Notes:
Yes, this is what it says on the tin. Not a fakeout April Fools joke, I promise. Happy 24th, Pokemon anime.
This is not a true crossover as Pokemon is included only as a fictional franchise. I use Japanese terminology and names for Pokemon since the story is about Japanese characters in Japan. Also fun fact, this mostly takes place the month before English language adaptations were released, August 1998.
No spoilers for Higurashi Gou as this is not Gou compliant. I had other Rika/Satoko WIPs I've stalled on pending Gou completion and now pending Sotsu completion, if then. But what the heck, I still finished and posted this thing. I thought it was a silly idea when I started it, but I always did want to finish at least one happily ever after Rika/Satoko with them grown up after the [original] end. I had fun and hope any readers enjoy.
Aim to be the Best Girlfriend
It had been a long day at work, but Satoko had insisted upon being the one to do the shopping, even knowing she'd get home even later. After all, tomorrow was a special day, and she needed to have everything ready in order to make Rika her cake. Satoko took her time picking out what was just right, ready to make the sort of cake Rika had decided she preferred before going to pick out fresh ingredients they needed.
"Hey! Hello, Satoko!"
"Rena-san! Good afternoon," Satoko greeted her old friend. It had been a while. Rena was busy with her housework and raising her and Keiichi's daughter, but they could still meet in a place like this. "How are things?"
"Just fine, fine! Oh? What's the occasion - Wait, it's Rika's birthday!" Rena recalled before Satoko could explain.
"Correct," Satoko said. "Well, tomorrow. I'll have this ready for her then. She'll be busy tonight."
"Busy? Does she have somewhere to be? Somewhere else?"
"Well..." Satoko paused, looking up as she smiled awkwardly. "Rika has found... A hobby she enjoys, every Thursday evening."
"Oh? Why Thursday?" Rena asked.
"Well... That's just the day it occurs," Satoko said. "Every Thursday evening, on TV Tokyo."
"Oh! That anime, Pocket Monsters!" Rena was apparently well in the know. "I watch it with Mari-chan quite often! It's funny, really funny!"
Of course, Rena's four-year-old daughter might enjoy it. Satoko gave an stilted laugh that she was watching it with her girlfriend who was almost twenty-seven. Why had it caught Rika's attention so much? Well, at least it made buying a gift that could be appreciated easy. "Right," Satoko confirmed, then changed the topic. "Rena-san, would you and Keiichi-san like to come over for the celebration? I was going to call and ask, but I've been busy. Onii-san, Shion-san, and Mion-san were occupied, themselves."
"Sounds fun! We'll be right over if we can make it!" Rena said.
"I'll look forward to it." Satoko nodded at Rena, then completed her last purchase before heading home. Even though it was summer, since it was a late day, the sun was low in the sky when she arrived at her and Rika's home. She opened the door, not even able to take off her shoes before Rika assaulted her with a hug.
"You're late," Rika said, her smile showing she was less annoyed at the fact than pleased Satoko was home.
"Well, I had a few things to take care of," Satoko said, smiling back. She happily accepted the welcome home kiss from her girlfriend.
"I had dinner ready," Rika said.
Satoko changed into her house slippers before going to look. The new home they'd picked together was only somewhat bigger than the one they'd shared as children, so she didn't have to walk far. A simple but splendid meal was spread out. Satoko happily sat down and ate, noting the food had cooled, though that was likely her fault for being late.
"Can you open wide?" Rika asked, offering her a taste from her chopsticks. Satoko laughed. This would probably be followed by some teasing about an indirect kiss, but any kind of kiss from Rika was one she'd happily accept. Satoko opened her mouth, happily chewing the morsel. "Oh..." Rika said, her gaze going from the ground to meeting Satoko's own. "I was just thinking you'd like it... But here I gave you an indirect kiss." Satoko laughed at the predictable joke, all the more funny since Rika had already given her a direct kiss just before. After they were finished, they cleaned up together.
However, a few minutes to seven, though there were still a few items to pick off the table, Rika was already in front of the TV, changing to channel 3 for the VCR, which she powered on. TV Tokyo was already on, since it was the only station they recorded off of. Satoko sighed. It was an expensive item to just record one TV show. They could also now rent classy movies from a place in Okinomiya, though they hadn't yet done so often in the few months they'd had the item. Satoko imagined which romantic movie she'd heard of in the office that she'd like to rent and watch while cuddled up with Rika, but her thoughts were interrupted as the anime theme song began and the bright colors flashed from the TV and throughout the room. Well, Satoko considered as she picked up the remaining mess from dinner, she had better things to do, anyway.
Before she could start the cake, Satoko noted the item on the shelf, and went to bring it to her girlfriend. "Rika," she called.
"Hm?" Rika turned around, not that involved as there was a commercial playing.
"You forgot this," Satoko said, holding out the VHS tape labeled 'Pocket Monsters 39-'.
"I had to get another tape," Rika said. "That one ran out in the middle of a good episode, the one with the other Rocket Gang members," she said.
"Oh. Those two are going to eventually replace the group that we've become familiar with, right?"
"I won't accept that!" Rika said firmly, clenching her fists.
"Well, I hope you're not too disappointed if it happens," Satoko said casually. Before going into the kitchen, she briefly looked at the screen. "Oh, he's still battling Katsura-san?"
"Katsura-san? You speak as if you've met him," Rika said. She got caught up in the story before they could continue the conversation.
In a way, Satoko had. Tucked in her purse was her cute GameBoy Pocket machine, where she'd already traveled through the entire region that the anime's main character was traveling at the moment, and then beat and won the league. It was a charming little game with a simple story. Between that and Tetris, Satoko quite enjoyed her little game machine, particularly useful during long waits or bus rides. It was her own little indulgence, like Rika's VCR purchase. When she'd played through the game, the fire type gym leader hadn't been too difficult to defeat, just a little difficult to find in that burned out building. Water types to douse his pure fire-type team were plentiful. She'd just used her dokukurage to blast through all four of his pokemon. The boy in the anime was using a zenigame the previous episode, where he lost. Why hadn't he evolved it? Satoko got out the ingredients for the cake and decided to turn all her attention to that task.
She finally heard the mechanical click of the VCR as Rika stopped the recording and then powered off the TV. "What are you making?"
"No touching! It's for tomorrow," Satoko said.
"Oh? A present for me?"
"Perhaps," Satoko said. She thought of her surprise for Rika in addition to the cake, and decided to change the topic. "So, did he win the badge this time?" she asked.
"Of course."
"Then there's just one left."
"That's right. I wonder what kind of gym leader the last one will be," Rika said.
"It's Sakaki-san," Satoko said.
"Hm?" Rika picked her head up from staring in the mixture. "The Rocket boss? Why would it be him? What does he have to gain from being a gym leader?"
"Who knows. He's just the final gym leader," Satoko informed. "It's a prestigious thing, isn't it?"
"I guess. I don't see why anyone would approve him, or what he has to gain. Well, I'll believe it when I see it," Rika said.
"Oh, and Rika, is it really worth it to get another tape?" Satoko asked.
"I bought three of them," Rika said. "I don't want to run out again any time soon."
"What? Why? You could just record over the episodes on the other tape."
"Record over- The entire point is to archive," Rika explained.
"But it's easy enough to rent if you want to see it again. It's a very popular anime," Satoko pointed out, deciding not to point out for what age group.
"Episode 38 isn't part of any rental," Rika said sharply.
"Oh." Satoko said. Of course, there were reasons for that, very good ones. "That's because it's dangerous, so it can't be helped. It's better not to watch it anyway."
"Dangerous? Pft." Rika smirked. "You and I sat and watched it, we were fine."
"Rika! It sent hundreds of children to the hospital!" Satoko pointed out.
"But none of them died. They can come back and talk to me about how dangerous it is after it murders them a few times," Rika said.
Satoko chuckled despite herself. Rika's humor could be surprisingly dark at times. Of course, Satoko's girlfriend was still sympathetic to the poor children. "Well, that was just a fluke. They allowed the show to continue and changed it for safety, so I'm sure all future installments will air without incident or controversy, then be easily found," Satoko said.
"Who knows. The road ahead is a new adventure every day. Adventure doesn't always mean a smooth path. I'll continue to record it just in case," Rika said.
"Do we have the shelf space?" Satoko mused.
"We'll find a place," Rika said. She put her finger toward the bowl of batter.
"No!" Satoko pulled back the bowl and put up a hand to stop her. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to enjoy a properly baked cake."
"I look forward to it," Rika said, lightly running her hand along Satoko's own.
Satoko gently placed the strawberry on top, then hummed as she continued with carefully placing some candles. It was similar, though not identical, to a cake she'd given Rika when they were younger. Satoko had thought a friendly 'trick' for her friend, then turning only twelve, would be to mix in a few pieces of other fruit. Rika had been thrilled with it, hugging Satoko tightly and thanking her, laughing once she'd realized the trick. Satoko had thought the reaction was a little much. She's assumed it would be just a little detail for them to comment on, but Rika had loved the surprise.
Recalling that reaction, Satoko had tried to provide other surprises in the years since when she'd made Rika a cake. How might this year's be received? As she thought about Rika's reaction, she heard a knock at the door. Satoko finished placing the final candle before standing up and walking over. Of course, Rika would have just come in, but was Rena already here this early?
"Hey, Satoko!" Keiichi exclaimed as she opened the door.
"Keiichi-san, good afternoon," Satoko said, folding her arms. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate seeing him, but she'd been expecting another few minutes to get ready at least. The cake might be finished, but the meal was still in progress, and the table wasn't ready.
"No one's here? Good, I have something important to talk to you about."
"Well then, do come in," Satoko half-heartedly invited. As Keiichi took off his shoes by the door, she continued getting ready, right until he entered their small kitchen. Satoko finished her tasks, letting the man sit silently before he finally interrupted.
"Satoko, listen. This is really important," Keiichi insisted.
"Is it? Well then, go right ahead and tell me about it," Satoko said. She sat down and stared his way after the last cup was placed, indicating she was ready to listen.
"You might have tried to hide it, but I know what you're up to, here, at home, and even other places," Keiichi began.
"Really? Well, that does make you a bit of a busybody, but I suppose I haven't been discreet enough, I suppose. A friend like you would probably notice," Satoko mused.
"I did! Maybe you think it's easier to keep it a secret, but that isn't the way to live your life! You can tell me, tell Rena, tell others as well!" Keiichi passionately declared.
Satoko looked away, sighing. "Well, Keiichi-san, I don't mind if you know. It just don't feel the need to be so loud about things. If it comes up through circumstance or other conversation, I'll discuss it. Other than that, I'd prefer to keep things private," she said.
"Nonsense! If you're open about it, stress will be removed, and then you'll make it easier for others to be open as well! You can do it, Satoko!" Keiichi stood up, grabbing her shoulder.
Just then, the door clicked open. From the other side, Rika stared. "What's wrong? What happened?" another voice rang, and there was Rena, little Mari next to her. They all stood in silence a moment before she spoke again. "Kei- What's going on here? What could be happening?" Rena laughed in a somewhat nervous fashion.
Satoko, by contrast, was completely calm as she pursed her lips together, tapping Keiichi's hand before he removed it from her shoulder. "Keiichi-san was just discussing with me what I'm learning is a very important topic to him," she said.
"What's that?" Rika asked.
"Just that he'd prefer not to be alone when leaving the closet," Satoko casually informed to a chorus of surprised yelps from Rika and Rena, who both ran over without even taking off their shoes.
"This certainly is a surprise. I support you of course, but-" Rika said, glancing toward Rena.
"Kei... What didn't you even tell me? Not even me?" Rena asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Of course I've told you, Rena," Keiichi said irritably. "It's hardly even hidden at this point, I even caught a group of villagers gossiping about it!"
"Hau? What could they have said?" Rena asked, her face turning red.
"It shouldn't be that big of a deal, they're just making it one." Keiichi folded his arms and closed his eyes. "Maybe they think it's funny? 'Maebara-san's always playing this electronic children's toy, did you see him?' That's the kind of thing they say."
With that explanation, the interest in the topic seemed to dry up. Rena, Rika, and Mari took off their shoes, entering and joining them at the table. "Was that it?" Rena asked, hitting Keiichi in the head, perhaps a little more than playfully. "Of course I know you've been on your GameBoy! Does Satoko like playing it as well? That's news!"
"Yes," Satoko confirmed, taking out a picture book and handing it to Mari. "I find it to be quite enjoyable, actually. I've gotten good at Tetris," she bragged as she started to place out the meal.
"Don't you play Pocket Monsters as well?" Keiichi asked.
"Oh.. Well, yes," Satoko admitted. Keiichi likely already knew this, having seen her having the game open when waiting for the bus the other day before Satoko had quickly put it away.
"Which version?"
"Red," Satoko informed.
"Oh, it's the same for me," Keiichi said. Satoko wondered why he seemed disappointed about that fact. It seemed like a perfectly fine game to her. They dropped the topic, and soon went onto others.
"Can I go out to play?" Mari asked as the meal was finished and they cleaned up.
"Now, now," Satoko said, grinning as she revealed the cake she'd made. Mari went and sat back down, staring at it as Satoko lit the candles. They sung together before Satoko cut it, trying her best to hide her amusement. She had to be very subtle as she tried to see Rika's reaction as she revealed the inside secret of the treat.
However, it was Keiichi that behaved in an over-the-top fashion as he saw this. "Green? How old is this cake, Satoko?"
Satoko felt her face grow hot at Keiichi's reaction to her honest attempt. "Come now, Keiichi-san, I've just made it yesterday and finished it up today," she said.
"Then what happened? It aged a couple years here! Is this some kind of cursed cake?"
Satoko became annoyed with his description, but then noticed Rika silently stifling a laugh. As Satoko made eye contact with her girlfriend, the woman laughed out loud, and seemed to have trouble holding back more laughter. Satoko had to smile as well. "It's just macha. One of my coworkers was kind enough to share the recipe. Look closer, smell it, it's perfectly fresh." Satoko cut a small piece for each person, serving to the guests before to Rika, and then herself. She then sat shoulder to shoulder with the birthday girl, bumping her before they exchanged smiles again. Satoko then looked back at her guests, seeing none of them touching the treat. "What is it?" she asked.
"Well, don't take offence, but-" Rena began, avoiding eye contact.
"How can you expect us to eat with no caution, with your reputation?"
"My what? My my, that is quite rude, Keiichi-san." Satoko frowned. Despite the nontraditional appearance, she'd been excited about having someone else try her new project. It really was quite good, she knew from both sampling what her co-worker had made as well as the test run from the other day. She'd thought green would look unique, and hadn't even considered it would seem like spoiled, moldy food.
"You're well known for setting traps like this! We're not dumb enough to go for one this obvious," Keiichi said, winking.
Satoko frowned. "I'm not so childish as to serve a guest rotten food... I really was just trying a new recipe for Rika's birthday."
Rika grabbed her fork. "I know I can't wait to try it!" she said. In just a few bites, she finished it, holding out her plate. "Another, please!" she said.
Satoko happily served her girlfriend another piece, then saw the guests eating it as well. "It really is good!" Keiichi declared.
"That's just what I told you," Satoko said, again exchanging knowing glances with Rika, who pat her hand, comforting her without words. What a warm person Rika was, knowing just what had bothered her and being able to solve it without a scene or further mishap. Satoko leaned against her, slowly finishing off the serving she'd cut for herself as she enjoyed the continued liveliness and conversation.
"Ah!" Mari cried. As the adults had gotten caught up in conversation, she'd moved around, knocking down several items from the bookcase.
"Sorry, Satoko," Rena said, rushing to help.
"No, it's no trouble," Satoko said, going to clean up before her guests were caused too much trouble.
"What's this?" Mari asked, grabbing at the colorful package she'd seen.
"I don't know," Rika said, taking the item to get a closer look herself.
"Oh... I was going to give that to you, later," Satoko said. It was a souvenir of sorts from her recent business trip, but she thought she'd save it, perhaps for Rika's birthday, or the Sunday thereof. Today was one of the possible days, but Satoko was just a little embarrassed about giving it, though she was nearly positive Rika would love it.
"What is it? A present? Why don't you open it now?" Keiichi suggested.
"Well..." Satoko paused as she saw Rika's curious face. There was really no further need to delay. "Go ahead then, Rika."
Rika quickly opened the package. As she looked at the small box, Satoko noticed her mouth first open in surprise, then close, her expression turning blank. Oh. Satoko's heart sank. It was easy to tell that this gift was a complete miss. But why? "I know how much you like the anime, so I thought I'd get you a game. You can use my GameBoy, of course," Satoko said.
Even being obviously disappointed before, Rika smiled and turned Satoko's way. "Thank you for thinking of me, Satoko," she said.
"Pocket Monsters, Green version!" Keiichi exclaimed. "Finally, I know someone with it! We have to trade and battle! I'll bring over the link cable later!"
"What's that?" Rika asked.
"We can connect our games and play together, basically," Keiichi said.
"That sounds interesting," Rika commented.
Satoko felt some relief. Rika had never been crazy about video games before, so as her girlfriend, Satoko ought to have known it really wasn't that great of a gift. But it seemed the prospect of playing interactively with friends had given her at least a little interest. Though why had Keiichi wanted to play with Rika more than her? "What makes Green so much better than Red?" Satoko decided to ask.
"Um, it's not. They're the same game basically," Keiichi said.
"That makes no sense. Look at the boxes, they're completely different," Satoko pointed out.
"That's because they're different versions, of course," Keiichi explained.
"Wait a minute, are they the same, or are they different?" Satoko asked crossly.
"Both!" Keiichi continued his confusing explanation. "Well, the differences are that you can get some pokemon in either that you can't in the other. Other than that, it's exactly the same."
"That's confusing. Why would they have them both with different names and packaging as if they were different game?" Satoko asked.
"It's just how they did it," Keiichi said with a shrug. "Anyway, Rika, I can't wait to play against you!"
Rika nodded, placing the game carefully on a shelf before they continued with their visit.
It was a few days later, after they'd eaten dinner, Satoko relaxing with a novel, that Rika had asked Satoko for the GameBoy. Satoko had happily gone into her purse and handed it over. About a half hour later, she heard a grunt of frustration. "What is it?" Satoko asked.
"I have him go around and talk to everyone, but they're just saying the same things over and over and not helping him get out of this village," Rika said. "He can't swim for it?"
"Let me see," Satoko said, pushing the screen back as she looked over Rika's shoulder. "Oh, you're still in Masara Town? Just go north, from what I recall."
"Oh? It's that easy?" The character on the screen went into the grass. Rika shouted in surprise. "Ookido is dragging Satoshi back, won't let him out!" she said.
"My brother-" Satoko began before remembering that the main character of the anime was also called 'Satoshi'. "It's fine, Rika. You'll soon realize what to do."
Rika didn't interrupt again as she became absorbed in the game. Satoko was also absorbed in the story she was reading. Ending a chapter, she decided to put it to the side. She then studied Rika, who had a very serious expression on her face as she looked down at the game. It was placed directly under a lamp to see best, so she was really hunched over. As much as Satoko liked her game machine, it really was best played during the day. "How are you enjoying it?" Satoko asked.
Rika looked up at her before back down at the screen. "I wonder how much they watched the anime before they made this," she said.
"Not at all, as the anime is based on this game," Satoko informed.
"Really? The anime really brings it to life, in full color," Rika said.
"I suppose that's true," Satoko said, putting a hand on Rika's shoulder as she watched her continue on with the game. The battle music started as she ran into a wild pokemon.
"It's annoying when they happen," Rika said.
"But going through those battles makes us strong!" Satoko grinned.
Rika looked back over at her as she clenched her fist and held it up. She giggled. "That's right, isn't it. Well, there are other confusing parts. Why didn't Satoshi get Pikachu?" she asked.
"Sato-" Satoko interrupted herself. "Well, the character in the game isn't called Satoshi, you know."
"Of course he is."
"Can I see?" Satoko gingerly took the device as Rika offered it. She navigated the menu, soon seeing that Rika had clearly named her character Satoshi, spelled out in katakana. "Didn't you see the option to enter a name? You could have just put in 'Rika'," she said.
"But it's obviously Satoshi," Rika said. "You didn't call him 'Satoko', did you?"
"Of course I did," Satoko informed.
"But he's a boy."
"It's just a simple game, I use some imagination. Besides, there's nothing about that style of dress that girls can't wear. It might make sense to do so when wandering the world."
Rika smirked. "Alright. But where is Pikachu?"
"You can get one. Early in the game, if I remember right," Satoko said.
Rika frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I think I've had enough of it for tonight," she said.
"That's right. It is getting late. Let me show you how to save," she invited.
"Save?"
"Right. You can pick the adventure back up whenever you want," Satoko said. She showed Rika the game function before replacing her own game in the device and putting it away. It seemed like Rika didn't like it that much, but she could at least still have it again if she wanted to give it another chance. Satoko nodded to herself before going to sleep.
The knock at the door interrupted Satoko and Rika's pleasant interlude. Satoko looked toward the door from her position laying down reading as her girlfriend moved the game away from the light of the setting sun and stood up. Satoko stood behind Rika as she opened the door. "I challenge you!" Keiichi declared as the door opened, holding a GameBoy in one hand and clutching a wire in the other.
"Keiichi-san, what a surprise," Satoko said.
"Challenge? I wonder what kind of challenge you could be talking about?" Rika said with a smile.
"A Pokemon link battle, of course!" Keiichi said.
"I see," Satoko said without much enthusiasm. She went and picked up her cartridge from the shelf Rika had placed it on. Maybe she had been just a little curious about being able to connect to another game and play against another player. "If he went this much out of his way, we might as well humor him. I'll go against you then, Keiichi-san."
"No good!" Keiichi said.
"Huh?" Satoko scowled. "Didn't you come all this way for this?"
"I've already locked eyes with a different trainer! Are you ready?" Keiichi stared at Rika.
Satoko sighed as Rika nodded. "I accept your challenge," she said with a polite bow.
They sat at the table, Keiichi connecting the cable to both devices. "Will this really work?" Satoko asked.
"Of course! You've seen the place in the Pokemon Centers to connect, haven't you?" Keiichi asked.
"Well, yes. There is that one error. I wasn't sure if it was a glitch," Satoko admitted.
"Not at all. You'll see," Keiichi promised.
Keiichi and Rika navigated the menus. The two identical sprites approached what seemed to be computer stations. "Satoshi has a double," Rika commented.
"Hm? What are you talking about?" Keiichi asked, looking up from the GameBoy.
"Nothing at all," Rika said with a smile. "So, can we battle?"
"Let's begin!" Keiichi said.
"Ooh!" Rika smirked as she saw the creature that entered the screen in front of her. "Lizardon?"
"Of course," Keiichi confirmed with a grin.
Satoko laughed loudly herself, a hand up to her face. "I did see Keiichi as a fan of that one!"
"What do you mean by that?" Keiichi asked, frowning.
"Nothing really. It's just I do see little boys talking about how cool it is. What is it about free breathing dragons that boys love so much?" Satoko mused.
"Whatever. You'll both see its strength soon!" Keiichi declared.
"You may have made a mistake," Rika said calmly as she pressed some buttons. "I choose the pokemon in opposition to yours from Ookido. It's even evolved."
"Rika-" Satoko began, noting something she'd missed. Before she could impart any advice, Rika switched from her pikachu to a kameil. The attack of the lizardon hit, and the HP of Rika's pokemon started to go down.
"Yes!" Keiichi exclaimed, standing up as the pokemon was knocked out.
Rika stared in silence at the small screen, apparently in shock. "Why?" she eventually said. "Why?!" she demanded angrily now, staring at Keiichi. "Even the game says your fire type attack isn't good enough."
"It's the level difference," Satoko pointed out. Probably none of Rika's pokemon could go up against Keiichi's first, which was level 70.
"Does it make that much of a difference? Well, I'll try Pikachu," Rika said.
Just as Satoko had guessed, all three of the remaining pokemon Rika sent out were instantly KO'd by Keiichi, who seemed very pleased with his win. Satoko just shook her head. "What are you so happy about, Keiichi-san?"
"Why wouldn't I be happy? I've used my superior skills to win," Keiichi pointed out.
"Skills? It was the level of your creature that won. Rika just got the game. Of course she isn't going to have raised any creatures to compete against them," Satoko pointed out.
"Well, maybe not. Sorry, Rika," Keiichi said.
Satoko folded her arms. "You should be sorry. There's no need to gloat over beating a newcomer. Maybe you should be taught a lesson, with someone who has the strategy and power to do so."
"Oh really? I welcome it!" Keiichi grinned. "What kind of pokemon could you have to go against Lizardon? And what kind of strategy could really beat me?"
"If you ask us about this or that..." Rika muttered.
"Hm? What's that?" Keiichi looked toward Rika.
"If you ask us about this or that," Rika repeated with a more firm tone.
Satoko's face turned red with embarrassment as she realized that Rika wanted her to continue the Rocket Gang's motto. Well, she may as well. Swallowing her pride, Satoko continued the familiar words. "The pity of the world responds," she said.
"To prevent the destruction of the world."
"To protect the peace of the world."
"To stand by the evils of love and truth."
"The lovely-"
"For real, what are you saying?" Keiichi finally interrupted them.
"That's all... I'm sorry, Rika," Satoko said, grabbing her cheeks. Despite wanting to please Rika, it really was embarrassing to imitate the characters like a kid.
Luckily, her girlfriend was more annoyed at Keiichi, glowering his way. "What do you mean, what are we saying? You recognize it, don't you?" she asked with a frown.
"Not really," Keiichi said.
"Why don't we get to our match?" Satoko suggested, holding her cartridge in her hand.
"I accept the challenge!" Keiichi said
Satoko was sure to save Rika's progress before putting in her own cartridge and loading up the game. Since Keiichi seemed to be so predictable, it was easy to pick which pokemon to start with. She switched it to her starting position, and then went into the area to begin the link battle.
"Dokukurage?" Keiichi exclaimed. "Why would you pick that annoying thing? Well, that's easy to counter!"
Satoko held her laugh in silence as Keiichi predictably switched to a rafressia, just in time to be hit by Dokukurage's freezing beam attack. As Keiichi let out a shout of shock at the very effective attacking hitting him, Satoko didn't hold back her laugh. "Too bad, Keiichi-san. I had you all figured out."
"If you're going to try that, I'll try this."
"Hm?" Keiichi's pokemon was faster, starting with a poison powder technique to try and poison her pokemon. "What are you doing, Keiichi-san? Dokukurage is also a poison type! It's even in the name - poison jellyfish!"
"Ah! I forgot!" Keiichi's hands gripped his console tighter as the second freezing beam attack knocked out his pokemon. "Well, I know just what to use now." Keiichi's next pokemon was an eleboo, electric type. Satoko decided to switch herself this time. Keiichi shouted as the predicted electric type attack was completely nullified against her golone, a ground type.
Satoko laughed again, glancing toward Rika, who was also smiling. "Looks like we'll be beating him. Should we make him give up his rarest pokemon?" Rika suggested.
"Hey, I didn't agree to that," Keiichi said. His next pokemon against Satoko was Gyrados, which faced a self destruct attack. Keiichi shouted as his HP went down.
"I figured you'd try to send out something too strong against it," Satoko said.
"You're really tricky, Satoko," Keiichi accused.
Satoko shrugged. "When haven't I been?" Her next pokemon was her favorite, Pixie, which used its sing technique to put Keiichi's to sleep. The man again shouted in frustration. Satoko laughed as they went through the battle, using her various 'tricky' techniques until finally, Keiichi had only one more creature left to go against her, while Satoko herself had half of hers still able to battle.
"You've pushed me to this point," Keiichi began, speaking seriously. "I didn't want to use my secret weapon, but now I don't have a choice."
"Enough with the hyperbole, Keiichi-san. Just prepare for your defeat," Satoko said.
"That won't be happening. Because, you see, I have a super rare pokemon," Keiichi bragged.
"Let us see it then," Satoko dared.
"You asked for it. Go, my trump card!" Keiichi shouted.
"Hm?" Satoko and Rika both stared at the screen.
"Mewtwo?" Satoko read the name. What is that?" she asked.
"The super rare pokemon, like I said."
"Well, how powerful could it be?" Satoko asked, mostly to herself. She frowned in annoyance as she pressed the button to indicate her next attack. However, Mewtwo was faster and knocked out her already low HP pokemon. Satoko sighed, then sending out her next pokemon.
"Oh - Satoko uses raichu?" Keiichi said.
"Oh, well, yes," Satoko said. "Pikachu was cute. Raichu is too, in its own way."
"Oh, wait... It's 'Rikachu'?" Keiichi noticed.
Satoko again felt embarrassed. She hadn't really anyone else to see her game when she'd decided to give that nickname. "Pi - Pikachu is Rika's favorite pokemon!" she said to justify it.
"It's a cute name," Rika said, touching Satoko's shoulder. As Satoko looked her way, Rika grinned. "But why did you evolve it?"
Satoko laughed at the question rather than respond. She ordered her pokemon to attack, but again Keiichi's monstrosity was faster, and knocked out the very cute Rikachu. "There's only one left," Satoko said. It was her secret weapon, but she didn't say so, as Keiichi still had the advantage.
"Fushigibana?" Keiichi frowned. "So Satoko, you didn't choose hitokage either?"
"No," Satoko said dryly. "It's technically the worst to choose."
"No way!" Keiichi said.
"A fire lizard?" Satoko winked, then deciding maybe taunting would distract Keiichi from his obvious advantage. "Takeshi-san's rock types will kill it the first gym, if not Kasumi-san's water types the second. Who would choose it over either of the others?"
"It has plenty of advantage other times! Lizardon is the coolest, too! Go, Mewtwo, attack!" Keiichi ordered. The taunting didn't work, as Keiichi certainly used his psychic type attack on her partially poison type pokemon, causing major damage. "Wait, why is it level 100?" Keiichi demanded as he finally noticed.
"Because it has a talented trainer," Satoko explained. Despite the level difference, her fushigibana was knocked out the next turn. Satoko sighed, putting down the GameBoy as she lay her head on the table.
"Feels bad..." Rika muttered.
"Thanks for playing," Keiichi said.
"Of course," Satoko said, picking her head back up again.
"It was fun, thank you as well," Rika said with a nod.
"I had fun as well. Playing against a person is different from a computer," Satoko added.
"It sure is. I really have to watch out for Satoko, don't I?" Keiichi laughed.
"Of course. I'll have my pokemon ready for next time with lots of traps," Satoko said. She was already starting to think of ways to certainly beat Keiichi's rare monster. And of course, he would insist on using Lizardon, which she could defeat many different ways.
"And Rika, well," Keiichi paused. "You can get better."
"I'll try my best," Rika said.
"Was this Satoshi's game before?" Keiichi asked.
"No, I bought it just for Rika," Satoko said. She furrowed her brow before she realized why Keiichi had asked. "Oh, the name. Rika thought the game character was like from the anime."
"Oh, right, I forgot that's his name. I don't watch it that much, you know?" Keiichi said.
"Understandable. I don't see how anyone can stand it. It's just some inane childish drivel," Satoko said.
"Right," Keiichi agreed.
"It's not," Rika said. She spoke quietly, though anger was still apparent in her voice. Afterward, there was silence as both Satoko and Keiichi stared her way. Rika's gaze was on the table before she looked up and glared at both of them. "That's a better description of the games you play, actually. Overly simplified dialogue and world, seems like a poor imitation of the anime, even if it came first. What kind of adults would play it?"
"Rika-" Satoko began.
"That's enough." Rika closed her eyes, standing up and leaving.
Satoko sat speechless a moment before Keiichi cleared his throat. "Let Rika know I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything," he said. "I mean, I'll tell her later. I'd better get home."
"Yeah," Satoko said quietly. She watched as Keiichi picked up his cable and GameBoy and left, then sat by herself. Of course she hadn't meant to insult Rika, but her words hadn't been that far from the truth, had they?
In the moment, Satoko didn't care much. She sat waiting for Rika to come home. When she didn't, Satoko went to sleep on her own. Rika did eventually come back. Satoko thought about sitting up and talking right away, but the bad feeling stopped her. In the morning, Satoko got up earlier as she usually did for her commute, and decided to just leave before Rika woke up.
The day was full of the same routine tasks as usual, giving Satoko time to reflect as she worked. After a while of thinking about it, she started to realize why Rika had become upset. It was obvious her girlfriend enjoyed the cartoon, as childish as it was. Satoko had insulted it both then and before. Rika should be allowed her enjoyment without constant jabs at how she really shouldn't enjoy it.
Satoko went home directly after her job. "Rika?" she called as she opened the door. "Rika!" she exclaimed as she saw her girlfriend playing with the GameBoy she'd left behind that day. "I thought you didn't like it."
"It's not terrible," Rika said. She put the toy down on the table, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said.
"But Rika, I was-"
"What a silly thing to argue about," Rika interrupted. She stared at the game before back at Satoko with a smile. "I enjoy watching that anime quiet a bit, but you're more important."
"Of course," Satoko said. "I'm really sorry... I know you enjoy it. I don't understand why, but there's nothing wrong with it."
"I don't really know why either," Rika admitted. She took back down at the screen of the game, smiling. "Satoshi struggles, but I know he'll be okay. His friends will protect him. And besides, it's funny."
"Funny?" Satoko repeated. She recalled talking to Rena about it, who had said the same thing. She herself had laughed several times watching it as well. "Well, yes, I suppose it can be."
"A bit like Tom and Jerry, but Pikachu is much cuter than Jerry," Rika said. "And of course, there's more story besides that. I like the world and characters."
"I think I understand better now. But even if I didn't, it's fine for you to like it."
Rika nodded. "Of course," she said. She picked back up the GameBoy, going through the menus and saving her game before flipping it off. "This game... I think I do like it, a little. It's simple, with the visuals, story, and world, but that leave more room for imagination. It's no wonder it inspired the anime. I'd like to link more to play with you and Keiichi."
"Of course!" Satoko hugged Rika tightly.
"Satoko?" Rika said in surprise.
"I really am sorry. I was careless," Satoko said.
"It's fine. I overreacted." Rika tapped Satoko's hand. Satoko felt relieved seeing her girlfriend's pleased expressed, but then just hugged her tighter. Rika laughed. "Come on... I want to show you something."
"What's that?" Satoko asked. She loosened her grip but kept her arm around Rika as the other woman flipped back on the GameBoy. She then selected the option to show her pokemon.
"I nicknamed my first pokemon," Rika informed, holding up the screen and pointing.
"Satogame?" Satoko read.
"Yes. It's really cute, isn't it?" Rika said.
"I suppose," Satoko said, raising an eyebrow.
Rika held the game closer. "In the anime, Satoshi's zenigame was so tricky... It reminded me of you, so I picked it. It's not as cute as 'Rikachu', I suppose."
Satoko giggled. She saw Rika's expression and laughed out loud before hugging her girlfriend again. This was Rika's silly way of trying to make up, wasn't it? Well, Satoko herself had started the silliness with the 'Rikachu' name. "I love it," Satoko said. She gave a brief laugh again, both at her own actions and Rika following her lead.
"I'm glad," Rika said. "Well, someone should start dinner."
"Right," Satoko said. With the GameBoy on the counter, they happily went to the rest of their afternoon routine.
It was several months later that Satoko and Rika wandered into the store in Okinomiya, deciding to pick out a movie for the rainy night. Satoko perused the various titles. Even ignoring the ones in formats other than VHS, she had difficulty finding one that looked appealing until she came across a thick box. "It's two tapes?"
"Right, it'll cost the same as one, since it's one movie," the shop owner explained.
Satoko's mouth widened as she read the title of the foreign movie. It was a romantic one she'd been wanting to see, 'Titanic'. She'd heard it was very good, and quite romantic as well. What better for her and Rika to cuddle up and watch on a cold night? Satoko imagined herself and Rika standing in the front of the ship, feeling the wind in her hair. Satoko grinned. This was definitely the movie she wanted to see.
"Rika-" Satoko began, then stopped herself. Rika was absorbed in her own box, staring down fondly. Satoko recognized the brightly colored art easily, and read the title. This was the movie Rika had wanted to see in July, and Satoko had said would just be full of parents and their kids. Of course, this has to be the one they'd get that day.
"That one's out most of the time," the shop keeper said as Satoko was about to put her chosen movie back on the shelf.
"Satoko?" Rika said, gripping her choice as she looked over Satoko's shoulder. "Oh," she said.
"That one's pretty popular too," the shop keeper commented at Rika's choice.
"It's alright," Satoko said with a smile. "I know you were looking forward to this."
"Oh, no," Rika shook her head. "I know you've been talking about that movie as well. It sounds like a good story. I'm sure I'll enjoy it as well." Rika looked back toward where she'd found her own movie.
"Well, I've been wanting to find out more about that powerful pokemon, too. So I'll enjoy that one the same as you," Satoko said.
Rika looked to Satoko's choice before back at her own, quiet before she reached for the tapes that had been placed back.
"Rika, I meant it, really."
"Thank you, Satoko," Rika said with a smile. "But I've decided I want both."
"Both?" Satoko repeated.
"Why not? After what happened... You know, that one June, I decided I was going to be happy from then on. There's no need to get hung up about a choice like this. I'll just take both."
"I guess you're right. Will we be staying up late tonight then?"
"I suppose so," Rika said. She held both choices close as they went to check out.
Credit to Bulbapedia for the translation of the partial Team Rocket motto used here with minor changes.