Hi everyone! How are you going? Bet you were surprised to get that email saying Speak Up had been updated, haha!

Anyway, I'm updating this on the 10th anniversary of when I first published this story (it's the 18th where I am)! 10 years, can you believe it? I want to thank you all so much for the support when I was writing it and the continued support I've had over the years. I still get occasional emails from with reviews and people favouriting this fic and it warms my heart. I can't believe that 10 years on people are still enjoying this!

When I started this fic I was 16 years old and in my last year of high school. Now I'm 26, a proper adult with a proper life and re-reading it I can certainly see that I was young. There are parts where I go, hmmm why did I write that? And there are also certain things I wouldn't write nowadays. But I suppose at the time it made sense, haha. But anyway, even 10 years on I still love pokemon just as much as I did before and I probably always will. And please as a thank you gift, enjoy this little one-shot I wrote about Red and Green. It's not much but I wanted to commemorate the 10th anniversary and somehow repay you all for your kind words over the years! Thank you :)

"Battle Legends"

Red stared at the small envelope, eyebrows furrowing at the small stamp in the top right corner. It was a coat of arms flanked by an Alolan exeggutor and a raichu and in the middle was a big fancy letter A that was barely legible. He'd seen it before but he couldn't remember where and so with a shrug, he stuck his thumb underneath the flap and opened the envelope up to read.

"It's an invitation from the Alolan League for us to be guest trainers at their new Battle Tree thing," Green's voice cut in and Red looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Also hello, good to see you too."

'I was going to say hello but you shoved this envelope in my face as soon as you saw me,' He stuffed the letter into his jacket pocket so he could reply (with a grin). Arceus, it had been what, ten years and Green was the same as he'd always been – stubborn and loud. The only way he could tell he was any older was the slightly deeper voice and the beginnings of murkrows feet forming in the corners of his eyes, other than that he was the same old Green. 'And besides, I only saw you like two days ago.'

"Yes well, hello anyway." He answered, head tilting from side to side in an embarrassed-slash-nervous gesture. He'd pulled his arms over his chest and if pressed, would probably tell Red it was because he was cold but Red knew he was just huffy. It was Green after all.

They had decided to take a trek up to Mount Silver together as they occasionally did. Red had been back down on the mainland for seven odd years now but sometimes they'd head up together to train and hone their skills in the snow. The mountain was so rarely frequented that Red's cave remained untouched and they'd taken to leaving little stores of firewood and random food cans in there. After forgetting food and drink on more than one occasion, it was just easier to leave some there in preparation. He didn't not trust his future self to remember but he didn't quite trust him either, you know?

Anyway, it had been a good while since they'd scaled the mountain together and Red had approached Green with the suggestion last week. It wasn't that he felt his skills slipping at all, but it never hurt to train just that little bit harder. And judging by the contents of this letter his eyes were scanning, it was probably for the best. Red had come up on the Thursday but Green actually being an adult with a nine-to-five job at the gym hadn't been able to make the trip until Saturday morning, leaving at the crack of dawn so he'd have enough time to get some proper training done.

So that brought us to now, with Green thrusting the letter at Red who'd come to meet him at the mouth of the cave before they'd even had a chance to greet each other.

'So they want us to fight at something called the Battle Tree and give us the title of Battle Legends, huh?' He had to admit, the offer was tempting. He'd never been to Alola and after adjusting to his quasi-celebrity status, he'd stopped shying away from the public so much. He didn't hate it, it had just been a lot all at once (and at so young), is all.

"Yeah, isn't that cool? They're definitely not wrong," He laughed and his shoulders relaxed, signalling that he was over the irritation. "I say we do it, it's been a while since we've battled together. Not since the World Tournament in Unova, I think."

Red nodded. 'Yeah, I'm down. It's short notice though, so just gotta check my schedule first, make sure I don't have anything else on.'

"Short notice..." Green echoed, the words coming out slowly as if he'd never heard them before. When he understood them, he lurched forward to snatch the letter back from the abyss of his pocket. Red watched as his eyes scanned the page, moving from side to side at the same speed as the Magnet Train. Had he even read the letter? Knowing his ego it wouldn't surprise him if he'd stopped as soon as he'd seen 'Battle Legends' written there.

He could see his eyebrows furrow as he presumably got to the date of departure. "They want us to leave this Friday? And for a two month contract? That's not a lot of time."

'Nope.'

"I guess I could probably swing it, but I won't be able to confirm with the Alolan League until I check with our League which I can't do until Monday. I don't know if I have enough annual leave saved up either, although I could just take leave without pay since this is a paying gig...I'd also have to find a fill in for me too. I know the League has a process for it, but it's a lot of work and might take more than a week." The words were getting faster and Red could see the stress taking hold, working its way in until Green became unable to think of anything else. He had always been tightly wound but he'd become something else entirely as an adult.

Sensing impending disaster, Red grabbed his shoulder and shifted so they were face to face. Green glanced down surprised at the sudden contact, he'd also never been able to tell when he was getting in his head. 'If it's too much, we can say no. I'm sure they'll understand given the short notice.'

"No, it's okay. I want to do it," He hesistated. "Let's get to training, that's what he came up here for."

They didn't have a usual routine for their training, usually just doing whatever they felt like. Today – for Red at least – felt like a scratch match sort of day. They'd positioned themselves on the makeshift pitch that he'd engineered with sticks and branches (to mark out the lines) during his lengthy stays up here and began their battle. He was surprised it had withstood the intense weather actually. They'd had to kick out some piles of snow from the edges but the general position of the sticks had stayed the same.

It didn't start well for Green. Eevee had been hit or was just narrowly missed by every attack Pikachu used. Sure, they weren't at full power but it still must have been a blow to both of their egos. This wasn't usual though, normally Green had a laser focus while battling, so much so that as a non-participant it was impossible to get his attention. Something was off.

"Ugh!" Well, that didn't take long. The noise was so loud that it startled the pidgey and natu in the trees and they all took to the air with loud squawks. They settled down quickly but another loud groan from Green sent them flying up again. He wasn't sure if the grunting was to try and get his attention or if Green was just really frustrated, but he cast a lazy glance over the small pitch to him anyway.

'What's the matter?'

The look he shot back was positively thunderous and Red almost regretted saying anything. Green had been a little grumpy when he'd first arrived but it hadn't been this bad, was it to do with the letter?

"Nothin'." He replied, the Pallet Town twang really leaping out as it tended to do when Green got frustrated. Or angry, or excited, or just emotional in general really.

'I don't believe you,' He'd decided not to back down and continued, 'You don't just shout like that for no reason.'

"It's fine, let's just keep battlin'."

The second half of the fight didn't go any better. Green recalled Eevee and sent out his Pidgeot instead, but even he wasn't having much luck. It wasn't the poor bird's fault though, Green's commands were slow, clumsy and not at all expected from an ex-Champion. He hadn't seen him like this for a while, in fact the last time this had happened was when they'd done some last minute training just before leaving for the World Tournament in Unova. His thoughts were clearly not on Mount Silver with them right now.

"Ah, screw it." Just as Blastoise let out a half-strength hydro pump, he pulled his pokeball out and withdrew Pidgeot. The water, having no where to go hit the snow and melted a small puddle right near Green's feet. The splashback wet his cuffs a little and his scowl deepened.

Not reading the room...er, mountain at all, Red signed with a silent laugh, 'Should have rolled your pants up or tucked them into your boots or something.'

Now he'd described his expression as thunderous previously and it certainly had been and still remained the case now. Except this time it was like Zapdos had appeared and used all of its power to conjure the strongest storm clouds that had ever existed in all of history directly onto Green's face. Clearly he was not in the mood for any sort of joking around or as Red suspected, conversation in general.

He braced himself for a tirade (not necessarily directed at him but rather whatever was going on right now), squinting as if that would make what was coming less harsh. But instead there was a beat, two deep breaths and then through gritted teeth, "I need a break."

'Do you want me to come with? I can make us lunch or something.'

"Nah," He mumbled, turning around to stalk back towards the cave, arms crossed and shoulders hunched dramatically. "You keep training, don't let me stop you."

Doing as he was told, Red remained at his end of the pitch to tend to a confused Blastoise. He didn't take Green's mood to heart, he knew he wasn't mad at him – except maybe for the ill-timed comment – but was probably just winding himself up about the Battle Tree thing. He'd be best just to give him some space, let him stomp around for a bit and then go and sus out what was really going on.

So to kill time, he had half his team practice the range of their moves. Each turn they'd move further away from a target which this time was a branch that had fallen off a tree from a stray attack Green's Arcanine had made last time they were up here. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for productivity's sake) phone reception wasn't great – surprising for a giant mountain, right? – so he couldn't even waste his minutes looking at memes in the Worldwide Gym Leaders and Elite Four group Green had added him to. He knew he shouldn't be in it considering he was neither of those things but hey, no one had kicked him out yet.

A good twenty minutes or so passed and Red figured it was safe to chance Cyclone Green, so he recalled his team and began the short trek back. He'd come well prepared with waterproof boots, so his pants remained dry and snow-free but it was quite tiresome on his poor old calves. Charizard didn't like flying such high distances so they were still tight from the big hike here yesterday.

The vibe in the cave wasn't angry like he'd expected, apparently whatever simmering rage Green had had left had died down to what felt like stress mixed with a healthy heaping of anxiety. Green had sat himself down against the left wall and looked up when he heard the footsteps approaching.

Red paused for a moment, shaking his hands out as they adjusted to the warmth of the cave. The small campfire he'd started was still burning causing a stark difference in temperature. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, running over towards Eevee who was sitting by the flames. Once his body temperature had normalised, he plonked himself down next to Green and said, 'Are you alright? This ain't what your normal battling is like.'

"Am fine." He muttered back unconvincingly, gaze focused on the opposite wall of the cave.

'I don't believe that for a second.'

A shrug. "Whatever, think what you will." His eyes darted towards Red before settling back on the wall, he was probably hoping that was the last of the questioning. He didn't want to let Green dwell in this negative space though, it would be good for a grand total of zero people involved.

'It's about the Battle Tree, isn't it?' His non-response told Red that he'd hit the nail on the head completely. 'You're gonna have more than enough to get everything sorted.'

He didn't reply immediately and instead brought his knees up closer to his chin. Red heard him breathe in softly as if he was getting ready to speak but apparently thought better of it, and nothing came out. Green didn't have to tell him everything but a little communication now would be nice. After half a minute he kicked his legs out so they were in front of him, startling Pikachu and Eevee who were dozing in the corner.

"I know realistically I'm going to have the time," He said, flopping forward so his chest was almost on his knees now. "But...ugh, nah it doesn't matter."

'Nah it does, go on.'

His cheeks were tinged pink now and though it could be from the heat, Red suspected he was embarrassed at either his outburst or opening up to him. They'd known each other for so long so there was nothing to worry about but he did know that it could be difficult to talk openly and emotionally about things, so he sat patiently. Not everyone liked to have a good cry like he apparently did.

He hesitated again, awkwardly flexing his fingers as he figured out what to say. It wasn't any sort of signing but just anxious fiddling. "Just like, I wanna get a jumpstart on everything so I'm not freaking out at the airport on Friday thinking I've forgotten my toothbrush or something," He finally mumbled. "But I just feel like I can't do any of that while I'm up here. Like I'm wasting all this time."

'I get it, it's a lot to do in six days.'

"How do you "get it"?" His voice suddenly jumped up several octaves and he whipped his head around to stare Red down. "You're always so organised and never leave anything unaccounted for."

Maybe he should tell Green that when they'd flown over to Unova a few years back, he'd forgotten his phone charger and then once there, had lost – no, misplaced the replacement one he'd bought (only to find it under the bed when they'd been packing to leave). He'd forgotten socks too and had had to run to the closest department store as soon as they'd landed under the guise of needing an extra jacket for the Unovan cold, lest he have to admit his sock mistake. In hindsight he wasn't sure how Green had bought it considering he'd spent so much time on this here mountain. Before he had a chance to even begin the first word, Green continued.

"It's just..." He'd started to bnag his palm against the dirt ground now. "When I think about all this stuff I now have to do, I get tense and then my chest hurts and I just want to ugh." His hand tensed, hitting the ground with such force that he'd definitely have a bruise tomorrow.

'Well then let's head down,' Red answered, eyes dropping down to his rhythmic banging. It was slowing down, that was good. 'You won't be able to focus on any training if we stay and I could probably stand to start packing too.'

"But we just got here, it would be a waste."

"Aw it's whatever, I don't mind.'

The thought that they'd soon be back home must have perked Green up and he suddenly stood up, all but small lingering traces of stress gone from his face. Red followed, a little slower because unlike Green, he didn't have the energy of a small child. They bundled up their things and extinguished the little campfire, much to the dismay of Eevee and Pikachu. The cold set in almost immediately after that and Red would be lying if he said he wasn't a little grateful to be leaving.

"We can fly home on Pidgeot if you want, might be faster. Although," His eyes glanced towards Pikachu who was currently trying to jump up onto Red's arm. "Eevee goes in a pokeball, I'm not sure what you want to do with him."

'He fits in my pocket," He smiled, unzipping his giant hoodie pocket for the mouse to climb inside. It was handy for if they were on the ocean or in the sky, or if Pikachu just didn't feel like walking (which let's be real, was most of the time). 'But also, are you telling me you hiked all the way up here by foot, keeping me waiting for like four hours when you could have just flown in?'

Green's mouth fell open slightly in surprise at being caught out but it quickly spread into an expression that Kantonian's called a shit-eating grin. "Wanted to conserve his energy. Anyway come on, let's go."

Red knew that the best thing to do when they arrived back down to Earth was to let Green just run his course. Throughout the week he would pop in to the gym to make sure everything was okay, but other than that he just let him be. They'd been friends long enough for him to knowthat any attempt to slow him down or reason with him would be fruitless.

Anyway, it gave him a good chance to get ready too. He hadn't realised just how many things there were to do when one was going away for an extended period of time. He had to set up his alarm for his apartment and let his neighbours know that if they didn't see him for a while, they didn't need to schedule a welfare check. Then there was his mum as well and when he told her, she was very jealous that he was getting paid to holiday in Alola.

'But it's for work!' He protested over facetime one afternoon but she continued to rattle off all the cool touristy things he'd get to do.

When Friday evening finally rolled around and he met Green at the airport, he was unsurprised to see that he was a frazzled mess with dark eye circles from staying up way too late to sort out Arceus knows what (he knew he'd be hearing all about it very soon). He was certain that he looked similar, having awoken from a nap less than half an hour. It had been a successful attempt at getting a headstart on jetlag but it had meant he'd forgotten to straighten his hair up and iron his shirt.

'You better sleep on the plane.'

"Believe me, as soon as we're in the air I am dead to this world," He laughed, eyes slightly crazed from exhaustion. He shoved his hand into his back pocket to grab out his phone and his eyes suddenly widened. "Arceus no, I forgot my–"

'Phone charger?' He fished out one of the three spares he'd kept in his carry on, offering it up for Green to take. He'd been holding the bag tightly underneath his armpit in hopes that Green wouldn't see the overflowing pairs of socks inside.

"How did you–?"

A shrug. 'Just a hunch.'

He didn't have to know.