Full Summary: After accepting an invitation to a world tournament held in Unova, Red meets another competitor in the Champion's Cup, Hilda. Pikachu and the rest (most) of Red's team are determined to set the two of them up but with a televised tournament and a few hiccups along the way, getting a date is harder than it should be. What can go wrong? Oh right, legendary pokemon are going missing and two criminal organizations are determined to come back and take over the tournament. Wonderful.
Super long A/N: Hi hello welcome! As you may or may not know, this fic has been posted before but I deleted it because I lost interest, then I caught covid, and then life happened - but I have finally finished this fic! It's been, what, 6 years of on and off posting? In other words: it's been a really long time and I'm happy it's finally done!
There's a few things to go over before we get started:
1: Most chapters are in Pikachu's POV, there are a couple from Charizard and the others. Some like Snorlax will only have one or two chapters, others will have a few more. We're seeing how Red and Hilda's relationship develops through their eyes, so we may not see everything they do but those events will typically be mentioned.
2: Red's team is his team in Crystal, and Blue's team is a mixture of his champion team in Yellow and his gym team in HG/SS. Other protagonists typically have pokemon that you can get with in-game gifts or trades (Ethan's Togetic), special encounters (Brendan's Kecleon), and pokemon that I used on my own playthroughs of the games.
3: Pokemon can use more than 4 moves in battle! I like the idea that they don't forget how to use certain moves to make room for more.
4: I started writing this before X and Y were a thing and when they were added, that's when I started tweaking the fic. I've since rewritten a few parts to include those events and mention both Alola and Galar, however, those protagonists aren't important like the others are. All protagonists are in this fic except for those in Sun/Moon, US/UM and Sword/Shield. (This means there are no Z-moves or gigantamax. Mega evolutions are there.) Some have a major role, others not so much so don't be upset if your favorite doesn't get a lot of screen time. Since you pick one character, the other one plays the role they do in the games (if you picked Brendan, May is Professor Birch's daughter and if you picked Dawn, Lucas is Professor Rowan's assistant, etc). There are a few exceptions to this: Leaf, Hilda, and Nate are all characters that aren't mentioned if you pick Red, Hilbert, or Rosa in their respective games, so I made their teams as if they had their own adventures and caught their own pokemon. (Also, I haven't played the Diamond/Pearl remakes or Arceus, so I have no idea if they changed anything regarding lore.)
5: This is a fanfic so I'm not too stressed about grammatical mistakes. I'm working on a fantasy novel series right now and most of my focus has been on that for the past two years so if you do see a mistake, PM me and I'll get to it when I can. I am not asking for critiques, I just write fanfics because it's fun for me, and wanted to share it with you guys (: As for my OC-central fic, APOTHEOSIS, that'll be updated when I can get to writing it again but chapter two should be done soon. They're also posted on AO3 under the same name.
6: Last but not least, there are 41 chapters total. Excluding tomorrow (4/25/22), chapters 1 - 15 will be updated Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because they're the same as before and older readers have already read all of that (no spoilers!). Chapters 16 - 41 will be updated Mondays and Thursdays with an occasional Saturday because cliffhangers are awful. (: (: (:
1: Manila Folders
Pikachu
When I was a wild pokemon, I could always come to Pallet Town and get any food humans left untouched, play with other pokemon wandering around in Professor Oak's laboratory, or if I was in a feisty mood, battle beginning trainers on their way through Route One. After a few months of this, I was caught and my pokeball was handed to an adolescent child who knew nothing of the world outside the sleepy town. Years upon years of training on an Arceus-forsaken death trap of a mountain later, I started seeing Pallet Town as home. The food was just a bonus.
On our third day of this particular visit, I was sitting in the grass, the late morning sun lighting everything in sight. I was alone for the time being but this was all part of the training: if I could detect Espeon before she pounces, then I get extra treats after lunch. It was difficult to do with all the pollen in the air, spring was notorious for making everyone's allergies act up. I lifted my head to look up at the distant Mount Silver, the peak forever shrouded in clouds and ice.
Despite popular belief that my team were recluses who had a death wish by staying on the mountain, we often left the snow and awful wind to visit my trainer's mother. She was a tiny woman, shorter than her seventeen-year-old son by nearly three inches but she shared the same hair and the same skin tone and had the same kind and calm aura surrounding her. I have never seen another pokemon not like her before, even when she eagerly goes up to wild pokemon, greets them, and quickly offers food or whatnot.
She had one pokemon that stayed in the house with her, a Mr. Mime that had been around since my trainer's younger days, possibly before even I hatched from my egg. While he was kind, he was also strict and would constantly scold us for doing something he didn't approve of (such as our decision to travel up Mount Silver, the whole town could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs to my trainer for being an idiot).
I heard the grass suddenly rustle—it was so subtle I almost missed it. I jumped to all four of my paws and my ears constantly turned when the spot was empty, a few blades of grass lifting themselves back up after being disturbed. I knew she was still somewhere close, maybe even just a mere foot away but before I knew it, my nose tingled and I sneezed for the hundredth time.
All of a sudden, something heavier than me tackled me from behind and I yelped (no, it was not a squeak and that was not why a deep, rumbling laugh came from Snorlax somewhere beside us). When Espeon sat on top of me triumphantly, she licked me and successfully disturbed the fur on top of my head. "Got you again," she taunted and got off before I could shock her.
"Best three out of four!" I shouted as I fixed my fur. I wanted those poffins after lunch.
She just laughed and shook her head. "You know poffins are my favorite, too."
"Lunchtime!" a woman's voice shouted, her clear voice echoing into the sky.
Espeon instantly started running towards the white picket fence behind us.
"Oh, no you don't! I will beat you before you even jump the fence!" I was a competitive little pokemon but I was speaking the truth. In terms of speed, I was the fastest in our team, Espeon only came third and I proved that by jumping over the fence before her and stood at the feet of our trainer's mother, smugly looking back at her.
She rolled her eyes at me though once two bowls were placed in front of us, we both started eating the fish the woman had prepared for us two. I had a sneaky feeling it was magikarp from the pink that was barely there anymore; it was easy to come by plus it was cheap in supermarkets.
She then picked up two larger bowls in either hand, one full of greens and another full of little fruits and fish. "Red, honey, this one is for Blastoise and this one is for Venusaur. When you get back, do the dishes. I won't tell you again," the woman scolded.
I started laughing at the misfortune of my human. Red may have been considered the strongest trainer in Kanto and he may have been able to catch all sorts of strong pokemon and even had a second home in the world's most dangerous mountain. He could come off as a cold young man that hated social interactions and had possibly thousands of young kids aspiring to be him but nothing scared him more than his angry mother, not even that onix on Mount Silver that tried to kill us once. Hell, she scares me sometimes when she gets mad.
Red got up from his seat with a quiet nod and took the bowls from her. I lifted my head to look at the humans and by the look on his face, he hadn't even been paying attention to our training he so dutifully made us do every morning. His crimson eyes were bleary from sleepiness and his raven hair was a mess, clear signs he had just rolled out of bed even though he'd been up for at least an hour. I rolled my eyes. He and Snorlax had a lot of things in common between them so it was a wonder how his mother even managed to wake the teenager up. I went back to my lunch as he approached Blastoise and Venusaur, both bowls in either hand.
Blastoise was tall for his species, standing at Red's height on two legs at five foot seven, and was nothing but a motherly water-type who would take care of us if we were sick, hurt, or even depressed. I was grateful for his presence in the wilds, it was often when one or more of us were injured from a battle and were too far away from a pokemon center. He would frequently scold Red about not cleaning up after himself, much like his real mother would.
He was also an amazing battler, equal in both attack and defense, he could deal damage and take hits just as well. However, among our teammates, he and Charizard never quite got over their rivalry and constantly had little spats here and there. Deep down, however, he did care for the fire-type just as he cared for everyone else, even if he didn't voice it.
As Red made his way to Venusaur, I sat back on the last stair that led into the yard, rubbing my bloated belly. His mother always gave us extra food, knowing the luxury was always a treat. Staying inside a house was a blessing. Venusaur took the bowl from Red with a single, thick vine and nudged the human towards the house with his large head. The grass-type was older than all of us, but it didn't seem to slow him down in the least. I've heard that a venusaur that living in Viridian forest lived to be a hundred and twenty before old age finally took him! With human care, I was curious how old one could get.
Venusaur was the most level-headed of our odd team and would hardly ever get annoyed or even angry. I've never even seen the large pokemon angry before and I was always scared to see that side of him. Otherwise, he was the one we could go to if we ever had a problem we couldn't work out and ask him for help and advice. He gladly helped anyone who asked him and even seemed to be sincere when answering us.
He always took his time when battling, preferring to set out traps for other pokemon to fall for and then attacking. While I was fast and sometimes used multiple attacks at once, he would usually use one that would deal enough damage to ensure victory. I've heard Snorlax say that Venusaur was our impenetrable shield in battle and I don't disagree with that.
Red was looking around in the sky when I finally sat up from my food coma. Unable to find Charizard in the sky, he rose his left hand and put two fingers in his mouth then whistled loudly before he went inside. Wherever he'd flown to, Red had time to clean the dishes his mother had told him to do and came back out with a red bowl when the fire-type landed, mindful of his fiery tail so it wouldn't burn the grass.
My human patted Charizard's neck after he started to eat and he grumbled low in his throat in thanks. Charizard was extremely quiet for a fire-type and he was so serious, that he scared me when he first joined the team as Charmander. I thought he would snap and attack me (he did a few times but quickly learned not to pick on me because I was smaller). He had a temper like most fire-types did but over time he had learned how to control it and not let the little things bother him as much. He could take Red's mind off of whatever was troubling him, no matter what, just by going for a quick ten-minute flight.
I've never seen anything faster than Charizard in the sky. Even the pidgeot near Mount Silver that I saw could have just been a baby pidgey when they had battled and Charizard's attacks were nothing to sneeze at, either. If he lit himself on fire and came barreling straight towards you, on the ground or in the air faster than you could blink, you'd run too. It is a terrifying sight. I still shudder when I remember our mock battles.
He then turned his head to look at Snorlax. The lazy pokemon was asleep again in the afternoon sun and his bowl had mysteriously disappeared. Red rubbed his face with a soft groan once he realized where it had gone and eyed Snorlax with mild annoyance. Luckily, a snorlax's stomach could digest anything, so he didn't need to worry about the large pokemon getting sick from eating the bowl. It was inconvenient having to constantly buy the giant bowls at the markets when we were in town. They weren't cheap and no matter how many times he was scolded, instincts constantly won him over and he would eat it. At least we didn't need to worry about that up on the mountain, he'd just use his paws and wash them in the snow to get rid of any juices.
Snorlax was a gentle soul when it came down to it. He also knew how to control all his muscles so whenever he wanted to hug us, he wouldn't crush to death us by accident. Once, he nearly broke Red's back right after we caught him and he didn't hug the child for nearly a month after that. At least, not until he won his first battle after many days of training and he'd scooped him up into his huge paws and ten-year-old Red has disappeared into his long fur but at least he wasn't crushed this time and laughed it off.
His immense physical strength helped us in battle, surprising multiple opponents since most snorlax were extremely lazy to the point where they'd come out of their pokeball sleeping. Wild ones would just sleep through attacks like it was nothing and continue to block roads trainers were trying to travel through, much like how we'd met ours. On top of his brute strength, he was an amazing strategist as well and whenever we were in a tough bind, he could figure himself a way out. I felt lucky he was with us.
With all of us fed and dishes taken care of, Red stayed outside with us and sat on the stairs on the porch in the backyard. Espeon was napping in his lap, a soft purr emanating from her when he mindlessly stroked her fur as the rest of us did our own thing around the area. It felt better than being cooped up in our pokeballs and Espeon loved the attention she was getting from Red.
She was the youngest in the team and had the hardest time getting up to where she is now, having been a simple pet to a man in Celadon City who told us he was unable to care for her anymore. She grew from being the shy and untrained Eevee we all grew to love despite being weak in battle to an extremely spirited and mischievous psychic who enjoyed playing tricks on us. If she was bored, we had to constantly watch our backs in case she was up to no good.
When she evolved, she had a hard time using her psychic abilities and at night she would cry herself to sleep when she felt she hadn't been able to do anything during the training even after all the praises from the rest of the team. One night we fought each other (it had been a painful night for both of us and Red may or may not have been mad at us for fighting each other outside of training) and she finally realized she certainly was not weak and she could hold her own in any battle. I still can't believe that I had to pound that into her head for her to understand. Now she is one of the strongest on the team and her psychic barrages were never held back against any opponent.
As she purred on, I jumped off the stairs and tilted my head at the oran berry bush that sat along in the garden. It had moved ever so slightly, alerting me that something was inside the small bush. We may have been on vacation, but that didn't mean any wild bugs could go into our garden! I jumped inside and a small caterpie cried out in surprise and quickly jumped out and ran away. "They're not even ripe yet!" I shouted after it after catching my breath from laughing.
"You didn't need to scare it," Blastoise told me as I poked my head out of the bush.
"It's not like I knew it was there," I answered with a huff.
When the sliding door suddenly opened and a new voice laughed, we both turned once we recognized it. Espeon was annoyed at Red when he suddenly stood without giving her any warning. "Rude," she mumbled and sat down beside his feet.
Red did not indicate that he'd heard her, simply smiling at the other trainer and returning a fist bump Blue offered. We hadn't seen him in nearly a year and a half but from what I know of via Espeon (the little eavesdropper), the two constantly spoke to each other in the forms of little text messages over their old pokegears. I wondered how many of those texts Red would actually reply to.
"You never tell us when you're back in town and I only came because Gramps told me you were here," Blue told Red and reached for something in his jacket. "Plus, something was sent to him for you. I don't know why they couldn't have just sent it here, it's stupid." He handed over a yellow manila envelope.
It was thin and slightly crumpled from being stuffed into the gym leader's pocket though he eyed it suspiciously once he spotted the league's insignia on the front. "What is this?" Red finally asked, frowning at the envelope.
"Open it and find out." Something was strange and I couldn't quite place what was wrong. Blue hadn't stopped grinning like a maniac since he spotted Red and handed him the envelope. If it was from the league, maybe there was another challenger? Was Blue finally challenging him again for the champion title?
Red eyed him carefully when he noticed as well but finally turned the envelope around and tore the seal off. The sudden noise attracted the other's attention and approached the porch steps to peer at us curiously. Red pulled out three sheets of paper, briefly glancing at them before he turned his eyes back to Blue. "What is this?" he repeated.
"Arceus, just read the first fu—ahem, page. The first page." I laughed, knowing he was about to swear before Red's mother had opened the door to set a potted plant outside and glanced at them curiously before she went back in. She probably would have kicked Blue out if he had dropped the f-bomb.
My trainer rose a brow at him and Blue just shrugged a tiny bit. Whatever silent communication was going on between them, I didn't understand. Humans are weird.
Finally, he read the first page and as he got near the end, his eyes widened to near comical sizes. He looked up so quickly, that I thought his hair would fly off his head.
"What the hell are you so excited about?" I asked and easily jumped from the porch floor to my trainer's shoulder. I peered at the paper he held and made a complaining sound when he simply put the papers back. "I was trying to read that!"
"You get onto me about reading his messages on his pokegear, you can't read letters if I can't read texts," Espeon scolded from below and stuck her tongue out at me. I mirrored the pose, barely hearing Blastoise sigh at us.
"Do you even know how to read?" he asked me.
"Yes, I know how to read!"
"How do you even know how to read?" Venusaur asked from somewhere behind me.
"I just do!"
"This is real?" Red asked. He sounded too excited for us pokemon to continue our conversation and we all stared at him. He never got this excited about anything unless it had to do something with battles.
Blue snorted. "What kind of dumb question is that? Yeah, it's real. Why do you think it's got that on it?" He pointed to the symbol on the front. He pulled out his envelope, though it looked like it had something else inside of it judging simply by the thickness. "They sent me the tickets. We leave on Friday, so you better be up before noon and if we're late catching the plane because you decided to sleep in like your lazy ass Snorlax, I will personally come over and beat you."
"I'm not even offended," Snorlax piped up through a yawn.
Red wasn't listening to Blue; instead, he pulled up the second page, and this time I was able to see the long list of names on it. It was separated by region, though a few of them I'd never heard of before, causing me to tilt my head and ask, "Hey, Venusaur, where's Unova?"
Venusaur was resting beside the fence and lifted his head from his paws when he was called. "Unova? Very far away, an entire ocean separates us and them. Why?" he answered.
"'Cause, that's what the paper says. Unova, Kanto, Kalos… it's listing so many regions. "
"Who are all of these people?" Red asked out loud, looking bewildered as he pulled the paper out of the envelope completely to read the entire list. I looked at it and Arceus, it was a long one. Just what the hell was going on?
Blue went to his other side to look at the paper. "Other trainers that have earned the Champion title, as well as gym leaders. They had been talking about inviting the Elite Four members as well, but everyone decided it was best they stayed in their regions until the champions and gym leaders came back."
I was lost. I had a feeling in my gut, a familiar feeling when we went up against other gym leaders years ago. I looked at the third page Red pulled out. It was a schedule of some kind, but I didn't bother reading it when he put it back into the envelope.
Red was quiet for a bit then turned to see the team surrounding the porch with curiosity. All of us were eyeing the two humans with the utmost attention and he gave us a minuscule smile before he turned back to Blue and nodded. "We're in."
Blue's azure eyes lit up and he gave another huge grin but unlike the excitement from before, this one was predatory and challenging. It seemed as though Red wasn't the only one excited about whatever was going on. "You better be outside and ready to go by six am, if I don't see you outside with your stuff, you're going with nothing." He stepped off the porch and landed in the grass. "You better be prepared, Red, you're not the only one who's been training these years!"
He grabbed a pokeball and released Pidgeot. She looked surprised to see us but offered a polite nod as Blue climbed on. Once they took off in a hurry, the rest of us looked at Red expectantly.
"What's going on?" Espeon asked, the gem on her forehead glowing as she transferred her thoughts to him so he would understand.
Red glanced down at her and then looked at the envelope, a smile forming as he turned it around to let the others see the league's Moltres insignia. "A world tournament."