicion in Red. "That's an odd change in emotions, I don't know any logical reason why Blue would be so quick to change her emotions just because I said I was going to a café alone. It could be a sign that her emotions are being tampered with by an outside force… I'll have to keep this in mind."
While Red was still paranoid, he was acutely aware that Blue was still a dear long-time friend of his, so he wouldn't ever think about treating her poorly even when he had his suspicions.
In the café, a waitress sat them at a small table with ornate both of them got the Clampearl Grey tea special that the waitress recommended, and some poffins to match them.
As they waited, the conversation skewed towards the recent events at the gym.
"Red, you kinda went overboard there, even I wouldn't have bullied those poor trainers that hard. What are you going to do if they get traumatized by these events?" Blue scolded him playfully and reached over to pat him on the shoulder and console him.
"Yeah… that's my bad Blue. It has just been so long since I've been able to do a gym battle as a challenger and not as an exhibition as Kanto's champion. Thanks for always being the one to call me out when I need it Blue, that's why you're special to me" Red admitted honestly.
"Well… erm, as long as you know." Blue found herself looking at anything that wasn't Red once again today.
Unfortunately for Blue, Red's reaction to this went along the lines of "why is she turning away when I'm just stating the obvious that she's special to me as my good friend that calls me out. Is she feeling guilty for something?"
Meanwhile Blue's mind was filled with flowery thoughts of Red and how she was totally going to win him over during this date.
Her only regret was that she didn't get the chance to pick out a date outfit since she was forced to follow Red out of the gym after Korrina had spirited him away.
The tea and poffins arrived and the duo enjoyed the specialties of Shalour City.
The Clampearl Grey Tea had a unique taste to it that didn't even need any added moomoo milk, while the poffins were a perfect balance with a hint of bitterness that one would have expected from the tea.
They both enjoyed the food greatly and Blue even mentioned that she would cook some homemade poffins for Red sometime.
Red joked that he didn't even know Blue could cook and she got slightly upset that he would have thought that.
Little did Red know, Blue had only just recently taken up cooking and she was trying to appeal to him ahead of time while she was learning during her spare time.
Then Red remembered that this would be a good chance to strongly investigate Blue.
"Blue."
"Yes?"
"What do you think about me as a person?" Red said in a serious tone while looking Blue right in the eye.
Blue's eyes widened and she immediately hid her increasingly red face.
"It's too soon Red… I can't tell you right now…" She managed to mutter in the palms of her hands.
Red's suspicions peaked at this point, "Why would she be unable to tell me something as simple as what she thinks of me as a person? Is it possible that her memories have been tampered with? I'll have to piece this together after a few other dates…" Red thought to himself.
"Ah got it… you don't have to tell me now Blue, I have a feeling I'll figure out the truth later." Red replied ambiguously.
Blue uttered a sigh of relief which didn't go unnoticed by Red.
She then proceeded to change the subject, "So where do you want to go next?"
Red wasn't sure what to do besides revisiting the market that he had just gone to with Korrina.
"Honestly, I've never done a date before, so if you have any ideas Blue, I'd be happy to go along with them." Red admitted.
"Hmm, never gone on a date before… that means I'm your first right?" Blue chirped happily.
"Mm? Yeah you're my first date Blue." Red said in a slightly confused tone.
"Is it that important to be the first friend I've tried to get to know better?" Red thought while echoing the definition of date that his trusty friend Brock had taught him.
"Well let's go then!" Blue helped pay her share of the food and then proceeded to loop her arm through Red's.
"This is normal on dates by the way Red." Blue made sure to point this part of date etiquette out.
"Oh really? Well that's fine with me, this does feel nice" Red said offhandedly as he was still trying to process what to do about the chance that Blue was the traitor.
The two proceeded to head towards the market at Red's guidance (although Blue certainly knew where this market was as she had tagged along the whole time).
They looked around at the different accessories there and Red's attention was drawn to an accessory stall that had mega accessories with slots open for a keystone. This was different from the mock keystones that were found in the accessories that he had seen with Korrina. These ones certainly looked like more practical tools that were waiting for real keystones.
After confirming with the vendor that these were actually compatible with real keystones, Red decided to buy a necklace for Blue and a bracelet for himself.
When Blue received the necklace she was ecstatic and immediately asked him to help her put it on.
He reached around her small neck and fumbled a bit as he had no idea how to put on a necklace. With a little guidance from Blue (which she definitely took her time with so she could enjoy the slight brushes of his fingers against her neck), he eventually got the necklace on her.
"Thanks Red, I love it!" Blue said enthusiastically as she held the necklace.
"That's great! I'm super glad to hear it, this way when I bring the rest of the team over, we can get everyone a suitable mega accessory." Red said with a face filled with relief as he was nervous about not being able to choose the right accessory for something as important as the mega keystone.
This is when Blue did another 180 flip in attitude and hit Red on the shoulder again while calling him an idiot.
Suddenly an unfamiliar voice cut into the conversation they were having "Hey you! What are you doing to Red?"
Red and Blue turned around in unison and were met with a girl around Red's age with blue eyes and honey colored hair.
(A/N: And… that's it for this chapter! I'm still in the process of planning for a move so it will definitely eat into my time, might have to take a hiatus depending on how things work out and how my PC shipment goes when the actual move happens. I'll give the heads up when I actually move though. Anyway, for this chapter, I have always wished that Blue and Yellow got screentime in the main pokemon anime. Especially in the case of Blue, she should have been the canon female MC during at least the Kanto and Orange island arcs. Hope everyone found something that they enjoyed in the chapter and I'm looking forward to reading your reviews.)