Ray barely asked, "are you okay" before Delia announced her decision to find Red. Blue's eyes widened, from calm concern to shock.
Even Ray paused, with his mouth hanging open slightly. He held her pokeball in his hand.
"I've thought about it, and I think that I should leave for Red. I'll call my parents and explain-"
"What?" Ray finally blurted out, returning the pokeball to her. "You can't just get up and leave like that. We need you here if the three of us are going to take on Giovanni-"
"The three of us are going to take on Giovanni," Delia repeated with a scoff as she grabbed her precious Bella back. "As if it were even possible after Blue said those things about his connections, those creepy rule-makers he spoke about."
Blue shrugged in agreement. "At this point, maybe it would be best for her to go find him, Ray."
"To retreat?" Ray asked the jagged birthmarks on his face reddening. "No, no, no way are we going to leave while we still have the slightest chance. We can still win against Agatha."
"You don't get it," Blue replied, "in a few hours, we'll be fighting each other, Ray. After that, only one of us will advance."
"Fine!" Ray answered. "We'll battle to face the enemy! We can take Agatha."
"How much good would it do to win? Do you think we'll get it after everything that's happened? I wouldn't be surprised if Giovanni does something about it."
"He could disqualify your Alakazam," Delia said. "He's been doing things like that before. I wouldn't be surprised if he got those rule-makers to break some of their own rules. By the way, I have a feeling those elites are already the three people sitting up there with Giovanni, those ivory-tower egomaniacs."
"So, can we get to them by winning?" Ray looked dejected, almost like he wanted to charge in, guns blazing, at the Elite Three.
"Not the way I see it," Blue affirmed. "We'll need to do something different. Something so crazy that they won't expect it."
Delia smiled. "I thought about that."
Blue turned to her. "How could you have thought about this scenario?"
"Do you ever talk to your pokemon?"
Blue raised an eyebrow. "Talk to my pokemon? No."
"You should," Delia suggested. "They have some great ideas, including this one."
The two boys listened to her idea and nodded in agreement.
For the next hour, in the darkened green room for qualified trainers, they practiced their lines and actions. They even laughed at the absurdity, but they all had nothing to lose. Delia's hair vibrated with excitement, and Ray watched her smile while instructing their former enemy on what to say and do.
They stopped and looked around. About a week ago, prospective trainers filled this room. It felt like forever ago that they all thought that to win the tournament would mean positive change- that they could make things better and reach ultimate glory on the battlefield. Instead, the corrupt underbelly of their world showed a disconnect between trainers and regular fans.
"So, this is it," Ray said to break the silence after rehearsals. "Delia leaves, and then we follow."
"Yep," Blue said. "We need to do it."
"I'll call my parents from outside the tournament stadium," Delia said somberly. "They'll understand. I know it. We're going to do something about it."
Blue nodded calmly. He knew just what he was giving up, but he never wanted it, either.
"What about you, Blue," Delia asked.
"I'll call Gramps after the commotion."
"You know," Ray turned to Blue. "I know why Red calls himself that name, y'know, because it's the highest level of the League. So why are you called Blue?"
"Well," Blue said, with a chuckle, "Let's just say that I liked the color too much as a kid."
...
Delia walked Ray to the other side of the arena, leaving Blue to pump himself up for the big finale.
The two of them walked in silence, the kind of introspection and anxiety that comes from making a big decision. Then, they looked up at the red and white lights above, the colors of different pokemon types spread like graffiti across the wide walls. Images of powerful and adorable pokemon adorned the walls and floor, as well as motivational neon signs that read "WIN" or "YOUR POWER IS INSIDE," among other cliches.
"It's crazy to think of where we were just a year ago," Delia reminisced. "Pokemon Academy seems so far away now."
"I wonder what would have happened if we didn't meet that kid," Ray imagined. "Do you think we'd still be there?"
Delia thought for a moment. "Maybe."
"That Red really did something for me," Ray said. "I don't think I would've done the double-move thing quite as well. Did I ever tell you that I never saw him in bed after that first night when the alarm went off? He was always out there, training."
Delia chuckled. "He was always ahead of us. It's time we catch up."
"ATTENTION," the announcer guy called. "TIME TO FACE YOUR OPPONENT. I HOPE YOU'RE READY, TRAINER."
Ray turned to Delia with a smirk. "Not in the slightest."
The two of them hugged tightly while the bright lights from the arena poured through the tunnel.
"See you on the other side, Raymond," Delia chuckled as she let go and bolted from the light. Ray wanted to hold her hand just for a while longer. He turned around and headed out through the tunnel.
"TRAINERS AND FANS FROM AROUND KANTO, I GIVE YOU YOUR WESTERN AND SOUTHERN CHAMPIONS!
The two of them stared each other down as they walked towards one another. Ray and Blue pretended to hate each other, as everyone else assumed.
The announcer stood in the middle of the area, ready to welcome the two boys.
"Trainers," he beckoned them towards the center pokeball, the bright lights dimming into one big spotlight. "Have you anything to say before your regional match, as per the rules of the last two battles?"
Blue nodded, and the announcer gave the microphone over to him. Ray's neck felt burned by the stadium lights.
"My friends," Blue began, "thank you so much for coming to this tournament and representing your region." The audience erupted in cheers and whistles. Even Ray felt a bit of pride.
"It means a lot to the Pokemon League, and especially to the makers of this tournament. First, however, I have a confession to make to you."
The audience silenced itself.
"You picked me as your champion, the one who would stop the corruption and evil that plagued the Kanto region for the past few months. Well, I, unfortunately, have to tell you that the enemy you were fighting was nothing but a substitute doll!"
Blue pointed up to the box seats, where Giovanni and other elites sat. "You want to know who's been rigging this tournament, who's been tormenting an innocent kid with death threats and bounties, and all because he lost a match once? Giovanni, the man who's only ruined this game!"
The audience's cheers turned to murmurs and shock, so much so that Ray could hear them all.
"Admit it, Giovanni," Blue continued, "the only reason you're on this crusade is that a little kid got access to a pokemon no one wanted, found out how to access the moves it learned over the years, and made it not only viable for battle but a contender good enough to beat other trainers far more experienced than him. He's ten years old, and he stopped a rogue Gyarados from destroying Celadon Mall! Did anyone even remember who this kid was like a year ago?"
He turned to the audience. "He's a hero, and suddenly using a pokemon better than anyone else makes him a cheater? That single kid could outclass anyone in this room, including Giovanni, and he's ten! Why are we demonizing a little kid so that we could satisfy some dude's ego?"
The audience silenced completely, with people nodding in agreement with Blue's speech.
"You want a bad guy," Blue finished, "He's up there. And as long as he's there, I'm not battling for this league, and I'm certainly not representing it."
With that being said, he walked towards Ray and gave the microphone back to the announcer. Then, from one of his pokeballs, out popped the psychic pokemon with two spoons and a long mustache.
"Alakazam," Blue said, grabbing onto Ray's arm. "Teleport."
After sharing a telepathic conversation, Alakazam nodded and teleported Blue and Ray out of the stadium in the blink of an eye.
...
Delia readied her gear, packing away her trainer clothes in place of her water-proof gear. She immediately regretted not taking a shower before leaving those clean bathrooms. The redhead finished packing before heading to the nearest payphone to make a couple of phone calls. The first was to her father, who she assumed was busy at work, and told him the situation. He calmly understood and wished her much success. The second call to her mother was worse. She could barely hold it together when her mother told her how proud she was of her little red-head daughter. At that moment, she wished she could hug them, but she didn't have time. The League might arrest them or something, and she couldn't risk their safety.
By the time the sharp ocean winds dried her tears, she felt three new figures appear behind her.
"Delia," Ray proclaimed, "You should've heard Blue. He was magnificent."
"Well," Delia smirked. "I knew you were a great orator, especially from your snide comments at the Academy."
Blue rolled her eyes as he pulled out his Gyarados' pokeball.
"Wait, why are you two getting ready for ocean travel? It'll take too long to cross now."
"What's our best option, then?" Blue pressed the Pokeball's button, expanding it.
"Flight, towards Viridian, then cut through the forests there. Red must've gone west if he left Kanto."
"You have a bird big enough for all of us?" Blue asked, with Delia staggering to stand up after hearing about flying.
"Yep," Ray responded, brandishing a pokeball and chucking it to the ground. Then, out erupted Pidgeot, with a back big enough for three trainers to ride comfortably.
"Are y-you sure we have to do this?" Delia said with a pale-white face.
"Hey," Ray said, resting an arm across her shoulders. "It's okay. I'll hold onto you."
"Great," She said sarcastically, "but then who will hold onto you?"
"We need to be out of here soon," Blue pressed. "It's getting late, and we need not have a bunch of other trainers catching up to us."
"Don't worry," Ray reassured. "We'll be in the forest in no time."
The three of them climbed up onto Pidgeot's back, first Delia, then Ray and Blue.
"Ready, everyone?" Ray called out to everyone.
"Yep," Blue replied.
"Like I have a choice," Delia lamented, gripping Ray's arms tightly.
Pidgeot cooed, flapping its wings and readying for flight.
"Let's go find Red. PIDGEOT, FLY!"
As the pokemon world searched for the whereabouts of Ray and Blue, trainers could see a silhouette of a bird heading towards Pallet Town. By the time some trainers could figure out where it was going, it cut a left, heading west to the place not recorded on ordinary maps. They headed towards safety, to find Red, and experience a brand new adventure.
TO BE CONTINUED (hopefully)
...
The Elite Three watched Giovanni exit the booth and head into his office, right inside the stadium. They heard him knock a few things off of his desk, but then the noise calmed down.
By default, The League accepted Agatha into the Elite Three, now the Elite Four, but Giovanni wasn't present for the ceremony. Instead, he watched from his office as Agatha was initiated, to the constant sound of boos. No matter, he thought, as he closed the window blinds. There are other ways to remove cheaters and purify the game.
He passed by his trusted Persian, scratched it behind the ears, and sat down in his big chair. Then, in the dimly lit room, where dust gathered in the beams of light peeking through the blinders, be pulled out a manilla envelope, with a hastily-written "R" in the corner, and spread the contents across the desk. Time for a new plan.