Misadventures of the World Tournament

by nimondor

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 few hiccups along the way, getting a date is harder than it should be. What can go wrong? - Full summary inside.

11. Acceptance

11: Acceptance

Charizard

Humans held many strange and fascinating views of pokemon trainers. The more powerful they were, the more respected they were. The beginner trainer held neither respect nor authority amongst humans and pokemon—tame or wild—and the younger the trainer, the harder they had to work for it.

We were no different. We weren't looked upon at first, quite possibly because a simple reason: Red was young. The people believed a ten-year-old boy could not defeat all eight gyms and the champion, much less take down a criminal organization the international police had been after for years before his eleventh birthday.

When I joined the team, he was already beginning to turn heads with unwanted attention from all around beginning to follow the boy wonder. We proved to the entire region that they shouldn't judge a book by its cover, that we were more powerful than most. The moment we defeated Team Rocket, eyes from all around Kanto were on us during the Elite Four and Championship matches. Who knew that one, let alone two kids could defeat Lance, who had been reigning as champion for nearly six years could be defeated by two kids from a small town?

Many would say things about my team about our trainer didn't have the strongest breeds of pokemon or even why he didn't have much variation in the team. Even though we were all different types, many of our foes were surprised whenever we would so easily take them down. Each of us were different and after some time, humans and pokemon alike began to assume what each of our personalities were and what status we held in the team.

Pikachu was known as our small yet powerful leader, the quickest of the group that held magnificent power in that tiny body of his. He could take down foes hundreds of times larger than he without wasting a breath and even used his tail to help him jump to heights that could still startle our trainer. He was usually never seen inside his pokeball unless he was knocked out, in which case Red usually carried him in his arm if it was not an official battle.

Blastoise was the motherly one in our group, often caring for us when we became ill or injured and was a stickler for cleanliness. As much as we fought and argued with each other, I respected him and his strength to protect our team if I was unable to.

Snorlax would continually surprise opponents and others by his strength and wits. Sure, he still had the natural instinct to eat everything in sight, but the way he willingly got into battles and win made our opponents think twice about underestimating the normally placid and sleepy species.

Espeon was the most obvious: she was the most intelligent but also the most mysterious. Her personality could switch from being a cuddling pokemon from her days as a pet to a fierce competitor at a moment's notice. She was the most mischievous one, often getting others in trouble from her many antics and outrageous plans and if she was ever caught, she would somehow rope the rest of us into the blame.

Venusaur was our graceful shield despite his large size. Every move he used was something to look at, he never used a move he felt would be a waste of energy and time. His many combinations in battle made him a worthy adversary to any powerful pokemon opposite of his own type and expressed interest in contests upon occasion. He was the one I went to for advice and I knew I wasn't the only one.

It came as no surprise to anyone that I was the silent one, often compared to our trainer with our speaking aloud. When need be, though, I was able to quiet anyone with a single roar and my aerial attacks and speed in the air were unmatched.

Our trainer was the stubborn glue that held us all together, helping us perfect strategies and even teaching us how to use two separate moves at once when the situation called for it. He would help us get back up when we were down and he was always there when we needed him.

We weren't just a team; we were a family and even though Red caught all the pokemon he could from Kanto, he never switched his team, instead giving them to Professor Oak for his studies. Both of them believed in the potential in each and every single one. This was no different for any of us.

Much like they had been before, I had been a weak pokemon myself—a young Charmander that decided he was smart enough to leave the nest a little early though hardly able to take on a single Oddish. My previous trainer, although he tried his hardest, simply could not help me train to the level I wanted to be and as such I refused to listen to any command given by him. My hopes were not high after that; I thought I would never reach a level that would surpass anyone else.

Since I didn't have any respect for that trainer, I decided he should at least prove himself a capable trainer. However, when he proved time and time again that he was not a capable trainer, I refused to listen to anything he told me to do. One sunny day later, he gave my pokeball to Red, who was delighted to have a fire-type on the team.

I naïvely assumed that, because of my previous human, this human would also be weak compared to all the other pokemon trainers out there in the world—especially since he was far younger. Red was frustrated at first that I would not listen to him or even look at him but he refused to give up on me even after the consistent use of Scratch to his face (Pikachu and Bulbasaur hadn't particularly enjoyed that). The first time I heard him speak was him simply asking for me to trust him.

"Charmander," he had told me, "I know you don't like me. I know you want to get stronger. In order to do that, I need you to listen to me. I need you to trust me."

Despite my arrogant stance and my paws crossed across my chest, I finally looked at him straight in the eyes for the first time ever since joining his team almost a month before. The fiery determination was clear in his eyes and silently he told me that everything would be all right, that he wouldn't leave me behind.

After that, I decided to finally start listening to him and the rest pretty much worked itself out.

He would not accept defeat even in the face of a losing battle. He would turn it around with quick thinking even at his young age, guiding not only myself but the rest of the team to defeat any opponent. When I won my first battle—against a graveler of all things—I astounded even myself. How could I, a weak fire-type defeat a graveler in my first battle with my new trainer?

I could only stare at Red as he walked and gave me his 'good job' smile and led the way through the dirt path and up a hill. As I watched him walk past me, I knew I saw something. I was filled with a feeling of unforgettable hope and the sight itself was something I would never forget: it was as if a great light had been cast right in front of him and he was fearlessly walking towards it, towards our goal to become champion.

He stopped, turned away from the light to face me and said, "If you believe in yourself, then move forward and I will help you achieve your dreams."

I knew this trainer was going to be one that would be revered among many and my eyes widened in sudden respect and loyalty.

He offered his hand to me, still smiling confidently and I fearlessly took it.

-x-

In Kanto, Team Rocket didn't have ninjas or special ninja pokemon or anything remotely ninja-like. They weren't super-human beings that could disappear without a moment's notice and they also couldn't be as silent as a ghost-type pokemon or surprise as badly as the Shadow Triad did. The point being, we had not expected the Shadow Triad to attack like they had, not in a million years and the question that ran through all of our minds was just one word: Why?

We had no idea why they would come after us of all people competing and then lure us into a trap—which was done splendidly, but you'll never hear me say that out loud. However, it led back to the famous why we all asked each other.

Of all the people competing, why would they come after us? What did they hope to accomplish by getting Team Rocket on their side? Why would they strike during a tournament full of the world's best pokemon trainers? I also wondered what their true purpose was. I had no idea what the Shadow Triad had meant when they told us about governing the world based on their ideals. Did they want to take over the world? I scoffed at the thought, doubting that was their true intention.

With everything that had just happened, I was completely confused and my brain felt like it would explode from the stress and unanswered questions filling my head. Why this was happening at all, especially at a time like this, was confusing to everyone.

I let out a sigh to try and calm my overactive mind and turned my eyes towards the bedroom when I heard the water run in the bathroom.

Red let out a small hiss of pain as he washed out the cuts on his arm in the sink, the ice-cold water likely doing no good other than numbing the pain. I stayed in my corner of the living room as Blastoise scolded him for washing them wrong and started to properly clean the cuts for him.

Pikachu had complained after we arrived about his leg hurting and while my own wings were sore and the left one still hurt, I didn't voice it. I was the one who had allowed this to happen, anyway. I should have sensed that we had been walking right into a trap, I should have seen the Shadow Triad from a mile away. I hadn't because I was too focused on catching Bisharp to do anything else.

I curled up with a frown, disappointed in myself. We should have been more than strong enough to beat them, but instead they had gotten to our trainer and threatened his life. I briefly looked up as Blastoise exited the room with a towel in his claws and a grumpy Red following him.

Blastoise laid the towel on the table and then pointed to a chair for Red to sit in with a claw. I could hear Pikachu snickering at him, telling Snorlax and Venusaur that the water-type was the only who could command our human like that as Red stuck his arm out for Blastoise to take care of once he had grabbed a little white box with a red cross on it. The cuts didn't look like they were anything serious, but they were deep and still bled a little bit.

I was watching them because I was trying to ignore Espeon. She was uncharacteristically silent and stared at me the entire time Blastoise put disinfectant onto Red's cuts and put small bandages over them to make sure they wouldn't get infected over the rest of the day. She never stared at me unless she wanted something a not wanting nor feeling like getting into one of her so-called brilliant plans, I kept my eyes off of her.

I finally stole a glance towards her when I heard her jump off of the couch and walked to me, sitting down just in front of my head. "What?" I finally asked when she still said nothing.

She smiled and pushed her head against my snout, a show of complete trust from her species. It always felt touching when she did it, she hardly showed affection towards us since usually she was cuddling with Red instead and I let out a quiet yet pleased grumble. "Don't beat yourself up so much," she answered. "Red is okay. I know you did everything you could."

I frowned slightly. "I let us get caught in their trap. I should have seen what was going on—"

"Stop it," she interrupted with a stern tone. She shook her head as I snorted quietly. "You're beating yourself up."

I went silent and huffed after a few seconds of quiet.

She chuckled at me instead. "Why do you battle?" she suddenly asked me, licking her paws.

I was caught off-guard at the sudden question, slowly blinking. "What do you mean?"

"I mean why'd you stay with us? With Red? I stayed to battle with him because if I did not, I would be a fat, lazy eevee with too much time on my hands."

"And no one would want that."

"Hey, I have good ideas… sometimes!"

I rolled my eyes at her but her question was all too easy to answer. "I battle to get stronger, to become the strongest one in the sky."

She tilted her head and set her paw onto the floor. "No, it isn't."

I scowled. I was pretty sure she could read the answer in my mind without me even thinking about it. "Yes, it is."

Espeon was stubborn and walked to my side and plopped herself against my side where it was warmest. I didn't move away and allowed her to get comfortable right next to me. "You do not battle to get more powerful. You do not battle because it makes you happy."

"And how would you know any of that?"

She laughed. "For someone so smart, you can be dumb."

I rolled my eyes at her. That sounded like Pikachu after he'd yelled at her several times during our journey through Kanto.

"You are already strong. You are stronger than most pokemon we fight. Even water-, rock- and electric-types have a hard time battling you and you know this. So why do you truly battle?"

For once, I really didn't know what to say. It had always been about getting stronger, to become better than everyone else. For that not to be my reason made me try and think of another reason, but it was difficult for myself to think of one. We continued to stare at each other in silence and finally I was the one who looked away, unsure of the answer as I looked at my claws.

If it wasn't about becoming stronger, then what was it? I poured everything into my training and our battles, I was second only to Pikachu on our team. I was faster than Pidgeot, stronger than Feraligatr, yet I had allowed a simple Bisharp harm my trainer. I shook my head at myself. I was starting to beat myself up again, then turned my eyes to Espeon as she seemed to sense my internal struggle.

She chuckled quietly as she looked back up at me. "You don't battle for yourself. You don't battle to become more powerful, 'cause let's face it, you're one of the stronger ones on the team." She turned her head and I followed her gaze, which was resting on our trainer as he picked at the bandages Blastoise had put on. "You fight to protect your family. You stayed to protect him."

I remained silent, keeping my eyes on Red as he got up from his seat to head for the couch, his pokegear in his hands as he texted away on the tiny thing. I frowned slightly. "I wasn't strong enough to protect him today," I finally said to her, looking back down at her.

"Then do you believe he blames you for what happened? That he thinks you're the reason you were attacked?"

I frowned. I knew he didn't, I also knew that he would more worried about us than himself.

Espeon flicked her ears a little. "He would never, ever blame you for anything that happens, Charizard. He believes in you, we all do."

I eventually grumbled under my breath again then told her after a brief moment of silence, "Sometimes, I wish I could just burn you to a crisp."

She glared up at me but it wasn't a serious one. She knew that I was jesting. "Hey!"

I smirked. "Then other times you make us feel better." I nudged her a little with my maw. "Thank you, Espeon."

She looked quite proud of herself after that, nestling into my scales even more to nap.

As she began to fall asleep, I glanced at Red. He had Pikachu in his lap and while the television was on, he wasn't paying any attention to it. Instead, he seemed to be lost in thought, his face grim and stared blankly at the pokegear. He finally lifted his hat a little bit and ran his other hand through his dark hair, although it did little to settle his naturally messy hair before he put the hat back on.

He texted something on his pokegear again and instantly scowled at it when it rang after he sent a message, clicking on the decline button so it would quiet down again. He set it down and finally looked at me, sensing I had been staring again. He glanced down and set Pikachu down onto the couch before he got up and walked to me. He sat down beside Espeon though he was glancing towards my wing, gently inspecting the joint where it connected to my body with his hands. I sighed and reached over with my head, nudging his arm gently to get him to stop. "It's just a pulled muscle. It'll heal on its own," I tried to tell him and let out a low grumble when he scratched under my chin.

"Ah, let him worry about you," Blastoise told me, grinning as I frowned at him. "If you want, I can ice it for you?"

I shook my head. Not like ice would do much for me, it would melt before it could even work its magic on my naturally warm body. We all flinched when there was a loud pounding against the door. "I know you're in there and if you don't answer, I'm going to have Machamp break the door down and make you pay for the repairs!" Blue's voice shouted from behind it.

Red sighed loudly, clearly not in the mood to deal with him but he got up anyway. None of us knew if he would follow through with his threat, he had made similar ones before and followed through on a few.

As soon as he opened the door, Blue stepped in and closed it quickly behind him. "Didn't we specifically tell you not to go alone when we looked for N before?" Blue scolded though Red turned around instead, heading for the table to sit down at it. "Arceus, you really don't know how worried we were, do you?"

I watched as his eyes trailed down to the bandages on his arm and he stepped around the sleeping Snorlax in the middle of the room to quickly follow him. "Nu-uh, you aren't going to get away from answering this time, Red. What happened to you? I can recognize Blastoise's handiwork anywhere."

Red briefly glanced at his arm and shrugged.

"Where did you go? One minute you were behind us and the next you were gone! Poof!" Blue sat across from him, looking irritated. "We had to look around for anything Team Plasma related without you and now Lance knows something is going on, too. He wants to see you when you get a chance, by the way."

Red snorted, putting his elbow on the table and propped his head on it.

"What? You still angry at him? You know what, Red? Get over it. I don't like that Giovanni's here any more than you do but you don't see me throwing a tantrum about it."

My trainer glared at him.

Blue returned the look and crossed his arms again. "You gonna tell me what happened then?" He nodded towards Red's bandaged arm. "How'd you get hurt?"

"It's nothing serious," Red finally said, purposefully looking outside instead.

"I don't care. What. Happened?" He sounded frustrated and I couldn't blame him. Trying to pull answers out of Red when he didn't want to talk was like pulling teeth. He was stubborn as hell but thankfully Blue learned long ago how to deal with it. "You know two can play the stubborn game."

Red looked at him again, slowly growing irritated as Blue leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable until finally my trainer sighed loudly. He knew just as well as everyone else that Blue wouldn't leave us alone until he got what he wanted. He rose his arm to let the brown-haired trainer see the thin bandages. "Bisharp," he told him.

Blue looked confused for a moment before he furrowed his brows. "Bisharp?" After a brief moment, something clicked in his mind and he slammed his hands onto the table as he stood again. "Are you crazy, Red?!" he scolded immediately.

Red already looked done, hiding his arm under the table again.

"Please don't tell me you actually ran away to find them by yourself." He threw his hands up in exasperation as Red refused to look at him. "Never mind because of course you did!" He sighed, trying to calm himself down. "You always do stupid stuff like this! You're going to get yourself seriously hurt someday!"

I wanted him to put himself in our shoes and try telling him that over and over for seven years.

When he was quiet for a few seconds, Red finally asked, "You done?"

Blue gave him an aggravated look as he sat back down into his chair loudly. "No, I'm still mad at you."

Red gave him a small smirk but lost it soon. "They told me they their ideals were for the greater good and told me to stay out of their way." Or they would hurt someone went unsaid but Blue understood then he frowned.

"Then why stay away from the tournament on Monday? They plan on attacking it?"

My trainer shook his head, not knowing the reason either.

Blue sighed again, looking nervous. I knew he was the second match of the day and a group of people threatening to do something wouldn't bode well for the tournament nor anyone else attending. "Then why do they want Team Rocket on their side so bad?" he wondered out loud. "I don't get it. What are they trying to do? What's the point in threatening a tournament that has the world's strongest trainers competing against each other? They would lose against us in any kind of battle, wouldn't they?"

Red remained quiet, then glanced back towards us, looking to see if we had any idea either but none of us spoke up.

Blue got up soon after, getting ready to leave. "Brendan was upset you ditched him, too, but he helped us look around for anything when he found out what we were doing."

I was a little happy that we had another ally, it would make it easier to find out what the Shadow Triad wanted.

Blue then smirked, making me curious until he said, "Oh, and White was worried about you too, you know. You should probably let her know that you're okay." He then grinned at him. "You guys a thing yet?"

Red's face turned pink and shook his head rapidly as Blue laughed, trying to relieve some of his own stress.

"I can see the way you two look at each other, you guys aren't really good at hiding it."

As he left, I glanced at my trainer. Red was staring at the door then made a quiet noise as he picked the pokegear back up. I didn't fully condone his growing relationship with the young woman, we had more important things to do and worry about.

That blush on his face had told me otherwise. He wasn't actually falling for someone he hardly knew, was he? Pikachu and the others seemed to be convinced that he was but I knew that when it came time for us to leave, we would most likely never see her again and we did have champion responsibilities to keep up with.

I watched as Red pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly looking tired and he got up, heading for the bedroom. I remained where I was, putting my head on the ground comfortably with Espeon still attached to my side and closed my own eyes to nap. I would worry about it later.

-x-

When I woke up, it was still light out but only barely. Espeon had moved from being curled into herself to laying on her back in her sleep, her paws twitching every now and then as she dreamed. I yawned and lifted my head, gingerly testing my wing and felt satisfied when no pain came with it.

I gingerly got to my own legs, not wanting to wake up our youngest teammate. I could see Venusaur sitting next to the windows again with his petals out and Red sat right next to him, leaning against his large body with one of the many magazines that had been in the coffee table in his hands.

"Oh look, sleeping beauty is finally awake," I heard Pikachu snicker.

"We're expecting Lance soon," Snorlax told me instead, popping an oran berry into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes. Wonderful. Lance was a highly intelligent and caring man, although strict and set in his ways. It was many of the reasons he and his cousin did not get along and why Red didn't like being with him for long periods of time. Even I could tolerate the man only slightly.

Despite all of that, he tended to keep an eye on us, especially after we ventured to Mount Silver alone and I knew he would send Red messages over the pokegear occasionally to check on him and make sure he was still alive in the frozen wasteland. Red's mother told us once that it was like he was an acting older brother figure in her son's life and she couldn't have been more grateful to have someone like him keeping an eye on him when she could not.

I mumbled under my breath as I heard a knock on the door. Espeon slept right through it as Red got up and answered it, already knowing who to expect. Lance smiled when he saw my trainer, his sharp features looking even more sharper in the fluorescent lights of the hallway. "I haven't gotten a chance to say a proper hello until now," he said.

Lance was a very tall and thin man, easily taller than even Giovanni was though Red glanced up at him as he walked in and sat down on an empty loveseat in the living room. "You aren't still mad at me, are you?" he asked as Red quietly sat on the couch instead.

Red gave him a what do you think face.

"Hey, it wasn't up to me. If any of us had our way, Giovanni would still be in prison. But we can't do anything about it now. What we can do, however, is talk about this little stunt you pulled today." He leaned forward and Red sighed. "Blue told me what happened. Ethan confirmed that you had just vanished at the stadium." He paused and he lost his smile as his eyes grew hard yet concerned. "What were you thinking, Red? You could have really gotten hurt."

"I'm fine," my trainer insisted. Two lectures in one day wasn't something he didn't want to do, and he had little patience for Lance to begin with. I glanced at my side as Espeon woke up from the noise, blearily blinking at Lance and Red before she yawned and stretched. She got up to her paws and walked over to our visitor, rubbing herself against his legs as a greeting.

"Right, if by fine you mean getting yourself hurt, then you're absolutely right." Lance then reached down to scratch Espeon's head. "Hello to you too, Espeon."

Espeon let out a quiet purr before she jumped onto the couch to sit beside Red and pushed herself underneath his hand so he would pet her.

Lance leaned forward with a small frown with a serious face. The movement caught my trainer's eye and he watched him put his hands together in his lap. "We didn't find anything out of the ordinary at the stadium but we will keep a close eye on it. I have suggested to the director to increase the security, keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

Red frowned slightly and stole a glanced towards me. I knew what he was telling me. No one there would notice the Shadow Triad either.

"Black gave us descriptions of what they look like, so we at least know what to look for. If you're so insistent on going after them, I know I can't stop you. What I can do is help you, though."

We all stared at him with surprise as the dragon master straightened again. It was shocking to hear him offer his help; he was generally was far too busy to even notice anything going wrong until someone informed him of it.

Red let out a disbelieving sigh. "Why?" he asked out loud.

"Because Professor Oak and your mother would kill me if I let something happen to you."

He rolled his eyes as Lance smiled a little.

The man pushed himself up from his seat, causing us to look at him. "Just promise me you'll ask for help. That's all I'm asking." He turned around and headed for the door and paused after he opened it. "And tell me if you find out anything else, okay?"

Red gave him a brief nod to satisfy him and when he was gone, my trainer slipped off the couch until his head was bent at an awkward angle against the back of the couch with an annoyed groan. I couldn't see how that was comfortable but he stayed there as Snorlax chuckled.

"He's not that bad, Red. He's just looking out for you," he told him after Espeon's gem started to glow.

Red let out a quiet noise. "He's annoying," he mumbled.

"He cares about you. Let him worry about you," Venusaur said.

Red finally sat up and got off the couch to peel off the bandages that stuck to his skin. After he tossed the old ones away, he inspected the cuts, poking at the scabs gently to make sure they weren't bleeding anymore. Blastoise sighed at him. "I remember telling you to keep them on until tomorrow," he told our trainer.

Red didn't seem to care as he lowered his arm. "I'm fine," he repeated. Then he looked at the door in annoyance when there was yet another knock.

"Why are we getting so many visitors today?" Pikachu asked with a huff. It seemed like Red wasn't the only annoyed one.

Espeon just chuckled and nodded to Red, letting him know it was okay to answer it.

I frowned slightly when I saw White on the other side and Red let her in. She looked worried and looked at his arm when she saw the cuts on his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked him. When he nodded, the worry vanished from her face and she scowled. "I did tell you not to go after them alone, didn't I?" she scolded and jabbed her finger into his chest.

Red winced a little and rubbed the spot she had poked, watching her quickly lose her anger with a sigh.

"What happened? Did you see Bisharp again?"

He nodded as he muttered, "We chased it into the forest."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You saw them, then?"

He didn't answer, instead sitting down on the couch one more time and she followed him, sitting beside him.

They were quiet for a while, turned the television on and stared at the screen for a few minutes. Finally, during a commercial break, White smiled a little. "They're creepy, aren't they?"

Red glanced at her and seemed amused then nodded.

"Makes me wish I could be a ninja, too. Could you imagine all the pranks I could pull on Black?" She snickered and Red smiled as well.

"I can't imagine the pranks you'd pull on anyone."

I watched them with a slight frown. Red really was completely relaxed around her, Pikachu hadn't been lying when he told us he would speak to her far more than he would to Leaf. He also couldn't keep his eyes off of her when she was talking either but soon, they fell into a comfortable silence and he glanced towards me after a while.

I knew he wanted to go flying and when he turned his eyes back to White, his face turned slightly pink. I couldn't understand why he was so attracted to her and I hoped it was just a crush that would fade over time.

Red sat up a little bit. "Do you want to go flying?" he asked her.

She glanced up at him before she smiled a little. "Sure," she answered after a few seconds.

He nodded and recalled the others though Pikachu refused, dashing outside to wait for us on the balcony. I sighed. He really was too eager about this now and I was convinced he really never did have any doubts or dislike regarding their interactions. I let out a sigh as I got up, following him out. "Now you'll see how they're really like, and then I'm sure you'll help us out with O.G.A.D.," Pikachu told me, grinning as I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time that day.

"Have you ever ridden a charizard before?" Red asked White as they stepped outside on the balcony with us.

She looked up at me then shook her head. "No, but Rosa has a hydreigon and I've seen her ride it. I'd imagine it's easy, right?"

My trainer smiled a little and looked at me that clearly told me to go easy while flying. "It's not the same as riding another flying-type, or being carried by one."

Then a brilliant, fascinating and amazing idea came into my head. An idea so petty that I knew a twinkle appeared in my eye and I struggled not to grin and let the humans know what I was starting to plan. "I don't like the look on your face," Pikachu told me suddenly as he jumped onto my head, holding onto my horns. "Why do you look like Espeon right now? What are you planning?"

I glanced at him as Red helped White get on behind him. "Just hang on tightly," I told him.

He scowled at me but sighed. "I'm scared for my life right now," he mumbled.

I fanned my wings as soon as I felt Red's heel gently tap me to let me know they were ready. As soon as we got into the air, I heard White squeak but I gently cruised up high and eventually leveled out. I briefly glanced back, seeing White's awed face and holding onto Red tightly while I felt Pikachu stiffly remaining where he was, still cautious about what I was planning to do.

"This is so cool," White said after a moment, letting go of Red to stick her hands out to feel the cool breeze pass by us.

Red smiled and then looked at me when he felt me flap my wings powerfully once. He gave me a stern face that clearly told me, don't do anything crazy, but I smirked at him instead. I gave no warning to any of them before I suddenly folded my wings closely against myself. I dove sharply, happy to hear White instantly yelp, but Pikachu let out an excited whooping noise.

As I turned my body slightly, I opened my wings again to do a full circle in the air and felt White tightly hold onto me with her legs and I was sure she was squeezing Red's waist just as tightly. Instead of sensing her scared like I wanted her to be, however, she was growing excited just like Pikachu and I huffed when I saw her begin to smile through my spinning.

I scowled, determined to get rid of her excitement as I flew up in a straight, vertical line and felt Red cling onto me so he wouldn't fall off with one arm but the other was holding his hat. Then instead of climbing any higher, I simply stopped flapping my wings and let us free-fall through a cloud upside-down. I heard her scream, but it wasn't one of fear and I let out a quiet growl, growing frustrated when I realized she was not afraid of flying like this.

Red was silently begging for me to stop and begrudgingly I obeyed, snapping my wings open to right myself and level us out again and peacefully glide through the darkening sky.

I felt their grips relax and heard White begin to laugh. "That was amazing!" she shouted after a moment. Her ponytail was messy but she didn't seem to care, a bright smile on her face.

Red seemed surprised and glanced at her. "I'm sorry, he doesn't normally do that," he apologized.

"What's there to be sorry about? It was fun!" She even looked straight into my eyes and I could see the fire in her blue eyes. "Do it again!"

Pikachu laughed. "So she's an adrenaline junkie!" he said, laughing some more at my annoyance.

Red instead glanced down at the ground and directed me to land on the cliff just above the beach we always went to. I obeyed and landed as gently as I could, glancing back when the two humans slid off of my scales. Red looked at me with a raised brow but patted my shoulder in thanks before he went to sit on the ground in front of the fallen log.

I rolled my eyes instead and huffed at him, making sure a little smoke hit his head.

White sat down beside him as well and brought her knees close to herself, twiddling with her fingers in her lap. They were silent for a time, absorbing the amazing view as the stars began to appear in the sky.

They were quiet for a long time, content with just watching the setting sun until finally White broke the silence. "That really was fun, even if Charizard doesn't really like me," she said. I just pretended not to pay any attention and lay down beside the log on Red's other side. She looked up at Red again, smiling. "Maybe we'll battle in the tournament." She fell silent as she hesitated. "That… won't change anything, right?"

Red blinked and shook his head, slightly confused.

"Good, I'm glad." She suddenly leaned into his side, causing his face to turn red.

Pikachu rolled his eyes at him, sitting on a rock that was near them and while White stared off into the distance, Red glanced at Pikachu. Pikachu was moving his arm a little bit, trying to tell him to hold her.

"I don't think you should encourage this, Pikachu," I mumbled but he rolled his eyes at me.

"You'll like her I promise!" he told me. "She wasn't scared of flying like Leaf was when you first took her up. That counts for something, doesn't it?"

He was right. I was impressed that White hadn't been absolutely terrified of the death-defying stunts I pulled in the sky, even going so far as to ask to do it again. I watched her for a moment as Pikachu motioned to Red again to move his arm until he finally understood.

He seemed hesitant at first, but finally wrapped his left arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Her face erupted into a bright blush as well, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she smiled. "I never really realized how warm humans really are," she said. "Well, I—I mean, pokemon are warm too but… not quite like this."

Red smiled a little bit and seemed to understand what she meant. "Mm," he responded.

"I've never had someone hold me like this before."

"If it's any consolation, I've never held anyone before," he replied quietly and she erupted into a fit of giggles.

"You're doing a good job of it." She moved a bit, making him look at her. "I like it. Don't you?" When he nodded, her face brightened and she looked at the calm waves of the ocean again. "Today was hectic. Please just promise me you won't pull a stunt like that again."

He was quiet for a moment before he glanced at her. "I'll try not to."

Satisfied, she nodded. "Okay. I—I can accept that, I guess." Her face turned pink all of a sudden when Red looked back at the ocean, watching the stars beginning to shine. "Um… do you want to go to dinner tomorrow? Or, ah, or we can go all around town and do the touristy stuff, I know exactly what we should do, too."

Red was blushing by now and with his free hand, he scratched his cheek lightly. "Anything sounds fun."

White smiled cheerfully at him. "Then sit back and I can plan a fun day for us! I know all of the perfect spots to go and things to do."

Red smiled again. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Just sit back and enjoy the Unovian air, you're the foreigner here after all."

He gave a soft laugh. "If you don't let me help, I will call you Hilda."

She scowled playfully but she smiled. "I… actually don't mind if you call me that." Red rose a brow at her as she turned her head again at him. "I mean, I don't like my name but if you want to call me that, it's fine. It just sounds—I guess it sounds right when you do."

Red smiled a bit, nodding as he looked at her. "All right then. From now on, I will call you Hilda. White doesn't fit you, anyway."

She laughed. "You'd be the first person to tell me that."

Pikachu suddenly grabbed onto my neck, and I huffed as he moved himself to my head to cling to a horn again. He was quiet but I could tell he was eager, watching the two trainers just stare at each other for a few seconds and I frowned slightly, sensing a strange sensation coming off of both of them. This was no ordinary feeling I'd sensed from our trainer before, and even Pikachu looked confused but he was excited nonetheless.

"Do they really love each other?" I finally asked, trying to place the feeling we were sensing coming off the two.

Pikachu tapped his chin. "I dunno about love," he admitted. "They definitely like each other if they want to kiss each other so bad." He grinned as I stared at the two humans. "They really do like each other, Charizard. Trust me on this!"

I watched them start to get closer to each other, as if they had forgotten that either of us were even here. I was frowning at myself by now. I suppose… it wouldn't be such a bad thing if they did get together. White seemed to genuinely care for my trainer and I finally let out a defeated sigh that made Pikachu begin to smile with victory.

He then turned back to face Red and White as their heads suddenly collided with each other and they both winced, rubbing their foreheads. Whatever just happened, they probably weren't going to go for that kiss anymore and immediately Pikachu looked annoyed. "Why the hell did they do that?!" he exclaimed. "He was gonna get his first kiss!"

"Ow!" White exclaimed and they both spun their heads behind us when someone started to suddenly giggle maniacally.

I don't even know how I didn't see them before, but my confusion briefly left me when I saw the very familiar pink cat, holding her sides as she floated in the air behind White and Red while her clone was completely apathetic with a bored look on his face.

Mew and Mewtwo had come to join the party.

"Moment totally ruined," Pikachu muttered and for once, I agreed with him.